[kitya]

I think this is actually my first visit to the Pasayten wilderness. What a nice place! Overall a really well maintained and nice trail. There is very little water along the trail, so I would not be happy going there in summer, but now it was close to freezing in the morning and weather kept cool all day, making the way very pleasant and not too steep. There is a lot of undergrowth around the trail making for very beautiful autumn colors, but barely any views until the tiny Crater Lake. Summit route was a bit tricky for me due to snow that turned to very hard and slippery ice. Scramble is a little bit steep and exposed and Cookie was scared a few times too and whimpered and jumped on top of my head instead of rocks. It looks like the route had ropes previously attached to the rocks, but now ropes are gone. Also snow hid some of the marks on rocks. Eventually we managed to find our way up to a broad snowy summit and an easy walk to the lookout site and amazing views. 16.5 miles, 6500 ft gain. https://connect.garmin.com/modern/activity/3090488872