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Tooth, Hemlock, Bryant, Melakwa Pass loop

Lindsay and I parked at the Snow Lake trailhead and headed up the Snow Lake trail to the Source Lake overlook, then did a traversing ascent to the base of the Tooth's south face. While climbing we encountered two other rope teams and two guys (both on their own) who were soloing.

We rapped down our route then made a straight-forward traverse to Hemlock Peak.

From the summit of Hemlock Peak we dropped down the NW side of Hemlock Peak on steep heather slopes. Then we traversed the SW side of Bryant Peak and scrambled the rocky summit block a little SE of the summit. This was a nice, short 3rd class scramble. Bryant is an excellent viewpoint and has a pleasing, rocky summit.

On the way down, we took a less scrambly, but more exposed path off the summit block that ran from the summit down the SW side. From Bryant we followed the ridge down to Hemlock Pass. This involved some steep, brushy slopes.

From Melakwa Lake we hiked the boulder field to Melakwa Pass then down to Chair Peak Lake (there was still some ice in the lake). From Chair Peak Lake we went up the granite dome to the north of the lake, then made a downward traverse clock-wise around Snow Lake. After some truly gorgeous meadows on the benches, and some steep, ugly, brush we finally reached the lake near the little peninsula on its NW side.

Exhausted, we were happy to find a boot path that led back to the main trail.

• Date: 2007/08/05 Trip type: scramble/basic rock climb Elevation gain: approx. 4,264 feet Car-to-car time: 15 hours 13 minutes USGS quad: Snoqualmie Pass In areas: Alpine Lakes Wilderness, South Fork Snoqualmie Drainage, Middle Fork Snoqualmie Drainage References Book: 100 Hikes in Washington's Alpine Lakes Book: 55 Hikes Around Snoqualmie Pass: Mountains to Sound Greenway Book: Cascade Alpine Guide: Climbing and High Routes: Vol 1 - Columbia River to Stevens Pass Book: Climbing Washington's Mountains Book: Seattle Outdoors: Hiking & Cycling-Puget Sound and Cascades Book: Selected Climbs in the Cascades, Volume 1 Eric's Base Camp: The Tooth-North Ridge, and Hemlock Peak Washington Trails Association: Trip reports (search for 'hemlock peak') Washington Trails Association: Trip reports Western Association For Naturist Recreation: Hiking nude at Snow Lake ofb.net: Picnic on The Tooth uw.cascadeclimbers.com: The beer fairy visits Snow Lake Winter guide book: Backcountry Skiing Snoqualmie Pass Winter guide book: Snowshoe Routes - Washington

• Full sized map

• The Tooth, Hemlock Peak, and Bryant Peak from Snow Lake trail

• Wright Mountain from Chair Peak Lake

• Avalanche Mountain from NE of Chair Peak Lake

• Avalanche Mountain and Snoqualmie Mountain over Snow Lake

• Avalanche Mountain and Snoqualmie Mountain

• Roosevelt Mountain from Snow Lake