Trip Report

Alpine Scramble - Labyrinth Mountain, Theseus Peak

What a beautiful place, but obviously heavily used.

Susan Shih

October 10, 2019

Date: Wed, Oct 9, 2019
Activity: Alpine Scramble - Labyrinth Mountain
Route/Place: Labyrinth Mountain
Activity Type: Scrambling
Trip Result: Successful
Rating:

Road Conditions: Road suitable for all vehicles
Route Conditions:
The road would be suitable for all vehicles when without snow, but we had a few inches of snow. We were fortunate to have a Toyota 4Runner and a Highlander that did well in snow.

Trip Report

We met at Steven's Pass Nordic Center at 8:15am. New snow had fallen the night before making the drive on Smithbrook Road more dangerous. Luckily it wasn't icy. We left the TH at 9:15am on a beautiful, sunny day.Quite a bit of snow had fallen the night before and as it got warmer, many snow laden trees released their heavy snow bombs. Participants hiked the 1.6 miles to Minotaur Lake at their own pace. The views from the lake were stunning. Photo of Minotaur Lake and Labyrinth Mtn.I had hoped to do the 2 additional peaks, Minotaur and Theseus near Labyrinth, but we ended up only doing Labyrinth and Theseus due to all the new snow. We skirt the east side of Minotaur Lake following Sean Mathias's Peakbagger's track and a vague trail that's still showing in the snow.Once on the ridge, there are some beautiful views of Theseus Lake and Poet's Ridge to the east.Soon we arrive at a basin close to the base of Labyrinth Mountain. The vague trail is totally gone once we arrive at the base of Labyrinth Mtn. We again consult Sean's track, look at the terrain and decide his route is good as it avoids most of the boulders. Up we go.The summit temperature is pleasant, no breeze and the views from the summit on this crystal clear day are amazing. We take a half hour break and enjoy. Lake Wenatchee in the distance.Theseus Lake on skier's left. Minotaur Lake to its right. Theseus Peak and our route from the lake which we do when we return to the lake.Poet's Ridge.The ridge we're on and looking west.Start of our descent. Minotaur Peak ahead.So glad we're not having to travel through treacherous boulder fields.Once back at the lake, we soon start for Theseus Peak. From Labyrinth it looked easy to just run the ridge to its summit, but it wasn't as easy as anticipated due to the snow and areas of bushwacking which we were not expecting. The views of Theseus Lake from the ridge are even more beautiful than before. A view from the summit of Theseus Peak.I neglected to get a group shot from the summit of Labyrinth, but remembered this time. Unfortunately it's minus 1 participant.Great day, great group, great views!