Hiking Breccia & Zi-iob Peak in the Glacier Peak Wilderness
Contents
Breccia & Zi-iob Peak Hike Information
Difficulty: Difficult
Distance: 21.70Km (13.50 Miles)
Elevation Gain: 1,715m (5,626 Ft.)
Highest Elevation: 1,977m (6,486 Ft.)
Average Gradient: 15.80%
Effort/Reward Ratio: High / High
Time Needed:
– Slow: 9 – 10 Hours
– Moderate: 7 – 9 Hours
– Fast: 6 – 7 Hours
Dogs Permitted?: Yes
Season: ~June to October
4×4 / High Clearance Required? No
Scrambling / Exposure: None
Breccia & Zi-iob Peak Trail
Trailhead Coordinates: 48°05’36.0″N 121°20’07.2″W
Breccia & Zi-iob Peak Overview
Breccia and Zi-iob Peak are a pair summits located on the southwest fringes of Glacier Peak Wilderness. Access to these peaks is usually via the Lost Creek Ridge trail off of Mountain Loop Highway, which is generally just a gravel road suitable for all vehicles. This is a modestly popular zone for day hikers and backpackers, with most parties visiting the nearby Round Lake or potentially traveling further afield to Lake Byrne. There aren’t any trails to either of these peaks, however they are not particularly difficult to self navigate to from the established trail network.
As usual in Washington, the majority of the climb follows an endless number of switchbacks in the forest up to Bingley Gap, before continuing along the trail, passing by the Round Lake turnoff and self navigating up to Breccia Peak via the smaller Sunup Lake below. From Breccia, most parties will drop down to a small tarn between the peaks before climbing up to Zi-iob on the other side. The route is mostly non-technical boulder hopping, with no scrambling or exposure involved.
Views from each summit and for much of the Lost Creek Ridge trail are very nice, although I didn’t get to see them all thanks to some stubborn clouds on the day I visited. On a clear day you will have excellent views of Glacier Peak, Mount Pugh, Sloan Peak, Black Mountain and plenty more.
Camping is permitted in the area, with plenty of backpackers stopping at Round Lake, and some continuing on to Lake Byrne. It’s not an easy ascent with a heavy backpack, so make sure to add time to the above estimates if you are backpacking.
Dogs are permitted in the Glacier Peak Wilderness.
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Are Breccia & Zi-iob Peak worthwhile?
The Lost Creek Ridge trail is a really nice hike, often filled with wildflowers and blueberries (depending on the time you go). Breccia and Zi-iob are fairly straightforward peaks to ascend from this trail network, and well worth the additional effort. While I didn’t get the full experience thanks to a somewhat cloudy day, I’m confident that the views from these summits are very nice and well worth the effort to get there.
How difficult is the hike to Breccia & Zi-iob Peak?
The stats on this hike are quite big, however thanks to the smooth Washington trail network you can expect this to be an easier outing than the stats might suggest. That’s not to say this is an easy trip, it’s just probably going to be easier than many other hikes of this size. The biggest challenge is the grind up to Bingley Gap, then on to the Round Lake junction. From then on the rest of the trip is quite pleasant, with plenty of views and mostly seamless travel.
Technically speaking there isn’t much challenge on this hike. The only difficulty might be self navigating to each of the peaks, notably the section between the peaks. You need to drop down off the ridge and aim towards a tarn between the peaks following the path of least resistance. It’s quite straightforward as you can generally see the route the whole time. There is no exposure or real scrambling anywhere along the route.
Breccia & Zi-iob Peak Route Information
As noted, parking for Breccia and Zi-iob Peak is from the Lost Creek Ridge trailhead off of Sloan Creek Road (itself off of Mountain Loop Highway). These roads are both just gravel roads and easy to travel for any vehicle. There is parking for a handful of cars at the trailhead, with plenty of room to park on the side of the gravel road for overflow.
From the trailhead you will easily locate the Lost Creek Ridge trail. The first few hundred meters are mostly gradual, so make the most of it as that is not the case for the majority. Shortly ahead the switchbacks begin and they don’t really stop until you reach Bingley Gap, a full 750m (2,460 Ft.) of elevation gain later, over the span of 5km (3.1 Miles). There is nothing to note about this section, just grind it out as fast as you can. There may be some downed trees to navigate along the way, and there were a couple of massive ones I had to crawl under when I went, but it’s mostly simple and very efficient.
From Bingley Gap, take a right turn and continue along the Lost Creek Ridge trail. The climbing isn’t over yet, as you continue along to the Round Lake junction, which is another 350m (1,150 Ft.) of gain along the trail. Along the way you will pass a sign saying you have entered the Glacier Peak Wilderness, not that this really changes anything.
Beyond the Round Lake junction the trail continues and the views start to open up. This is a lovely area filled with meadows, wildflowers, blueberries (in late summer) and generally open terrain. The views will now be quite nice towards Sloan Peak to the south. As you progress, keep an eye on your map as you’ll need to depart the maintained trail to head up to Sunup Lake below Breccia Peak.
There is a faint trail leading to the lake, which should be simple enough to follow. Most parties will take a break at the lake, and there is probably space for a couple of tents as well.
From the lake, you’ll now be self navigating to the ridge that connects to Breccia. Following the GPX works fine, but you may end up picking your own route. It’s just simple, albeit steep hiking through a mix of heather and dirt slopes. Once on the ridge, just follow it along towards Breccia Peak. The views from this peak are very nice, not that I saw any as it was a total whiteout for me. You’ll see Mount Pugh to the west, Sloan Peak to the south and Glacier Peak (behind Zi-iob) to the east.
Once finished on Breccia, you should see your general route to Zi-iob via the obvious tarn. Dropping off the eastern slopes of Breccia is steep but simple boulder hopping, then just continue along in the direction of the tarn. From the tarn the route to Zi-iob’s west ridge should be obvious. Once on the ridge, just ascend the path of least resistance, with no scrambling or exposure involved. The summit of Zi-iob is a bit more forested than Breccia but still offers excellent views.
Once finished on Zi-iob, you can head back down the ridge, then drop directly down to rejoin the Lost Creek Ridge trail. Now it’s just a matter of returning back to the trailhead via this trail, which should be easy to follow once you’re on it. The views along this exit route are a nice way to end the day, though once you’re back at the switchbacks you’ll be pleased to reach the car.
When should I hike Breccia & Zi-iob Peak?
Breccia and Zi-iob are best saved for peak summer, so ideally July to October or so. There is a lot of steep sidehilling on the Lost Creek ridge trail, so any snow will only make things unnecessarily challenging.
Top Tip
If you only care to do one of the peaks, Breccia offers the better views. If you prefer to do this as an overnight, you can camp at either Round Lake or Sunup Lake.
Feel free to do this loop counter clockwise if preferred, it works fine either way.
If you’re into trail running this is a good option for it, with the majority of the trail very runnable.
