[MangyMarmot]

I had Monday off, and needed to get away from the rain. The Teanaway usually has better weather than the wet side, so I headed East. I read the bogus road conditions page on the Cle Elum ranger district page, so I scratched Koppen and Iron as possible destinations thinking the road was closed. In the end, I settled on Miller Peak. The North Fork Teanaway road has some serious potholes. You can get through, but the going is slow. Once you turn on road 9703, the going gets much better. There was nobody at the trailhead. The trail is in good condition. First light patches of snow start around 4500 ft. Continuous coverage begins at about 5500 ft. The trail is easy to follow. The top of the peak had only about 4-6 inches of snow. The rain I tried to get away from followed me here. It wasn't bad though. A light drizzle which turned into snow flurries when I got higher up. The peak was encased in a cloud, so there were no views. At times trees and rocks would materialize out of the mist as I approached. Even though there wasn't a great deal of snow at the top, it definitely looked like winter had arrived, with snow plastered trees and rocks. It was a nice hike with no navigation problems even in low visibility. No gear needed with this little snow. I didn't see anyone all day.

Snowy trail

Snow plastered trees

Sun trying, but failing to burn through the clouds

[RichP]

It would be worth a return on a sunny day as Miller has some pretty spectacular views.