Alpine Scramble - Sperry & Wolf Peaks

The 6 of us met at the Sunrise Mine TH at 7am and we were off by 7:15am.  The 2 stream crossings were easy to do this time of the year and the trail was distinct and easy to follow from the trailhead all the way to Headlee Pass and beyond.   Emma's photo of the group crossing one of the creeks. Photo of the snowless basin before the pass.  Past Headlee Pass and traversing the talus to Lake Elan with Vesper Peak in the distance.  What a beautiful day it is.  P/C  EmmaOur trail ends near Lake Elan where we have a view of Vesper, Wolf and Sperry.  A wet and muddy bootpath starts from the lake and then it's easy rock hopping as we near the north end of the lake.We then basically head straight up for the saddle between Wolf and Sperry Peaks.From there we traverse right (east,) staying on a bootpath that's occasionally marked by cairns.  Our route went something like this to the summit, but we're now aiming for a talus basin below the trees.  The basin in the below photo is where the route takes a tight bend below the trees.Looking down and Lake Elan.Arriving at the talus basin with Sperry Peak above.  P/C  EmmaHeading up the talus basin.Once above the trees again there are some braided trails and more cairns.  Some fun scrambling and some steep bootpaths will finally take you to the summit.Beautiful views from the summit.Del Campo, Gothic Peak and Morning Star.Heading back to the saddle.  Wolf Peak ahead with Vesper behind it.Wolf Peak's pointy top is clearly visible.Back at the saddle and heading up for Wolf Peak.   This photo is looking back at the saddle and Sperry Peak.It's only about 1/4 miles and 500' gain to the summit from the saddle.  Almost there.Fun little scramble on the very top with an airy class 4 move.  Peter and Mark coming across the crack to the summit.   Glacier, Sloan and Sperry behind them.Emma and Yoko on the summit.  Vesper to the left and Copper Lake below.Looking down at Lake Elan, Del Camp, Gothic and Morning Star.Back to the saddle within a hour of leaving the saddle.  A stop at Lake Elan's outlet to filter water and then backdown Headlee Pass with its many switchback.  Lots of blueberries as we got lower, but very few were tasty.  Probably the only disappointment on this gorgeous day.The wonderful group.

Stats for our easy going trip.  My GAIA read:

7.5 miles/4100' gain/c2c 11hrs with many  stops to enjoy our surroundings.