Topographical map generated with my GPS and MapSource.

Picture of Silver Peak.

After the two Granite Mountain failures in a row and the dismal hikes before that due to weather, I decided it was time to do something fun again. In our previous hike of Silver Peak we statistically could say there was a 100% change of good weather and a 100% chance of seeing Mountain Goats.

This week a new person joined the ranks of our hiking group, Nuria. Nuria works at Boeing with Dan and I and is interested in hiking. While at first, I was a little concerned that Dan and I would have to tone down our rather interesting sense of humor; Nuria definitely has the same sort of sense of humor. (I'm not sure if that is a compliment or an insult for her)

The great thing about Silver Peak is that it is scenic the entire time. The Pacific Crest Trail and the Silver Peak Trail are just a pleasure to look at. A person might even say that the scenery is lovely. Below are several shots I took from the trail:

• Trail Pic 1
• Trail Pic 2
• Trail Pic 3
• Trail Pic 4
• Trail Pic 5
• Trail Pic 6
• Trail Pic 7

The first time Dan and I went to the top of Silver Peak, it took about 4 hours to reach the top. We set an all time record for us of 2.5 hours this time. Granted there were no snowfields to cross and we could clearly see the trail this time, but I want to think that we are just so much better at hiking and mountain climbing. Heck, this is my web page I can think what I want!

Here are some pictures of our party at the top. Here I am with Isis standing at the very peak. Here is Dan at the very peak. This is Nuria at the top. I realize my picture is a little far away, we did not know it would be so far back at the time. When I took the picture of Dan, I looked at the LCD screen of the digital camera and saw the problem, and zoomed him in. I though I could zoom in my picture at home, but no such luck.

For you viewing pleasure, here are the other pictures I took from the top of Silver Peak:

• Peak Pic 1
• Peak Pic 2
• Peak Pic 3
• Peak Pic 4
• Peak Pic 5
• Peak Pic 6
• Peak Pic 7
• Peak Pic 6
• Peak Pic 7

The way down was the best ever. The trail just off Silver Peak is a scramble down some fairly loose rocks that are just slightly larger than gravel. Dan described it most appropriately as "walking downhill on ball bearings". Lucky for me, Isis is part mountain goat. It was slow going for the first half mile. Nuria was the slowest going down and was very self-conscious about it (No doubt this was driven by the fact that Dan and I are expert hikers and usually run back to the car). Honestly, I thought we made pretty good time going down and I got to see a lot more scenery than normal. (Hard to look up when every step is an adventure).

After the scramble, the trail was good the rest of the way down. We made excellent time and when we got back to Pacific Crest Trail, we met a guy who had been camping all weekend. We walked with him for about a half mile. Interesting and friendly guy who knew far more about hiking than any of us. The funny thing is that I thought we were making good time because we were keeping up with him as he was going slightly faster than we normally went, but instead we was going slower for us. After the half mile, we said he wanted to stretch his legs and said his goodbyes and started walking at his normal pace. He was gone in no time. I was amazed at how fast he went with a full camping pack on.

When we got back to the car, I was happy to note that I had none of the normal aches and pains that come with age and walking so far. My knees did not hurt and I was not too tired. Heck, for a million dollars, I think I could have gone back to the summit again. Unfortunately no one offered so we will never know for sure.