A very reasonable alternative to contouring around the west side of North Peak is to just forge straight ahead where the trail leads west and stay as much as possible on the ridge leading to the summit of North Peak. I would recommend a rest here and then drop down to Wolf Pass and continue with a summit push. In my opinion, bagging North Peak via its ridges is just as easy as contouring around on a trail which slopes toward the west more often than you would want. Just my opinion, but I've done both routes.