Silver Star Mountain (Okanogan) — Saturday, May. 27, 2023

Started around 5 am, parking was fine and there is a bathroom at the start. The trail started out through dead trees due to a wildfire so the first two hours or so was walking through black trees. The trail was hard to navigate but we used the GPS to keep us on track. After the forest there was a rocky area we walked through for about an hour. Then there was a steep incline and the trail led us through a bunch of trees and bushes, we had to use the trees to climb up since the incline was so steep. Then the snow started around halfway through but it was patchy with rocks and a member of our group even slipped a rock down and we had to jump out of the way not to get hit. Then we passed through a small waterfall and walked across a couple more rocks to get to the consistent snow. After that it was your average steep snowy mountain but we put on crampons and used ice axes just in case. After a couple of hours we got to the top of the snowy part but there was still a rocky part at the top to climb up. A few members of our group put a rope up at the top so we used it to climb up, the scrambling was kind of scary if you are not experienced. I wore my harness and tied a knot to secure me to the rope on the way up and then rappelled down the rock face. This is probably more technical then necessary but my dad was teaching a group of mountaineers and this was their practice hike for more severe mountains like Rainer. I saw a couple guys go up without any gear but if you are not experienced at scrambling or rock climbing in general I would not recommend going to the very top. The views were incredible at the top, you could see all the nature and mountains surrounding us and it was incredible. We summited around 12pm. It was kind of chilly and the weather was not so great so we didn't stay at the top for long. The way down we didn't use crampons just an ice axe and sort of ran down, others even slid down on their butt which was fine since there weren't a lot of rocks in the snowy area. Finding the trail on the way down was very hard since it is not clear at all so make sure to bring a GPS if you decide to go because it is easy to get lost. It started raining on our way down so we had to go extra slow because we went left of the trail onto the rocks instead of the trees. Very slippery, I fell about 30 times. Then we started through the burnt down forest and I did not remember it being so long.... The trail was nonexistent and we got lost but just kept going down, everyone was tired and it was raining and I had slush in my boots. Also everyone was covered in charcoal because you have to climb over fallen trees and your hands turn black. Anyways we spent 13 hours on this hike because our group was slow and I am tired. SUMMARY: The trail is very hard to find and a GPS is recommended. Not a beginner level hike, definitely have some experience in the outdoors before hiking this mountain. The views are incredible at the top so it was worth it but be careful scrambling at the top.