Larch Lakes #1430,Cow Creek Meadows #1404,Garland Peak #1408,Entiat River #1400
Jul 04, 2008
- Type of Outing
- Day hike
- Read More in our Hiking Guide
- Hike: Larch Lake
- Region: Central Cascades -- Entiat Mountains
- Agency: Okanogan-Wenatchee Natiomal Forest, Wenatchee River Ranger District, Leavenworth
- Trails: Larch Lakes (#1430)
- Avg Rating: 3.50
- Read More in our Hiking Guide
- Hike: Garland Peak
- Region: Central Cascades
- Agency: Okanogan-Wenatchee National Forest, Wenatchee River Ranger District, Leavenworth
- Trails: Garland Peak (#1408)
- Avg Rating: 3.00
- Read More in our Hiking Guide
- Hike: Entiat River
- Region: Central Cascades
- Trails: Entiat River (#1400)
- Avg Rating: 4.00
- Be Aware Of
- Snow on trail
Left the trailhead near cottonwood cg at 1:30 on the 4th and headed up trail 1400 without a specific plan in mind. Decided to check out the crossing of snowbrushy creek and decide whether to go on or turn around. The trail is moderate and in excellent condition all the way. The crossing at snowbrushy may have been feasible but with our canine companion we decided not to risk it. Also weren't sure what other crossings we might encounter further up the river.
Turned around and headed back toward Myrtle. The ford across the Entiat is not passable for anyone, man or beast. The river is roaring there. Back to the bridge we went (lovely bridge btw) and headed toward Myrtle, but decided not to camp there even though there was a nice spot at the south end of the lake right by the trail. Instead we continued on to Cow Creek Meadows. Lots of elevation, a bit of a tedious grunt through dense trees, and one more stream crossing before the meadows which we managed to do on a log, but would have been faster to remove the shoes and cross in sandals. Cow Creek was spectacular despite a chilly wind. On a hot day the crystal pools would have summoned us. Camped at Cow Creek Meadows.
Next day continued up trail 1404 with Larch Lakes as our destination, which gains a lot of elevation but affords some stunning views of Cow Creek from above. Hit a lot of snow before the fork with 1408. Had some difficult route finding before reaching the T. Will probably be a month before this trail melts out. After the T we had more route finding problems and some steep snow crossings, but the snow was pretty soft. Took several hours to cover the few miles to upper Larch Lake. One other party at upper Larch, so we got the site that was left on the north shore (south shore still in snow), which was still soggy, but not bad. The skies were cloudy and we got a few sprinkles, so we saved the hike up to Pomas Pass for the next day.
July 6 was crystal clear and stunning. Packed up and did a quick day hike up to Pomas Pass, which is spectacular. Very little snow left--nothing difficult. Beautiful views of the Entiat Mtns. from this trail.
Came back, donned the packs and headed out along trail 1404, which was in fantastic shape all the way. In passing the lower lake it looked like there were a few nice campsites but the views are not as good as from upper. We had one log crossing along 1430.1 and one where we opted for sandals as the log was high above the water. Stopped at Myrtle for a quick dip (surprisingly warmer than expected) and got back to the car by 4:00. Mosquitoes were of course present but nothing out of the ordinary. The hike back along the river seemed long...
All in all, a beautiful loop, but I would definitely wait a few weeks before approaching Larch Lakes from the south--a lot of north-facing slopes to contend with in this high-snow season.
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