Miller Peak 11.13.07

I had hoped for a nice loop trip using the Miller Peak Trail going over Miller and Jester Peaks and coming out on the Bear Creek Trail. I wasn't able to get out of bed early enough to make this happen. I had to shorten the trip because of the short days. I decided to try for just Miller Peak. I was surprised to see so much snow on the Stafford Creek Road. If there had been an inch more I wouldn't have been able to make it to the trailhead. The snow was just low enough to let me pass without high centering. I parked and layered up. The weather was beautiful as I made my way along the meandering Miller Peak Trail. I started to become bored with the trail and instead of staying on trail I decided to leave the trail at 4000ft. There is an open 600ft of climb with great snow for kicking steps. This slope gives way to a subtle ridge which was quite enjoyable as I made my way to the 5500ft mark. I could see that it would be quite easy to traverse to Miller Peak's West Ridge. Too bad for me time wasn't on my side. I wasn't crazy about headlamping it out so I pulled the plug. The descent went so much faster than I had expected so when I reached the 4000ft mark I continued on the trail to around 4300ft. Although the day's goal went unmet I had a most enjoyable day.




Approx 6 miles 2600ft of climb 4 hours car to car.