The edges of Vesper Lake are covered in a thin veneer of ice, the kind that tilts onto its side like sheet of glass and sinks into the pond if you throw a pebble onto it. The heather is crispy and its stiff branches are emptied of all the small, bright pink and purple flowers that attract bees in the fading sun.

Summer is over, but winter has not yet taken hold in the South Fork Stillaguamish River Divide near Monte Cristo. There is plenty of daylight and good weather to squeeze in a backcountry traverse of Sperry and Vesper.

The traverse can be done in a long day by ambitious peak baggers, but to experience real solitude and exquisite autumn sunsets, make it an overnight. Due to the happy demise of the Monte Cristo road farther down the Mountain Loop Highway, this area, although unprotected, is deeper into wilderness than it was a hundred years ago when miners cut roads during the 1896 claim.

We started on a foggy afternoon from Sunrise Mine Trail in late September, eager to get another summit under our belts before the snow came. The trail crosses four creeks in the first half mile, trips over roots and rocks then shoots nearly straight up to gain Headlee Pass.

Miners who were apparently in a hurry - no time for a meandering railroad grade - kicked this trail to gain maximum elevation in minimum distance. It is 2.5 miles, or 2.5 hours, or 2,500 vertical feet to Headlee Pass. The final mile gains 1,200 feet in a 15-20 percent grade.

The upper trail cuts through an avalanche basin strewn with debris and then tops out at the pass, a thin strip of ridge bisecting the cliffs of Sperry and Morning Star. The views here are limited and worrisome. I don't feel like lingering with those cliffs groaning down on me, especially with broken rock and tree limbs scattered at my feet. The picturesque campsite waits ahead at Vesper Lake, another 300 feet up the hill.

Camp is a four-season tent perched at the edge of the lake in a tumble of gray-white granite boulders and sprigs of heather. The evening clouds obscure all views until just after dinner, when they silently lifted off Vesper Peak, lit from behind by the orange and pink setting sun. The asymmetrical peak shone with alpine glow, and by 9:30 p.m. all we could see were stars.

There is something about knowing your down sleeping bag is rated to minus 30 degrees that takes some of the chill off a late fall hike. Confident I will be warm - even hot - at night lets me put up with numb fingers and toes and all kinds of misery during the day.

But Sperry-Vesper doesn't present the misery typically found on Cascade scrambles. There are no willow thickets grabbing at your ankles and tipping you precariously on end as you squeeze over and under branches suspended above a frigid creek. There are no "steep heather benches," climbing code for an angle so steep you secretly long to rope up even though you're standing in shrubbery. There is one slippery log crossing and possibly some blow down through the avalanche debris, but in Cascade terms, this traverse is pleasant, bordering on gleeful.

The next morning we broke ice to get water for our oatmeal and coffee and, leaving the tents behind, were back on the trail by 7:30. The sun peeked over the cliffs as we skirted Vesper Lake and scrambled up the boulder field through forest and patches of heather. An hour later we were on the summit of Sperry Peak, a 6,000-foot precipitous rock pyramid with crashing headwalls on all but the southwest side.

Other than the way we came up, Sperry is a series of vertical cracks and deep gullies that offer steep and exposed climbing. The summit looks onto Morning Star and Del Campo, and Vesper is about a mile away to the southwest.

It's an odd feeling to reach your objective so early in the morning. It was 8:30 and, except for glacier climbs when you start in the wee hours of the morning, a time of day usually valued for making progress, not accomplishing your goal. We watched the fog roll through Headlee Pass and casually munched on gorp. Vesper Lake gleamed turquoise blue below and the morning sun lulled us into a mid-morning snooze. Ninety minutes later we felt like hiking again.

The traverse to Vesper follows the southwest crest back down to a saddle, which by this time was partially obscured by fog. The path would be clear, then it would disappear. We took sightings on the summit each time the curtain lifted and made good headway.

The scramble up the east ridge of Vesper is joyous - everything a scramble should be. The ridge drops a stunning thousand feet to both sides and the smooth granite slabs offer up perfectly placed hand and foot holds. At times I nearly danced across the rock slabs and outcroppings. It took only 90 minutes to reach our second summit before lunchtime, with only a few steep spots below the pinnacle.

The summit was cool and cloudy, typical weather for a fall hike at 6,200 feet. From our perch Copper Lake brooded darkly, tucked in to the north side of Vesper for the winter season. The fog moved through again, this time to stay. In fleece jackets and wool gloves we bounded back down the boulders to return to the tents in under an hour.

At Vesper Lake the sun came back on, enticing us to take in the views and take our time packing up. At 3:30 we shouldered the packs and scooted back down Sunrise Mine Trail, arriving to the car in two hours.

This was one of the more restful scrambles I've ever done. To do the trip in a day, give yourself four or five hours to reach the summit of Sperry, ninety minutes to the summit of Vesper, and three to four hours back to the car. But if you have the time, it makes the perfect weekend get away.

— Patricia Hughes, Livin' the Life for MountainZone.com