Toil Peak and Double Toil by Troublesome Mountain sit south of Blanca Lake. At the same time, these high points share a ridgeline inside Wild Sky Wilderness. They are also close together to climb in one trip.
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Toil Peak and Double Toil at a Glance
Access: NF-63
Round Trip: 10 miles
Elevation Range: 1600′-5427′
Gear: microspikes, snowshoes
GPS Track: available
Dog-Friendly: on the trail
The Preface
“Double, double toil and trouble; fire burn and cauldron bubble…”
Today we came back for Toil Peak and Double Toil after a visit out in the desert. Last time with a late start, we only went up to Troublesome Mountain. But it was only a matter of time before we returned to finish the song of the Three Witches.
See more trip photos here.
Road 63
It’s been eight years since we first hiked the Blanca Lake Trail. Back then, the pups and I saw two other people at the beautiful lake. Coincidentally, we saw the same couple on the way up to Vesper Peak two months later!
The four hikers in the other car by Road 63 closure started hiking as we were preparing. There was just one big tree on the otherwise smooth sailing two-mile walk to the trailhead. Later at mile 1.7, we crossed three sections of washout.
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Blanca Lake Trail
By now, the sun has been out for an hour. But it was still freezing in the trees. Later, we zigzagged our way up to the snow at 3000′. So I used microspikes for traction on ice. We had spotty views through small clearings from 4000′ and up.
We caught up to the four people at 4400′, where terrain eased. Soon, I put on snowshoes at 4600′. The hikers continued trudging through days-old tracks up to the saddle above Blanca Lake. But the pup and I left the path to go south.
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Toil Peak Summit
Moving through the gentle ridge in calf-deep snow, we soon reached the semi-woodsy summit half a mile from the trail. From there, Columbia, Kyes, Monte Cristo, and Cadet Peaks were visible via an opening on the west. Meanwhile, I spotted a sliver of Blanca Lake.
We savored the sun and the vistas out east in the quiet forest. Later, we dropped 400 feet on the south ridge and arrived at the forested south saddle at 4680 feet. West view there comprised the obscure and dramatic Hubbart Peak.
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Southbound Ridge Traverse
The initial 100′ above the saddle was the crux of Double Toil. I scoped out the terrain, and the ridge looked more manageable than the steep east slopes. So with the help of snow, we weaved our way up amid boulders and tree stumps. Then that put us up on the north ridge.
The ridgeline wasn’t entirely conducive to traversing because of krummholz plus steep drop-offs on the west. Instead, we went onto the east side for the final portion. The summit sported a nearly panoramic view as trees gathered on the south side.
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Double Toil Summit Plus Outro
Sitting at 300′ higher, views atop Double Toil were more expansive than Toil Peak. There was even a partial view of Blanca Lake below Columbia, Monte Cristo, and Kyes Peaks. The nearby Bear Mountain and Hubbart Peak looked incredibly gnarly at this angle.
After scoping the vast Stuart Range behind Evergreen Mountain, we descended the south ridge to 4800′. Then, we exited from the saddle using our old route on Troublesome Mountain. It was a straight shot back to Index-Galena Road before walking under a mile back to the car.
See more trip photos here.