I went on a Cascadian backpack Fri - Sun to the 6100' bench just west of Tooth Saddle. We hiked up the Beverly Turnpike trail to the Fourth Creek trail & climbed the hill to the County Line/Hardscrabble Creek trail which took us to our bench. There were a few blow-downs on the Hardscrabble Creek trail, but nothing we couldn't step over or walk around. After setting up camp we went in search of water. Crossing the Fourth Creek basin there were a number of small streams, but up here the streams we usually used were dry. We finally found a rivulet about 1/4 mile away with a little current & a few pools big enough to dip a pan into to fill the water bag. Thankfully it had clouded up some in the afternoon so we could wear a few more clothes to help keep the hoards of mosquitoes at bay. On Sat Eric, Jay, & Karen headed off for Navaho Peak, but this old man knew that this was more than he wanted to do, so me & Ethan (who stayed behind to keep an eye on the old man) headed up Bean Peak from Tooth Saddle. It was a clear sunny day & the views were magnificent. After spending an hour or so on top, we decided to try running the ridge out towards Earl Pk, but the down climbing turned out to be a little more strenuous that we expected & after making our way a little ways across the south side of the peak we decided to bag this idea. We climbed back over the peak & found a nice shady spot on the ridge & took a short nap, then headed down to the saddle & back to camp. The others arrived in camp about 5, after having had a very good day. The evening's entertainment arrived about 8:00 in the form of a military (MAST?) helipcopter and we watched fascinated for the next hour as it performed what we assume was a rescue high on the slopes of Mt Stuart. It actually lowed itself out of sight behind one of the spur ridges near the west ridge 3 or 4 times before finally flying off towards Wenatchee. Sunday dawned sunny & warm and rather than hang out with the mosquitoes, we had breakfast, packed up, & headed out about 9;45 and were back to the cars about noon. There were nice flowers, but the peak is definately past over here. The mosquitoes were thick, but the views were spectacular.

My mom, dad, and I set out on the first Tuesday in August from the Boulder-De Roux trailhead for a four day (3 night) backpacking trip through trails in the Teanaway area. The weather was absolutely gorgeous and the wildflowers were stunning...the most I have ever seen on a hike!

Day 1: We started hiking at 9:30 up boulder-de roux to Gallagher Head Lake, stopping to take pictures in the many meadows. From the lake (which had abundant shooting star blooms along with some mosquitoes) we followed the jeep track for 1-ish miles to the fortune cookie pass trailhead. NOTE: when the jeep track splits (not shown on green trails map) stay to the right, and then continue going downhill after crossing a small stream. After the pass, we took the trail to Lake Ann. Only a small traverse of snow was required, and it was soft and very maneagable. The Lake itself was beautiful, with awesome reflections, meadows, and views. A stream of 10 horses and riders arrived in the evening from the outfitter, but they did a wonderful job of maintaining the peaceful atmosphere :) Mosquitoes were present, but not too worrisome.

Day 2: Starting at 9:30 again, hiked out of Ann and turned left on the Esmerelda Basin trail. Lots more wildflowers, and a beautiful hike in lovely weather. About 1/2 mile from the parking lot, we turned left up trail toward Lake Ingalls (labeled Ingalls Way Trail). Took the hot and exposed trail up to the saddle, then continued over snow (once again soft and easy to follow) towards the lake. The lake is starting to thaw, but the basin is still full of snow. An ice bridge that had been used to circumnavigate the lake on the right broke under a man and his son (neither of whom were hurt) and is no longer safe to use. The left side of the lake basin could be crossed with care, but, not having ice axes and not feeling in the life-risking mood, we descended a ways and camped on some rocks below the lake. We encountered many mountain goats near the lake. At first they had us a bit nervous, but by the end of the night, we realized they were unafraid, but also not agressive. Mosquitoes were rather thick.

Day 3: Broke camp and hiking by 7:11. After a leisurely breakfast in Headlight Basin and many pictures of goats, we decided to hike down the basin to Ingalls Creek Trail. After crossing the river and scouting around a bit, we emerged into the Ingalls Creek Valley. It was STUNNING. Amazing views of Stuart and its meadowed slopes. Wildflowers were everywhere and some almost as tall as me. The trail was very brushy in places, but SO worth it. We hiked a few miles and turned right on the Fourth Creek Trail. We ascended through lovely meadows and forest and LOTS of mosquitoes to the saddle at 5600ft. where we camped. Mosquitoes, mosquitoes, mosquitoes. We ate dinner as we literally ran around camp trying to avoid the voracious bugs and jumped in the tent at 6:30.

*NOTE: If anyone hikes up Fourth Creek Trail, could you please check for my Vibram Five Finger shoes? From the Fourth Creek/Hardscrabble junction, go NW maybe 50-100 yds up a small rise. You may see where we cleared a tent area. The shoes are grey and green and sitting on a tree (probably 4ft. off the ground) 20-ish ft. South of the tent area. You can contact me at mikeesl@hotmail.com Thanks!............

Day 4: For our final day, we skipped breakfast to avoid mosquitoes and started hiking at 7:15. We continued down Fourth Creek Trail, turned Right on trail 1391, and then took a left on Iron Peak trail 1399. Really interesting terrain up to Iron Pass. Lots of green rock and shale. The view from the pass was wonderful (Mt. Rainier, Mt. Adams?, the tip of Mt. Stuart, etc. etc.) and the mosquitoes less voracious, so we made coffee and took a rest before the final descent to the North Fork Teanaway road and the walk back to the car.

I was so pleased with the hike! Wildflowers were everywhere (queen anne's lace, shooting starts, penstemon, lupine, wild rose, indian paintbrush, avalanche lillies, and many more), snow was very minimal, and the views were spectacular. The main difficulty were the mosquitoes, but I suppose they are the price you must pay for such glory.

Starting from the Ingall's Creek Convenience Center, with some of the most beautiful B&B style rooms anywhere, I pushed my pack up easy breezy Ingalls Creek about 10 1/2 miles to a nice camp at Fourth Creek, then zipped the rest of the way up to Stuart Pass, a sweet perch between handsome brown Ingalls Peak and rugged massive granitic Mt Stuart. After some poking around I capped off the day with a trip to Ingalls Lake, a rock rimmed beauty, stark and remote.

Day two began with a rock hop across Ingall Creek followed by a climb to the County Line trail atop Teanaway Ridge. A couple scenic miles of ridge running brought me after a false stop at a fake saddle (where I ate all my victory cookies) to Tooth Saddle and amazing views across the Ingalls valley at the full sweep of the Stuart Range. An amazing experience!