Started from Crater Lake TH.
2 day, 1 night CW loop connecting Cooney Lake to Switchback Mtn to Martin Peak to Boiling Lake to Mt Bigelow to Upper Eagle Lake. Hiked out on day 2.
The climb from Cooney Lake to Switchback Mtn was mostly a walk-up. Traversing from Switchback to Martin Peak was similar with a few scramble spots near the peak. Descending towards the saddle between Martin and Cheops was slower with more scrambling. We aimed to get to the saddle and then descend into the valley. This led to a steep tree section with bad tractions. In hindsight, we should have made a more direct descent into the valley west of Martin instead of following the ridge to the saddle. A more direct descent would have saved us quite a bit of time here. There is still a small creek flowing out of boiling lake to filter from.
We approached Mt Bigelow from the southwest. I recommend staying low in the grassy areas or even on Hoodoo Spur until you are ready to make the ascent up. We traversed some rockier areas between 7000' and 7300' which was slower than if we would have just stayed low a bit longer on the trail/flat areas. Ascent up Bigelow's west slope has loose rock and scree. Not difficult, just annoying and time-consuming.
We got the peak around sunset. Descending down the southeast slope was more difficult than expected. There was bad traction and with overnight packs, the downclimb was a bit challenging. The first 100ft or so is the crux of the descent. It was dark by the time we finished this initial section. The remainder of the descent in the dark took about 90min with frequent route checking to find the easiest path down to the lake. Using other peoples' GPX tracks here was crucial for avoiding the cliffs in the darkness. Otherwise, the descent was uneventful.
The hike out was a cruise on the trail the next morning.
The larches were all almost at peak or at peak. It depended on the elevation and aspect of the larch patches.
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