[Mike Collins]

Randy and I combined kickstepping efforts today to make it to the top of this Homecourt Peak. Mile High is the unofficial name to the peak east of Dream Lake on the border of North Bend Ranger District land and Skykomish District land. The peak comes in at about 5280 feet elevation hence the name. We approached the peak by driving on the East Fork Miller Road to its end at the trailhead for Lake Dorothy. We did a log crossing of the Miller River and then heading up the Smith Creek drainage staying on the south side of the creek in old growth hemlock and then old growth slide alder. Once at 3200 feet elevation we crossed Smith Creek and had to zig and zag around cliff bands to gain the ridge on the NW side of the summit. This climb is recommended for times when the slopes above 3800 feet are snow covered as I suspect there are slabby rocks beneath which would make summer travel difficult. It is quite steep to approach the peak from the Taylor River. We found the file canister register placed in Dec 1999 by the party of Roper, Howbert, and Kegel but were unable to add our names due to the lack of a pencil. On the descent we stayed on the north side of Smith Creek which is not much better for brush than the south side. We were treated to two displays of Calypso bulbosa as well as a spectacular series of waterfalls on the descent. 3.5 hours to ascend and 2.5 for the descent.

[Randy]

This is now probably my favorite summit in the area. Typical good views, but some great lounging rocks on top to boot. The waterfalls along Smith Creek rival anything I've seen below Delta Lake for those that are interested. To see them, you probably only need to travel 1/2 to 3/4 of mile upstream - it's a triple cascade and the best side to view them on is the north. The picture I've included here is the smallest of the three.

Smith Creek

Big Snow Mountain

Planning at the Summit

Snoqualmie Lake

Smith Creek Valley

Smith Creek Crossing