Hubbart Peak by Troublesome Mountain overlooks Silver Creek in Wild Sky Wilderness. Columbia Peak is its nearest taller neighbor, over two miles away. Meanwhile, the west ridge via the scenic river gorge offers the least climbing resistance.
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Hubbart Peak at a Glance
Access: NF-6335
Round Trip: 10.1 miles
Elevation Range: 1100′-5936′
Essential Gear: microspikes, snowshoes
Route Info: SummitPost.org
GPS Track: available
Dog-Friendly: no
Playlist: Beats
Back to Wild Sky Wilderness by Index
Half a mile of Index-Galena Road along the North Fork Skykomish River reopened this month. Due to floods, traffic has bypassed the closure via Beckler River Road since 2006. Like many things in life, the repair drew praise and criticism from the residents. But that’s a case of gatekeeping for another day.
The only other time I’d been here was on my way to Iron Mountain in 2016. So it was exciting to see the new bridge, where there once was a blockade. From Highway 2, it’s a 9-mile drive to Gelena before crossing the bridge. Then, Road 6335 was decent for half a mile in a small car.
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Strolling Through Silver Creek Trail Over Old Washouts
A traffic cone by the small slide ahead was my cue to park the car. However, high-clearance vehicles could continue a short way before the significant dip—or even farther. The road ended soon past the old bulletin, where the trail picked up through a broad rock gully.
A trail at the first washout went down the right through the creek. The second washout had a log bridge with reinforced railing, thin cable lines, and a memorial plaque on a tree. Before long, I crossed the stream by a small waterfall with a cairn at the third washout.
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Crossing Silver Creek by the Old Bus
The fourth and final washout was a single log bridge with reinforced railing over a deep ravine. But overall, it was a pleasant stroll above the gorge with the melodic sounds of waterfalls. The old mining shafts and artifacts en route conjured up memories of the glorious yesteryears.
Shortly beyond, a faint path veered right and into the trees to an old bus. It’s a steep 100′ drop to Silver Creek shore. Scooching on an icy log behind a boulder soon led me to the east side. I made a short rising traverse south toward Quartz Creek before seeing a trail above 1800′.
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Hubbart Peak West Ridge Traverse by Quartz Creek
The brushy path was visible and decent before losing it to the shrubs above 2500′. The terrain was milder, though brushy, for the next 500′ before steepening. En route, I savored the expanding landscape over the Skykomish River Valley and the buttes across Silver Creek.
Despite the annoying krummholtz, I hugged the crest over the rocky ground past 3400′. Above 4000′, I soon went north below the cliffs via a narrow ramp. The exposed slope on the other side with a tattered rope looked sketchy. So I entered the tight gully behind it through a brief class 4 area.
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Point 4450 Through the Final Stretch
It was just a steep incline above the 200-foot-tall cliffs before topping out on Point 4450. Previewing the nearby peaks there was exciting as I put on snowshoes. After dropping 150′ to the saddle, there was more fresh powder as I sought firmer snow in the trees.
It was slow going over the powdery crest while the views continued to open up. An unexpected notch at 5600′ shortly forced me to bypass from the south atop the gully. Another 300′ climb and I soon crossed the ridgetop to Hubbart Peak’s high point at the far end.
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Viewing Wild Sky Wilderness From Hubbart Peak
It was more snow than I expected for the first snowshoe trip. But wow, the views had wiped away all my thigh-burning groans past Point 4450. I was glad that the weather held and clouds were high when I reached the top. Today, the sun would set at 4:20. Hello, winter!
Only a sliver of Kyes Peak showed behind the enormous Columbia Peak. Silver Tip Peak looked more impressive in a white coat than in the summer. Behind the snowy ridge was the distant Zekes Peak. I quickly napped below the top before descending into the last light.
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