Mount Daniel is the highest peak between Interstate 90 and U.S. Highway 2 on the Cascade Crest. It's a sprawling mass of high ridges and bowls and is most noticeable by its broad bulk. It lies too far to the east to be seen from Seattle, even though it is the highest point in King County. Coincidentally, given the error range in Daniel's elevation, it could be exactly the same height as Mount Olympus, the apex of the mountain mass to the west of Seattle.
Strong scramblers can climb Mount Daniel in a day from the end of the Salmon Le Sac Road. The standard route uses a trail to Peggy's Pond, then scrambles up and over ridges and snowy bowls to the various summit pinnacles. There are active glaciers on the north face of the peak, but the standard route avoids them by climbing the southeast ridge or the Hyas Creek snowfield. |
