Icicle Ridge

A few images from the hike can be found here: http://www.flickr.com/[…]/

We got to Leavenworth on Monday morning and were looking for a day-hike. Unfortunately the Ranger Station was closed (Labor day weekend) but a couple of hikers who knew the area recommended this hike. It's only a ten minutes drive or so from the center of Leavenworth to the TH which makes it very convenient to go back to town after your hike for some German beer and food ;-)

The trail itself is in very good shape, absolutely no problem at all. It's pretty steep in parts but there are hardly any rocks which probably makes it quite suitable for trail running (we saw a few runners there). It's pretty much switchback after switchback until the top. You're quite often exposed to the sun, so on a hot day like on Monday bring sunscreen and lots of water. You get pretty good views of Leavenworth and the valley pretty early on, the ones at the top are best though. Due to the steepness this is a good workout but if you drive a bit further into the cascades, there are far more spectacular hikes. This is good though if you are looking for something that is really close to Leavenworth.