Labyrinth Mountain

Road to trailhead was snow-free so even though this peak is supposed to be a late-season trip. The first third of the route is very steep, and in the 80-degree heat, it was a tough one! We encountered snow around 5100' and a light breeze made the day more enjoyable and also kept the mosquitoes at bay. We were able to stay on the snow for most of the trip, except for the small ridge to the east of Minotaur Lake and on the SW summit ridge. There was some good rock for scrambling on this ridge which took us to the false summit and then on to the true summit. We enjoyed a leisurly lunch with incredible views in all directions. The perspective from this peak is different from most of the other scrambles we do, which made it more interesting. We witnessed a huge cloud of smoke to the southeast from a fire burning near Wenatchee. We decended via the south face over dirt and managed to get in a couple of short glissades before dropping down into the basin above Minotaur Lake. A very pleasant day! 5:35 total with about :50 at the summit. and many breaks for sweat removal and picture taking. It was 82 when we returned to our vehicles.