[cartman]

I wanted to go up in the Pasaytens again after doing this trip and had a new partner for this one; Trevor W. We had various ideas for trips in the greater Pasayten area, but as I was coming down with what would turn out to be a two-week long bug, it was just as well we decided on some easy terrain as two day trips. Just as long as there were larches! Day 1: Tiffany, Middle Tiffany, Rock, Three Buttes Started out from the Tiffany Lake TH, 6760' on a cool but beautiful day after having car camped at Early Winters CG. Tiffany Lake is quite appealing:

Tiffany Lake

Tiffany Lake

The trail is in excellent shape all the way to Honeymoon Pass.

Honeymoon Pass

We turned upslope from the pass up Tiffany's NE ridge and had plenty of larches.

Larches

Tiffany NE Ridge and Rock Mtn

The higher we got, the better the views. Little Tiffany Lake is situated in a small basin with many larches. If coming in for an overnight, this is where I'd camp.

Little Tiffany Lake

Little Tiffany Lake and larches

Rock Mtn and Middle Tiffany

At the saddle between the NW and the SE (true) summit we turned left and wandered up meadow and rock to the summit of Tiffany, 8245'.

Tiffany summit

Tiffany benchmark

We sheltered out of the wind for a bit; then since Trevor wanted to tag Clark and I wasn't feeling up to the added mileage, we parted ways here. I hung out on the summit a while longer, then moseyed back down the larch ridge.

Larch

Larch and Rock Mtn

Larches and Middle Tiffany

Being solo from here on was actually for the best, as I was under the weather and I could take my time on the other two peaks. From the ridge I could see my routes up Middle Tiffany and Rock Mtn.

Rock and larches

Middle Tiffany and larches

Rock, Middle Tiffany

the pass between

From Honeymoon Pass I simply picked a reasonable line up toward Middle Tiffany. The larches in this area all seemed to be on easterly aspects, so Middle T had almost none up the west face. As is often the case, the first bump visible from below was not the actual summit; a little scrambling farther to the east brought me to the top of Middle Tiffany, 7967'.

Middle Tiffany summit

Middle Tiffany obelisk

Great views from here:

Northeast Ridge of Tiffany

Rock from Middle Tiffany

Pasaytens

Didn't hang out long here, so partially reversed my route down then steered right toward the broad pass between Middle T and Rock.

pass closeup

At the pass I sat down for a good long rest. The area was full of these little birds, flying all around and chirping up a storm. Can anyone identify them?

What are these?

Finally I continued up the broad east ridge of Rock Mtn. Tiffany had plenty of larches, Middle Tiffany plenty of evergreens, but Rock is mostly bare of trees. This made for a nice contrast between the three peaks. Easy walking up to the summit of Rock, 7971'.

Almost to Rock summit

Rock Mtn summit

Rock Mtn summit and Middle Tiffany

Middle Tiffany from Rock Mtn summit

Another fine respite here, and I was ready to wander back down to the trail. On the way are some pretty meadows and good views.

Meadows and Larches

Tiffany coming down from Rock

Getting back to the car ahead of Trevor, I left a note and decided to add Three Buttes as my bonus peak. Not a very interesting mostly wooded summit, but does have a very large meadow on the way.

Three Buttes

Day 2: Setting Sun We spent the night again at Early Winters CG, then decided to head up into the McLeod area to see what we could do. From the map we thought we could head up Rd 52 then Rd 500 to get fairly close; however, Rd 500 was gated, so we turned around and took Rd 5225 to Rd 200 and parked at the lot for the Goat Mtn TH. Setting Sun it would be, then. We walked Rd 240 (long out of commission for vehicles) to its end then continued up the S-trending ridge.

Midday and McLeod

Lots of blowdown here, but eventually we tired of that and went left into the woods, where we found quite pleasant forest and to our surprise an excellent trail heading up to the ridge. This trail is not shown on any maps. We traversed easy terrain on the W to bypass Pt 7181, then gained the ridge towards Pt 7125. Some larches here, but the area does not seem to have a large number of golden trees. Some interesting cloud action, though:

Clouds

More Clouds

We bypassed Pt 7125 on its NE aspect on a bootpath, then connected to the S ridge of Setting Sun. Open woods led to the final slope to the summit, 7259'.

Summit of Setting Sun

Setting Sun summit shot

Views are quite good from here.

McLeod and Midday

Pasayten Pk and Buckskin Ridge

More Pasaytens

Trevor decided to try for Midday and possibly McLeod, so I walked back taking my time. However, nature decided to not take its time as the earlier sun disappeared as I came down the blowdown ridge. By the time I was approaching the ridge above the old road, I could see a rather serious wall of rain approaching from the west. Deciding to walk the top of the ridge above Rd 240, I picked up my pace but it was clear I wasn't going to make it without getting rained on. Luckily, the squall had spent most of its energy and I only got light rain. By the time I dropped down to the old road the sun was coming back out, and it was a pleasant walk back to the car. Trevor appeared about an hour later, having bailed after seeing the change in the weather. All in all, a great couple of days with a fine partner. I thoroughly enjoyed both areas, and was especially pleased to have a good time even though sick. Tiffany, etc: 8 mi, 3500' gain Setting Sun: 12 mi, 2800' gain Eric J. Johnson

[Hiker Mama]

Those are some great views! Sorry you were under the weather. But you got some good mileage in anyway.

[HitTheTrail]

Nice photos of a great area that sees few hikers (except the kind that pack a rifle in the fall). I joined Wildernessed and Steve up Middle T. and Rock almost exactly one year ago. It was my first time there and I loved the open beauty of the area.

[pasayten]

Nice trail report... No a bird expert, but birds kind of look a little like a pale version of evening grosbeaks... I know we had hundreds of them fly thru here this spring on the way to the hills...... Next time, wave when you go by our house on the East Chewack Rd to Boulder Creek...

[raising3hikers]

Thanks for posting this, looks like a good trip. Nice pics, too

[Matt]

Ah, so there are actually larches lower in the basins by the Tiffanies. Another one for sometime in the future.

[iron]

are you now >500 peaks?

[hikermike]

Birds look like Cedar Waxwings....always so prim and metromale like and usually in groups.

[cartman]

[pasayten]

Well, that dang bird is one of the 255 on this list... http://www.methowconservancy.org/course/methow_birds.pdf

[David¹]