A group of us did a fun ridgeline last weekend that I’m calling the Silver Lake Scramble (since I don’t know how else to refer to it). Starting at Granite Flat above Tibble Fork, the overview looks like this.
We parked at the trailhead across from Granite Flat Campground and walked the road a short distance before catching the Silver Flat Connector Trail. At 2 miles along, we reached the Silver Lake Trailhead at Silver Lake Flat and continued up the Silver Lake Trail.
By the time we reached Silver Lake, we were 4 miles in with 2,200 feet of elevation gained. Standard stuff so far. The fun really begins a half-mile above Silver Lake, where you head west to start this scramble. We considered catching the ridge above Silver Glance Lake, but decided to stick with the original plan. That was fine with me since I had only ever seen this route once before with snow on it.
The Kirkham Route to White Baldy
The first part of this route, up to White Baldy, is known as the Kirkham Route and, by late June, was still holding onto a lot of snow.
We brought ice axes but didn’t end up needing them.
Crampons weren’t necessary either.
This first peak to hit along this ridgeline is White Baldy at 11,321′. White Pine Reservoir is seen below with the Cottonwood Ridge off in the distance.
The view from the top of White Blady is is one of my favorites along the Wasatch Front.
The Scramble Part to Silver Lake Peak
The ridge this scramble follows continues above Silver Lake, with a few spicy sections here and there.
Silver Lake Peak is 11,036′ but not sure why it didn’t make the “official list” of Wasatch 11ers.
A precarious passage we called “the hallway”.
Looking down on Silver Lake from Silver Lake Peak. Mileage check was 6.7 miles with 4,764 feet of gain.
Close the Loop
From there, we continued on to Community Flat, reached eight miles, and then closed the loop by descending the Deer Creek/Dry Creek Trail back to the Granite Trailhead.
