Nice to start this trip at 4800 (and never below 6600 except first/last part).
E fork of the buttermilk trail was in good shape for the most part. A short section ~4 miles in needs bushing and there are 2 big downed trees at about 5 miles (impassible for stock). Just before Hoodoo Pass there is a snowfield (not sure if this normally melts out but it won't this year). I made OK with just hiking poles but maybe it is about time I get an ice axe and learn how to use it.

The meadow below Mt. Bigelow is gorgeous. Water was plentiful for this whole trip. I heard some motorbikes to the south which was expected for labor day weekend, so I decided to head west back to the wilderness area. I camped in an open area next to the first creek crossing past Chipmunk Pass. I'm not sure how cold it got overnight but I was not freezing ( which I was prepared for).

The next day I decided to backtrack. Breakfast at Chipmunk Pass was great. At the camp below Boiling Lake, I found the first tracks of the motorbikes (legit). Heading south, the trail was in good shape though dusty. The wildflowers were best along this section. After 2.2 miles I took the trail to the east called "Angels Staircase" which goes up to 8000 feet. I passed a mtn. biker on the way up - not sure if that was legit as far as "no vehicles" but it was too steep/rocky for him to ride. As I crossed over the pass, I met a group of hikers coming down from 8321. They were encouraging to go to the summit but I was too tired to take a side trip. I took the steep descent to Merchants basin and then regained much of it to get to Sunrise Lake. I set up camp with no one else there. It was windy intermittently all night.

Luckily I got up in time for sunrise and the lake shone orange from the first rays of light hitting the west wall of the basin. Some maps (e.g., TOPO's USGS) show a trail going up from the basin of Sunrise Lake and over to Deadman's Pass. I found no such trail - it is not on Green Trails map. So, I backtracked up to the pass to Cooney Lakes for a nice breakfast. Then, we headed up to the 8000 foot pass and took the side trip to the top of 8321. The route is just east of the pass, over a small snowfield to get to the ridge. I stayed on the ridge all the way to the top but it would have been easier (and maybe my dog would've been able to make it too) if I had dropped down to the east when the ridge got too rocky for my dog to follow. I enjoyed a few minutes at the summit and then returned to where my dog was waiting for me.

The rest of the trip was retracing my steps back to the TH. I ran into a couple of couple of backpackers heading up the staircase and a solo backpacker later at the junction camp below Boiling Lake.

I momentarily lost the trail near the (horse) camp below Mt Bigelow but it was not hard to find it again on my way to Hoodoo Pass. Just before the pass, there was a large marmot on the trail who appeared to be looking to collect a toll (trail mix or something) but after seeing my dog he let us pass and disappeared quickly into the rocks. I made it down thru the snow patches at Hoodoo. Listening to tunes during the long relatively flat treed section along the east fork of the Buttermilk, I got back to the TH @6pm (14 miles on the last day).

Overall - highly recommended. Great views, good trails, few people, bugs weren't too bad (mostly just a few horse flies that would circle you in heat of the afternoon - annoying until killed).

3 days/2 nights
Total Miles ~34 / Total Elevation Gain 9700 / Avg. Camp Elevation 7000

With trip reports of the larches turning color I decided it was time to head for the Chelan-Sawtooth. I have not gone into the Sawtooth from Chelan via Grade Creek road. A couple of trip reports this year piqued my interest in trying that way. Tuesday Sept 28th I packed up 4 of my packgoats (Zermatt, Chelan, Chinook, and Hershey) and headed out. It was mid afternoon by the time we got to the South Navarre CG from Gig Harbor.

The Grade Creek road is a winding, gravel FS road, fairly decent in places, bumpy in others. It took me 2 hours 20 minutes to get from Chelan to the South Navarre CG. I was glad I had a pickup truck with good clearance. About 1 ½ miles past the junction for the Safety Harbor creek trailhead the road starts to get rutted and high in the center. This rutted section lasts for about 1 ½ miles. In places the rutting is on the outside, tipping the road to the outside; and the road is single lane, climbing pretty good across a steep hillside, with very few turnouts. Although this section of road is not fun, it’s not a problem with a high clearance vehicle. The biggest potential issue would be meeting an oncoming vehicle in a place without a turnout near.

When I got to the trailhead, I let the goats out to browse while I got gear ready. When I went to get Chelan, I think he decided he had been in the truck long enough and did not want to have anything to do with me…he just walked away, keeping well out of reach. So I got the other goats and tied them over by the truck. On the 4th try Chelan let me come up to him, give him a peanut, and reach for his collar. After I had all the goats packed up they followed me down the trail, although pausing to browse frequently. At first the trail traverses through a mix of meadow and scattered trees, many burned, then switchbacks down through mostly burned forest to the junction with the Safety Harbor Creek trail; losing 1100 ft in the process. From my GPS, it looks like the junction is a little lower down than it shows on my topo map. I found a place to camp about ¼ mile up the Safety Harbor Creek trail from the junction.

I had packed enough food for 10 days. That evening I started to think about what the weather might be like in 10 days. The South Navarre CG is at 6400 ft elevation. I knew the possibility of snow was real and the thought of driving down that bad section of road in the snow was not appealing. Rather than worry about it on the hike, I decided the next morning to hike back up to the South Navarre TH, drive down to the Safety Harbor creek trailhead which is at 4300 ft. and start over. The first 3 miles of the Safety Harbor creek follows an abandoned water pipe line so is a very gentle grade.

The trail then starts up Safety Harbor creek. It’s pretty good trail to the junction with the trail coming down from South Navarre. After that it climbs more, and is generally rocky and rutted from motorcycle use. The whole area around Safety Harbor Creek up into Miner’s basin is burned forest, although some trees did survive.

Wednesday evening I found a spot to camp in a small meadow just up the trail from the upper junction of the Uno Peak trail. That evening a guy came up the trail carrying a muzzle loader. He stopped and visited awhile then went on up the trail. When he came back down he reported seeing a bear sow with 3 cubs not far up the trail. Later his hunting partner came up. It turns out he’s a friend who also has pack goats. They were camped just a couple hundred yards down the trail. In the morning I untied the goats so they could browse, when I went to get them they were by a large larch a couple hundred feet from camp. As I approached them, I saw several large piles of bear scat…I’m glad we did not have visitors of the black furry kind!

Thursday we continued the climb to the ridge separating Miner’s Basin from Horsethief Basin…and stepped into a different landscape. While parts of Horsethief Basin forest had burned, most of the upper basin was meadow and golden larch. The trail traverses high around Horsethief Basin, going through a nice flat shelf area which would make a nice camp among the larch, but no water. We continued over Deadmans Pass, down through a nice larch forest into the meadows of East Prince Creek. We continued on to Angel’s Staircase, up, over and down to the area of the dry pond a couple hundred feet above Cooney Lake; and found a nice place to camp…more golden larch.


Friday morning we hiked down to Cooney Lake. The morning lighting was not the best time for pictures there, but it was beautiful. Then it was back up to camp, pack up, and head back up over the ridge to Merchants basin. We hiked down into Merchant’s basin then up to Sunrise Lake and had a nice lunch break. After lunch it was back down into Merchant’s Basin and part way back up to a nice camp spot. That evening the goats made me a little nervous. They decided that a nice place to browse was ½ way up the side of the valley…where it was steeper than I’d want to go.


Saturday we headed the rest of the way up Merchant’s basin trail and back over and down Angel’s Staircase. When we got down to the meadows and larch we headed north to the next ridgeline and then down to the Summit trail…a beautiful area. We followed the Summit trail about 1/3 mile north into a meadow area then headed x-country toward the saddle south of Boiling Lake…more meadow and larch. From Boiling Lake it was up a trail to the basin south of Hoodoo pass. I was initially planning to camp in that area Saturday night, but it was mid afternoon, so I decided to take the high route up over the ridge to the Dry Lake basin…where I found a nice camp spot. On part of this route above Chipmunk basin there is not much tread…I think the scree moves each year with the snow melt; erasing much of the tread.

Saturday evening / Sunday morning I had a decision to make. I had been planning to continue north, however, Saturday afternoon my back started hurting a little at times. I was two days from the trailhead, going further would make it three days, potentially an issue, if my back started to hurt more. And, I had not been able to get much sleep at night…little aches & pains seemed to keep me awake, so by Sunday morning I was also feeling quite tired and drained. It did not help that Sunday was cloudy; after 3 beautiful bluebird days with afternoon temps in the mid 70’s. I felt it was wiser to head back rather than continue.

The next two days hiking out were uneventful, although my back did remind me that it was not real happy a few times. At one point in the middle of the meadows approaching East Fork Prince Creek, I noticed a fairly new looking sign on a tree near the trail. As I recall, it pointed to Boiling Lake one direction and Safety Harbor Creek TH the other. I thought…what? Looking around more, I saw another sign hidden in the branches of another tree: “Trail not maintained”. I think it’s where the East Fork Prince Creek trail used to join the Summit trail, although I did not see any evidence of a trail heading down toward Prince Creek at all.

Great hike! I think I hit the larch season and weather perfectly.

Per usual, our annual backpacking trip was decided by NOAA weather which we anxiously consulted several time a day prior to leaving. East Cascades once again...what happened to dry septembers? It turned out the the Chelan Sawtooths are a lovely place to go in later september. Highlights included golden larches, fat marmots, no motorcycles, good trails and stunning views. Recommend this hike as a relaxing overnight or multiday exploration. We started late, per usual and got on the Foggy Dew Trail around 4pm. Trail in good condition, no dust due to recent rain. Up, up up, but in a fairly moderate grade. With dark rapidly approaching we were relieved to find the Merchant's Basin camp under the canopy of subapline fir, White pine, and Englemann Spruce with the stream nearby. Woke to blue skies and dramatic basin view...not in Seattle anymore! The hike up to Sunrise lake was set in a magical allee of golden larches framed with a azure blue sky. We dropped packs and explored the 'secret trail (wolfwoman 8/19/10) leading up the west side of the cirque. Amazing views to the west and south. Spent the second night at Sunrise Lake amongst the larches.The best campsites are off the lake and up the east shoulder. Strong winds and rain arrived in the night and we decided to packup after dayhiking from Merchant's Basin up to the pass to look down at Cooper Lake and surrounding options. Saw a couple locals on horseback and a group of polite mtn bikers. Arrived back in the trailhead at dark, again. Eagle Lakes and Cooper Lake look like other interesting options to explore in the area.

Excellent views, great fishing, clean campsites.
Different trails in this area have unique multi-use rules.
Some allow bikes, and some allow motorbikes as well.
Check with your local USFS Ranger Station for complete regulations for all the trails in this area.

I did a volunteer backcountry ranger patrol of this area. The trails are in very good condition. The fish are very easy to catch. If we all apply the concept of hauling out whatever we bring into this area, this place will remain healthy and beautiful, and it would make my job much easier. If we bring glass, cans, tin foil, etc., we can't just leave it in the fire pit. Pack it out. Make sure to dig a proper hole to bury your 'number 2' waste; we're lucky we aren't required to blue-bag it out, as is required in many other areas I've explored. There's so many things that a backcountry ranger can be doing beyond cleaning up trash from lazy campers, and the USFS doesn't have an unlimited budget by any stretch of the imagination...