In late spring of 2011, I was with a handful of climbers who made an attempt on Silver Moon as a day climb. The weather forecast that day was poor for the west side and marginally better on the east side of the crest. We made quick work of the five miles of the approach on the Cedar Creek trail to our launch point for ascending up to Lake 7141. As we climbed the weather deteriorated, such that when we reached the lake it was snowing and blowing. At this point we made a wise decision to retreat. I made a mental note of the larches surrounding the lake, along with the aspen in Cedar Creek drainage and vowed that my next attempt of Silver Moon would be in the fall.
Although Silver moon can be climbed in a day, I decided to make it two day trip in order to enjoy the fall colors. I left the trail head a little after 10 AM and arrived at Lake 7141 about four hours later.
Here’s a photo of Silver Moon from just below Lake 7141.
Image2
I pitched my tent near the lake and took a break for lunch. I left around 3 PM and arrived just after 4 PM on the summit of Silver Moon. Mike T’s trip report and photos took the mystery out of route finding. Don D. and Norm B. had reached the summit the previous day.
The late afternoon light was poor for taking any photos to the west. But here is a photo of North Gardner, Shelokum and Wolf head (Lamont).
IMage6
In early September I did an overnight trip via Cedar Creek to climb Shelokum and Wolf head. Here are a couple of shots from the summit of Shelokum.
SilverStarSilverHornSilverMoon
SilverStarBigSnagtooth
Here are some photos from Wolf head.
Shelokum
KangarooTemple
I lounged for about an hour on the summit of Silver Moon before I descended to camp for the evening.
At sunrise I was rewarded by following spectacular sites. Enjoy.
Image7
Image8
Image11
Image12
Image13
I took these following photos as I reluctantly left the area.
Image19
Image20
Image21
Image22
Image23
Image24
IMage25
Image26
Image27
Image28
Here are photos of the Aspen groves in Cedar Creek.
Image30
Image31
Image32
Image33
Image34
PS
Smoke from the wild fires didn’t make an appearance while I was in the Cedar Creek drainage. However on the drive home, Bridge Creek was shrouded in a layer of smoke. As I crested Rainy Pass, a yellow and white helicopter dangling a large red bucket flew towards Bridge Creek.
Thanks for the report and stories of previous trips in the area.
So that makes 5 people who've been there in the last week (you, Don D, Norm B, Mike T & me), compared to only 3 (Fay Pullen, Tom Sjolseth, Mike Collins) who signed the register in the previous two years since Fay placed it in September 2010.
“As beacons mountains burned at evening.” J.R.R. Tolkien
0
“As beacons mountains burned at evening.” J.R.R. Tolkien
You cannot post new topics in this forum You cannot reply to topics in this forum You cannot edit your posts in this forum You cannot delete your posts in this forum You cannot vote in polls in this forum
Disclosure: As an Amazon Associate NWHikers.net earns from qualifying purchases when you use our link(s).