Trip Reports

After leaving the clouds and mist in Seattle on this Friday morning, we found spectacular hiking and great views with terrific weather. Lots of wildflowers blooming along the trail and only a few other folks. The trail was mostly clear of snow until we reached the Katwalk (5400 feet) itself, when the trail becomes much more difficult to navigate without earlier footsteps to follow. If you go beyond this point, ice axes and gaitors may be a good idea. We turned back here and made the entire trip in just over six hours, which included a half hour for lunch.

Now if you make like you're headed to Peek-a-Boo Lake - driving FR #2080 off the Mountain Loop Highway just south Darrington) - you'll get to the intersection of 2080 and 2086. Peek-a-boo Lake is up 2086, but there is an intriguing sign at the junction promising that Falls Creek is only 3 miles straight ahead on 2080. Falls Creek wasn't described in any of the entries in my mobile hiking library so I decided to check it out. The road is in good shape and ends in exactly 3.1 miles. There I found a fire ring, trash, beer cans, bullet shells, a gun target nailed to a piece of plywood and lots of toilet paper - the usual stuff. I cleared the shooting range and found a path through the weeds behind it leading to a very old bridge across Falls Creek. The trail continued on, very faint and overgrown, following an old road. I had no ideal at the time were it was going so I resolved to follow it for 45 minutes or until my legs were numb from nettle stings. The road passes through second growth with hemlock just starting to take over from the alder. After about a mile of walking I had enough of the nettles and turned back

Once in the safety of my own home I checked my Darrington District brown-line map and found Falls Creek heads up to Pass Lake. I doubt anyone has through hiked this trail for quite some time, but it might be a good route for hunters. If anyone has been on this trail from the Pass Lake end or has walked the whole length of it I'd like to hear about it.

Beaver Lake is one of those trailheads that serious hikers scream past in their SUVs while on the way to ""real"" trailheads. I assume its heaviest use is from people staying at the White Chuck campground. But I've got to tell you this is really a neat little trail. The trail leads to a collection of beaver ponds filled by the waters of the Sauk. In the heart of the ponds is a newly re-constructed bridge that passes over the stagnant pools. It's really quite a neat area and reminded me of my trip to the Amazon jungle several years back. The pools are filled with nurse logs that have become long thin islands.

The trail used to continue on and reconnect with the main road after 1½ miles but the Sauk has reclaimed the trail at about 1 mile. Were the trail ends I climbed the slopes above the washout to sit in a shady grove of old-growth redcedar and enjoy the view of the Sauk below and Mount Forgotten and Bedal Peak to the south.

The trail's been brushed and lopped this year leaving behind a very nice, wide trail corridor (though there are a few big nettles still reaching into the trail). There's also a little mud, but not much. I imagine the beaver ponds can be quite buggy at the wrong time of year, but today there wasn't a single bug around.

Since I've been homebound waiting for the birth of Dslayer Jr.-about the only outings I've been on are the Skyline Trail--but I've been going about every day for a week or more. You can reach either of the two Southern trailheads by taking Wenas Road out of Selah for about 5 miles, continuing north on Gibson Road when Wenas goes west, then taking a right onto Buffalo Road. You'll take a 90 degree right and one of the entrances onto L.T. Murray is right there. That road, it's green dotted, will take you take about 1.5 miles to a trailhead that'll take you about a mile or so to the top of the Ridge and intersect the Skyline. If you want more of the Trail and more of a workout--continue past the L.T. Murray entrance and head on down the road, following it another two miles or so to the clearly marked Skyline Trail T-head.

Anyway, I like cutting up through the canyon off the road that I mentioned because it gets to the top a little quicker and then I can go either way along the rim from there. I really like desert country, I cut my outdoor eyeteeth on many hiking/fishing/hunting trips into the L.T. Murray and I'm a little miffed at myself for not having much use of the area since I've moved back within site of it 5 years ago-I live only 3 miles from the trialhead I mentioned. This is a beautiful 'live' desert country, and since they've closed roads and limited hunting with permit only hunting for deer and the 3 pt. restrictions for elk--there's a lot of big game out there-particularly deer-I've seen two big bucks (they're together) every time I've been up there, plus numerous smaller bucks and doe. Lots of birds as well. When you cut the Skyline Trail and head N, almost immediately you'll see an old road-no longer used-I like it better than the Trail which mostly hangs on the Yakima River side because I like checking the country back to the west. That old road will eventually intersect and become the Skyline Trail after you've gone about the 'nose' of S. Umptanum ridge-overlooking the River and are on the Payatoo Canyon (this is the colloquial name-it goes by something else on DNR maps) the side of the ridge. If you go to the top of the ridge, rather than follow the trail, you can see Rainier, Adams, the tip of Hood, Goat Rocks, Mt. Curtis Gilbert, Coal Creek Mtns, Fife's Peak, Mt. Stuart. The north facing slope is covering with grass-still very green-lots of flowers, too, for the flower lovers which I'm not, but I sure like the colors and their tenacity to live and bloom in such a dry clime. Once you go around the ridge and into the Payatoo-you're in about as much of a wilderness as you can find anywhere-the road into the bottom is closed. The Trail crosses the bottom then heads up North Umptanum ridge.

This place is cool-take water, there's springs along the way but nothing that you'd want to drink. Watch for snakes near springs--I killed a big rattler the other day and the Umptanum area is famous for it's numbers of snakes--I've heard that along the Umptanum canyon has either the highest or second highest density of rattlers in the world-though I'd hate to have to remember where I came up with that stat. But I do know from 'back in the day' when I was young and stupid and actually would catch rattlers barehanded that there's a lot of them out there.

Spent 6 great days on Coleman Ridge trail 505 up to Four Point Lake. Trail was logged out on 6/21, met trail crew near Meadow Lake. Only dicey spot was where the trail leaves Coleman Ridge and countours around the headwall at upper Four Point Creek - about 1 1/2 mies from trail to the lake. There were 4 snow chutes over the trail, one closest to lake was simple the other three would be dicey if the snow was hard. It wasn't when we crossed so made it across by kicking footholds in the snow. Would intimidate casual hikers, so best bet for the next 10 days or so would be to come up from the Chewuch and go out Coleman if the snow is gone.

Otherwise great time, we were entertained by one particularly gregarious grouse at the spring on Coleman Ridge and sat through 3 inch snowfall while at the lake. Came out 6/26.

Trail is clear up to Snowgrass Flat, where solid snow is encountered. A little early for many flowers. Give it a month or so. Five or six blowdowns, none difficult. Roads are in nice shape.

Went up for the night to celebrate!

The day was sunny and hot making for some great hiking and views from the Lookout. A leisurely but constant 2.3 hours up with 20 minutes for lunch at the ""saddle"". Several groups on the trail going both directions. ~15 hikers stopped at the top between 3:30 and 7:30 before heading out to leave us all alone :-). After an amazing 45 minute ""juste-les-deux"" sunset over the San Juans and Victoria BC the wind picked up and the clouds enveloped the summit. Slept in the way-cool dry lookout (thx for fixing it up Everett Mountaineers!). The winds were strong overnight with a little rain mixed in. The morning was socked in with visibility about 200-300 foot so no sunrise :-( A fast but cautious 1.5 hours down with many breaks to strip a successive layer.

...and now the actual trail report: - Lower trail dry due to lack of rain then muddy and running due to overnight rain. - Creek crossing easy both ways. - Snow starts at 4000ft and continues to the summit ('suggest use of sno-sealed boots and gaitors). - lots of off-trail ""maybe this way is faster"" tracks up the hill (suggest sticking to the trail to avoid backtracking or slippery rock scaling). - lots of potential post-holing (everywhere - avoid femur/knee sacrifices with simple caution) - post-""saddle the trail markers are not geat - easy to take a less ideal route but most tracks probably get you to the top. - the lookout is clean and dry and spectacular(!) - stay the night if you can lookout love nest is 1st come 1st served (we brought a good wind/snow tent just in case and you should too if you plan to overnight) - sit on the big warm rocks for at least an hour or two to really appreciate how great the views are (and look north or east to pick your next peak conquest). - hiking down after light rain was more difficult as the snow was slipperier, the post-holing more frequent, and there wasn't a summit ahead to inspire. - trail-finding downhill was not as easy due to fog and multiple tracks all of which looked reasonable (we guessed wrong and had to scramble/traverse a couple of times to get back on track) - trail after rain and subject to fresh run-off was a lot muddier but never a problem.

Si's ok for a workout, Camp Muir's fun for the immense mountain views, Dickerman's a blast for the sense of accomplishment and the pay-off glissading, but Mt. Pilchuck is now one of our more memorable hikes due to the timing, the great sunset, the overnight in the lookout, and my hiking parner (thx Dew-Drops!).

We started hiking at 9:00 am, weather was clear and pleasantly warm. First time hiking this trail for me, although my two partners had each done it several times before. I'm over 50 years old so I was a little apprehensive because I'd heard this was a steep and strenuous hike. Trail starts out very steep, requiring hand holds on almost every step. However it was easy to follow and we made steady progress through the wooded portion. After leaving the woods we continued up on a scree slope until we met snow. At the snow we stopped for a break, put on our gaiters and got out the ice axes. Starting out again we saw several faint tracks in the snow. Some tracks went straight up and others veered over to our right. We chose to follow the tracks going straight up and through a naroow rock gap. After the gap we were again on steep soft snow. Even with the ice axes and kick stepping we had difficultiy not slipping (each of us having to self arrest one time). We then followed the snow field to the ridge top. Beautiful views of the interior Olympics with Mt. Olympus standing out clearly. At the ridge the trail leads to the summit via a rock scramble. Some exposure but lots of hand and foot holds and one small patch of snow just below the summit (which we avoided). We reached the summit at 12:30 pm. View from the top is spetacular! Accross the ridge we had a clear view of Ellinor's summit which appeared emty (as was ours, we didn't see anyone else all day). We ate lunch, took some pictures and stayed on top for about a half hour before heading down. The trip down requires almost as much effort as the climb up. We reached our car at 3:30 pm, taking us about 2 1/2 hours to descend. Great day!

There are a few scattered snow patches on the first part of the trail, the largest near the trailhead. Once on the south-facing slope of Tonga ridge there is no snow on the trail. The flowers are coming up nicely, but few blooms yet. In two weeks there should be plenty of blooming flowers. The trail to Mt Sawyer heads up hill to your left and behind you as you head towards Sawyer pass and after you get your first good view of the relativly bare slope of Mt Sawyer. It is steep in the first hundred yards or so but then becomes a well-graded trail. If you do not make it up Mt Sawyer you are missing a lot. Lots of snow on the north slope of Mt Sawyer but hardly any on the south slope.

Overall the trail was in good shape.There is fresh blow down within the first 3/4 of a mile and its a big deadfall you can't just step over it. No snow on the trail until about 3 miles and it does cover the trail pretty good, no one has gone past the snow yet. Another week or two and it should be gone.What views there was were awesome. And I was all by myself the whole time. Very few bugs also.

Was skeptical at first to hike this trail since it is used by horses. But to my surprise it was in great shape. Nice soft sand made for easy downhill cruising. Except for a few horse turds, the trail was in excellent shape. A little snow and a couple of blowdowns on the way up, but nothing to get excited about. A nice breeze picked up towards the top, felt really good on a hot day. Really dry, so take lots of water. There is a lake 1.5 miles from the peak, if you did run out of water. The views are outstanding. Rainier,Adams,St. Helens,Goat Rocks and many more to the north. Another glorious Pacific Northwest day..................

Trail is snowfree from the trailhead all the way to the summit of mt. Buckhorn. All campsites are snowfree as well. Steep snow blocks the way to home lake less than half a mile from marmot pass. The snowfield doesn't look like it's going away anytime soon. I didn't make it all the way to the mine, but I went up and over mt. buckhorn to meet up with the tubal cain trail at buckhorn pass. Taking the tubal cain back to marmot pass was very pretty (although the highland route over mt. buckhorn offers better views), however beware of one tiny but exceedingly steep patch of snow. It passes through some three small tress 20-30 feet below the which I used as hand holds to cross the snow. Looks like that patch won't be there for long though.

For those who haven't been up in this area before, mt. Buckhorn is the highest and easiest non-technical hike I've ever done. The summit is at 6900 feet if I remember correctly, and for most shouldn't require the use of hands anywhere. The summit has views from deep within vancouver island all the way down to adams, not to mention every major western cascade peak in between, a huge panorama of the olympics (impressive views of mt. Constance). If you're camping bring a flashlight to the top to watch the volcanoes (and increasingly, the smog) turn pink and the lights of the city turn on. If you bring binoculars to I'm pretty sure you'd be able to pick out most of downtown's skyscrapers one by one. The space needle was easy to pick out with the naked eye though. I really can't recommend this hike enough, the big quilcene river is goregeous this time of year and the rhodies are blooming. GO NOW.

This is a very pretty hike- good trail and outstanding views!! We found snow at 4400 feet but pretty much on top of the ridge by then so easy to handle. We don't know why we had not done this one before!

On a last minute whim, two of us took the water taxi up Ross Lake and got dropped off at Lightening Creek Campground, the nearest camping to the Desolation Peak trailhead. We camped there (very impressive new bear boxes, and nobody else there) and in the morning got started hiking by 7:45. From Lightening Creek, it’s 2.1 miles north up the East Bank Trail before hitting the Desolation Peak trail. Then, it’s 4.7 miles and 4300 feet up to the lookout, elevation just over 6,000 feet. The lookout was locked but we could look in through the door. Fantastic views, down to the lake, across to the Picket Range and Mt. Redoubt, north to Hozameen Mtn. and Canada, and south to Jack Mtn. The trail was well graded, shadier than we expected (sunny at the top) and virtually snow free already. Nobody else in sight. Not much water on this trail and we went though more than 2 quarts each, I recommend carrying a filter so you can re-fill at the one or two little springs on the way. We got back to camp around 6:00, after 13.6 miles and 4400 feet up and down, and the next day by pre-arrangement the boat came and picked us up mid-day. A great early season option for a long day hike to high elevation, and scenic low elevation camping.

Snow level at 4400 feet. Easy to get to a good view of Glacier, Rainier, Sloan Peak, Keyes, etc., at 4700 feet. A must do if you have not already! Good trail overall.

Hiked from Third Beach to Toleak Pt. and back. Overland trails were in great shape with a few mud holes here and there. Uncrowded during the week, but weekend are most likely very crowded. Cliff ladders are also still in fairly good shape. Freshwater is plentiful all along the route, including Toleak Pt. Chances of seeing multiple Bald Eagles on this trip are 100%. Be sure to bring your camera to capture the eagles, and awsome sunsets.

Today I grabbed Michael Fagin, of Washington Online Weather fame, and we headed over Chinook Pass to enjoy the stunning clear day with views galore atop American Ridge. Note--summer of 2001 is a repeat of the potential for long delays getting over Chinook Pass as they yet again continue another year of rebuilding the roadway up there. Fifteen minute wait going over, two minutes coming home, so not too bad due to low traffic volumes.

The first idea of parking at Crow Lake's trailhead to go up trail 958.2 was quickly dashed since, as expected, you won't find any bridges to get over the American River. It was crossable, but will be so much easier in another month that we just didn't feel it was worth the trouble. We then noted that the trail up to Goat Peak via 958.3 at Hells Crossing campground was on the DRY side of the river, so buzzed down there and began. The trail is steep, but in very good shape, and to be honest I didn't notice so much that we climbed 2600' in 2.8 miles. We were excited to see just how many open, rocky ridge areas the trail followed enroute to American Ridge, which offered outstanding views across the Pleasant Valley at Fifes Peak and Fifes Ridge, all bare of southern-slope snow. Wow! While never hiking in snow, we did see one lonely patch of snow left on the north side if American Ridge at 5900' right before the trail junction. Amazing. Views from American Ridge went everywhere: Fifes Peak, Mount Daniel, Mount Hinman, Stuart Range, Mount Aix, Nelson Ridge, Bismark Peak. Oh, Mount Rainier and Adams too.

While the trail was not a spectacular flower show, the rocky areas up on the ridge were very abundant in flora: two species of phlox, small flowered penstemon, desert parsley, death camas was everywhere. Many species of sedum were coming into their prime. Lower species included abundant vanilla leaf, lupine, penstemons, and a few calypso orchids to complete the show. Just as I noted a very huge, neat silver snag on a rocky slope half way up the ridge, we witnessed a Northern Flicker come zooming to it, work up the trunk 5 feet, and was by a hole on it. Sure enough, it went in, was wiggling around as it fed its young, and then disappeared deep into the nest area, secure from our presense. Double-Wow! A stunning hike that I'll surely do again, especially in fall with the western larch that is abundant in two groves around 4500' and 5200' are blazing yellow.

I think this is the old sand creek-little camas trail. It was hitting 100 degrees in Cashmere and as of June 15th the Mission Creek motorcyclerama was open. From the Sand Creek-Red Hill trailhead cross the footbridge and immediately turn onto the gravel road. At a little over 1 mile leave the road at a sharp bend and follow a distinct trail along Little Camas Creek. The trail mostly stays in the trees alongside the creek, there is a huge ravine that is impassable to motorcycles (actually 2 of them, but if you cannot get by the first...) At the three mile mark you pop out by some interesting rock formations over looking the entire drainage, a good spot for a break. At around 4.5 miles the trail gets very brushy for 100 yards just before it reaches what must be Road 7200, Camas Meadows, off Hwy. 97. There was a very nice mix of East. Wa. wildflowers, with tiger lily just coming on. It was at least 15 degrees cooler along this hike and I had the entire place to my self in an otherwise heavy multi-use area.

Took the day off to enjoy the incredible weather with a mid-week hike, and decided to head up to Gothic Basin, where we had not been for several years. After parking at Barlow Pass, we proceeded on the old Monte Cristo road for a mile, which is a nice chance to stretch the legs and limber up for the big uphill climb to come. Just before a bridge, the Weden Creek trail starts off to the right. This trail was very pleasant initially, undulating along through marsh and old forest, and following the creek a ways. Just after crossing the creek on concrete posts, the trail starts to head up in earnest, through the forest via swithbacks, and what looks like it may have been a rocky old ore cart path, at times quite steeply.

Near tree line, the first 2 gully crossings of the creeks are snow free, but the third still contains a dangerously thin snow bridge, which can be circumvented by crossing downstream a bit. The snow patches grow in size and frequency from there on in, and after King Kong's Shower there is still quite a bit of snow on the trail. We soon were following the early summer route, and climbed straight up through the snow to the ridge. The snow was nice and soft, so crampons weren't needed, but an ice axe was definitely a necessity.

We finally topped out in the Basin toward the upper end of Foggy Lake, much closer to Del Campo Peak than the normal trail route's entry into the basin. It is still a winter wonderland up there - the lake is only slightly melted out by the shore, with blue glacier water showing in a few places. Everything else is snowbound, and there was evidence of only a few other people up there this summer - a set of 3 snowshoe tracks heading around the lake and up to Gothic Peak.

We glissaded back down to near the Shower, and enjoyed a quiet hike back out -- somehow, it wasnt as long or as bad on the knees as I had remembered it to be.

A beautiful day for hiking in solitude - we saw only one other person all day! This midweek hiking is great!

Trail was in pretty good shape to the snow, only a few blowdowns. Bugs werent bad, except for some nasty no-see-ums up near snowline.

There are some benefits to a low snow year. This trail has views of Mts Baker and Shuksan that can't be beat and it's completely snow-free until the very top. The flip side is that it's one of the steepest trails you'll ever find. The total mileage according to the Green Trails Map (Mt Shuksan quad) is 2.5 miles--the first part (maybe 3/4 of a mile to a mile) is on an abandoned logging road then the trail takes off uphill. It's only like a miles and a half from there to the top but the trail gains 2400 feet! There are 64 switchbacks. The trail is in great shape, though, with only one serious blowdown. I found it odd that this trail had received so much maintenance when no pass is required to park at the trailhead. At the summit of the pass the trail runs into a snowfield and from that point every direction but behind you is totally snow-covered. If you climb up a little farther the views are much better.

Getting there: Take Mt Baker HWY east past milepost 45 and look for a very small road on the left, it's marked 3060. If you pass the Shuksan DOT facility you went a little too far. The trail parking is at the end of the little road, which is about 1 mile long. The road is fine although it looks a little rough. If my car made it without scratching the bottom any car could.

As a detour of our normal after work Mt. SI run on Wednesdays we decided to go for Granite Mt just a few exits up from North Bend (exit 47). The stats are very similar to SI, however this hike took a lot longer and seamed steeper. The trail is in good condition and there are only a few patches of snow at the very top by the lookout. Due to the dry winter there is no more good snow and no need for ice axes or special snow provisions. Views from the top include Mt. Stewart, Glacier Peak and possibly Mt. Adams in the far distance. If you’re looking for a good alternative to SI as a training hike, this is worth trying. Also, there are some very attractive loop hikes off this trail head.

I was going to run up Pilchuck for some exercise, but after driving the first mile on the ungraded Pilchuck road, i determined that it was not fit for a lunar rover, so i drove back and onward for more accessible hiking. Perry Creek was an awesome choice; this is just the perfect time of year for it. The waterfalls are just going nuts right now. Snow begins about a half mile from the meadows and is still quite deep on top. The views were absolutely amazing of Baker, Glacier, Big Four, etc etc. I briefly considered going on toward the Forgotten summit but since i was only prepared for Pilchuck i wisely turned back! Ran into only two others at the meadows. We were suprised to see ski tracks way up on a snowfield--heli-skiing perhaps' This was definitely a top-ten summer day.

Even though this good weather begs me to hike at high elevation, I decided to hike the north end of the Tiger Mtn Trail this evening. The plan was to hike up to Tiger 2 and then onto Tiger 3 via the TMT starting just up the trail from the High Point parking lot. The trail was in excellent shape, although I would not want to hike this when the brush is wet. The trail crossed many different vegetation types and we enjoyed the variety of forests - constant change. Almost to the top of Tiger 2 we encounterd two hikers that commented we were the 1st hikers they had seen the entire day. They were hiking the entire length of the TMT. Once on top of Tiger 3, there were the usual crowds. If you chose to hike this round trip like we did, allow time to enjoy your surroundings. Round trip was about 8 miles and about 2500' elevation gain.

After a some unplanned forest service road sightseeing we finally found the trailhead to Kelley Butte. We are very grateful to the people who tied a cable up the hill, it made our ascent and descent much easier. That having been said, the first 50 yards or so was pretty precarious, slippery scree and very fine dirt. After overcoming that hurdle it was one switchback after another up the side of the Butte. But then came the beautiful cool meadows with flowers in full bloom, the phlox was magnificent! And did I mention the mountain' She followed us all the way up to the lookout!! Glorious. The lookout has been pretty well trashed but we were able to lay out on the decking and gaze in wonder and delight at the mountain. We found the trail to be very easy to follow, it was just finding the trailhead!

The trail is snow-free and the lake is snow-free. No bugs out yet, but we all know they're coming. No trees across trail - those that were have been recently logged out. Big tree fallen across main campsite on the south side of the lake. Sky clear and temperatures warm. Canadian dogwood, trillium, yellow violets, bleeding heart, salmonberry flowers and false Solomon's seal were seen. Also a vicious attack squirrel was observed.

I did this short but steep hike on a beautiful sunny day. Looking up at the beginning of the trail, one looks at the steep hillside going straight up and wonders if the trail really goes all the way up. The answer is yes, it does, almost. After lots of stairs (which I've never liked -- unnatural and tiring) and roots, the trail contours around the side on the right near the top rather suddenly. It is then only a very short way to Little Greider Lake, and then another short 1/2 mile to Big Greider Lake. The trail and surroundings are completely snow free, and there are cool campsites (although I didn't camp) with campfire pits with convenient iron grates for cooking. Right before Big Greider lake, a trail goes off on the right, signed ""Greider Mtn Vista"" (I think). I started to go up the trail, which promised great views, but the trail became increasingly overgrown with brush. It goes up a steep hillside without trees but with LOTS of thick and high bushes. I do NOT recommend trying this trail without the proper equipment and protection for the legs. It passes over a couple of rockslides where it is easy to lose the trail. The trail isn't too bad to the first rockslide, which has a very good view down to Little Greider Lake and the mountains on the far side of the Sultan Basin. But I kept going, got my legs scratched up, and gave up at another rockslide. I hope a maintenance crew gets out there soon and repairs the trail. If the trail is being abandoned, the sign should be removed, because it seems to me to be potentially dangerous, at the very least a waste of time. I'll happily go back when the trail is fixed. Of course, it is definitely worth it just for the lakes, which are gorgeous.

A great weather forecast prompted a trip to Constance Pass and the high country near Mount Mystery. I got started by 5:20 AM and proceeded up the Dosewallips trail 2.5 miles to the Constance Pass junction, then turned right for the start of the 4300 foot vertical climb ahead. The ascent to Sunny Brook Meadows was pleasant in the cool morning shadows accented by rhododendron blooms. The trail was in great shape, and just about all of the snow is melted at the meadows. Two short but steep snow slopes without run-out were encountered on the way to the ridge top. The snow was quite icy and would be dangerous to cross without an ice axe.

The view was awesome at the ridge top, with Mt Constance, Warrier, Little Mystery, and Mt Mystery dominating the vista. Rather than proceeding east (and down) to Constance Pass, I walked the snow-free open ridge west to the cliffs of Peak 6666. It looked possible to descend north to upper Heather Creek, so I dropped about 1000 vertical feet to a beautiful basin, then contoured west and ascended snow slopes back to the ridge top west of Peak 6666. Travel west was then easy on the partially snow covered ridge for about 1/2 mile until cliffs block the way.

Gunsight Pass between Mt Mystery and Little Mystery is clearly visible from this vantagepoint, so I made a contouring descent along steep talus and shale to the basin below the pass. An ice axe is necessary on this traverse due to snow filled gullies. The 500 foot ascent to the pass was easy on snow and shale. The feeling here is definitely claustrophobic, as if you could touch the walls of Mt Mystery and Little Mystery with both hands. The view northwest through the “gunsight” is dominated by the gray cliffs of Mt Deception.

I looked down into the brush filled depths of Deception Creek with some trepidation. But it was all down hill from here on I thought. The initial descent was easy on snow and avalanche scoured meadow until I was forced into the woods by a massive slide alder patch. Travel was a little more difficult to Deception Creek where I crossed to the north side. Some flagging was encountered following the creek out, but I never found any sort of climber’s path. The best strategy was to stay a couple hundred feet above the creek and contour west to the slopes of the Dosewallips valley, then descend to the Dose trail. There were lots of downed trees and steep side drainages to negotiate.

After 1-1/2 hours of Deception Creek I was ready for the bliss of the 8 mile hike out the Dose to my car. Outstanding weather and scenery made for a very enjoyable but tiring trip.

An hour and a half drive from south of Seattle if you can manage to avoid rush hour. We took bikes to Monte Cristo, which was hilarious good fun, especially on the way down. Our hybrids did fine on the rocks. There's not much left of the town, but Sunday Falls is nice. Hit snow patches just before Glacier Basin, but it's really obvious where to go. Moving around in the basin involves postholing, wading, or a lot of luck; about 80% of the basin is still under 2+ ft of snow, melting fast. Only saw 2 sets of people until we passed Monte Cristo on the way down; there were quite a few walking the old road on a weekday evening.

I had a friend visiting who had never been to the west coast. We didn't have much time, and he wanted to see some mountains so this hike came immediately to mind.

The road it clear. There is some snow on the trail, but it is only on the NW facing slopes and is easily navigable. The one hassle is some blow-down on the edge of a snowy patch. The slope of the hill and the height of one fallen tree conspire to make both going over and under the log possible but non-trivial.

There are a few bugs down near the trailhead and some little biting flys at the top. Otherwise the trip was wonderful. We had very good weather and lots of solitude (we saw only two other groups).

Careful on the road in as its wide, open lanes beg you to drive over the posted 35mph speed limit that was pointed out to us by a Chelan County Sheriff. Arriving at the TH at 8am we started our day hike. Hit snow just past the first lake and it remained over the rest of the hike until we reached the back side of Cathedral rock, then it was back on snow the rest of the way from Patties pond. The snow in the basin was soft and looked very prone to slides. This forced us up the right ridge and then up to the east summit from there. High winds and possible white out conditions blowing in and out decreased our motivation to go for the true west summit 2 peaks over. However the views and experience to make the East summit was plenty for us for one day. From Car to Car this hike took us 10 ½ hours (we where not going for time) added to the almost 6 hours of drive time there and back from Seattle made this a long day trip, however one that I would suggest.

Trail to lakes is snow free and in great shape. A little snow around the camp sites (only one site was in use Tuesday morning). Sputtering of flowers, particularly near upper lake - avalanche lilies, phlox, anemones, and several others. Afterwards, hiked a ways toward Crystal Peak - turned around at steep snowy patch and watched herd of 6 deer on opposite bluff who paused to turn and look towards me with a combined expression of ""What is that thing over there'"" and, ""More importantly, does that thing know something about good grazing spots that we don't know'"". Passed work party on the Crystal Peak trail (I know the signs says ""Trail Not Maintained"", but I for one wasn't going to complain) doing needed repairs - so now the peak trail is clean and shiny.

The route to Hyas Lake is clear with few blow downs. Snow present on the trail to Deception Pass requiring good navigation skills.

Watching all the cars headed into the city as we turned to the Edmonds ferry to catch the first boat over to Cape Alava was very nice. Made it to the trailhead at 10:00am and no rain with clearing skies must have picked the perfect day. Went to the south to Sand Point first, haven't been here for quiet a while but nothing changes fast on this side of the sound. One hour on the Dry (yea!) boardwalk is a wonderful change and it's in perfect condition. Climbed the rock at Sand Point to find two deer snacking on the grass with not a care in the world. Started the hike north on the beach dividing the time between hiking on the rocks and sand, with the tide still coming in we were stuck to the beach most of the time. Stopped for lunch half way up the beach and found a place mostly out of the wind to empty the rocks out of the boots and have lunch take in the views. Trying to remember where all of the petroglyphs were fun and found all of them I hope. One more breaks at Cape Alava to enjoy the northwest coast and clear skies before going back into the forest. This boardwalk is the older and more challenging than the Sand point side, tilted with gaps in the boards were the norm on the old sections of the trail. Looks like some sections are being replaced with gravel held with a wood frame. When we got to Ahlstrom's Prairie the sun was a full tilt and a warm wind was blowing, no flowers were out at this time. This trail has quite and few more steps due to the elevation gain and the few water crossings made for good picture opportunities. Back at the parking lot we drove to lake for a reward of M&M's since we had such a fun hike to start the season with.

Nice evening hike up to Mt. Pilchuck lookout. The road has pothole problems in the first 3 miles or so, but it's paved for the final 2.

Trail is in nice shape. It hasn't rained much recently, so it's fairly dry. Encountered snow about 1/4 mile past the switchback at the first boulder field. Steady all the way up from there.

The route near the summit drops down below the ridge crest somewhat, as more and more boulders are reappearing during the thaw.

Make sure you check the glissade chutes before you hurtle yourself down from Little Pilchuck Pass. Snow is breaking quickly.

Beautiful view at the top. Even though it was cloudy this morning, it all burned off by the later afternoon and early evening.

Have fun, I did!

Its been several years since I've been up this trail and had forgotten how beautiful the hike up this valley is. With the snow,waterfalls and hanging gardens its easy to forget how close you are to civilization. Anyway Trail was clear of snow until right before attaining the ridge then lots of snow most of the way to the lake .With confidence you can glissade and play your way to the lake which is still frozen. For those with minimal patience for snow the ridge has plenty of sitting and eating spots. Wonderful day !

These popular trails sure are great Monday hikes. There were just two cars at the trailhead, and I saw only one person until the very end, when I ran into a van full of Forest Service folks. I started on the trail to Dorothy Lake, which is in good condition. The trail climbs a little above the lake and goes seemingly forever next to the long lake. Then it climbs up and up.

I barely made it to Bear Lake, which has a little snow on the far banks. Also just a little snow on the trail, but easy travel. Just after passing Bear Lake, I cried out ""Oh Dear"" because suddenly, there is Deer Lake. Mumbling these ultra-corny ramblings, I kept going to Snoqualmie Lake, which looks to have some pretty nice camps, then down to the junction with the Taylor River trail.

By this point, I'm suffering from my recent lack of hiking and still had to do the ""retour"". Luckily, I found the energy reserves to climb back from 1800' to 3700', then drop back down to the 2200' trailhead where the lake-filled journey began (interspersed with a few chats with the various lakes).

I'm glad that this one is out of the way. I had been avoiding the Mailbox this hiking season, yesterday I felt compelled to get it over with. The trail was more steep and rough than I had remembered. Overall this trail is pretty awful, it's so rough you're never able to develop a good pace. The views from the rockpile to the Mailbox are nice, and all kinds of goodies can be found inside the mailbox. A previous report made note of how dangerous the path is up to the mailbox, it's not. It's a slow go, watch your feet and balance your weight properly. Even if you were to tumble, you're not going to go far. It seems that this trail is increasing in popularity, many cars were at the trailhead yesterday. Mailbox Peak should not be taken lightly, it's again very steep, requires a lot of energy, and is very taxing on the knees. Though, it's a challenge, for that it is a worthy hike. Till next summer....

Trail was in good condition, muddy in a few places but not too bad. One very small snow patch just before the lake. I didn't get very dirty, which is a first for me! We left the trailhead at about 9, hardly any cars in the lot, and passed a couple people coming out. When we got to the lake there were only about 4 or 6 other people spread out, it was very nice, not complete solitude but not bad. By the time we finished lunch, there were a lot more people there, and we passed hordes of them on the way out. I would suggest starting the hike about 7:30 or 8 for less people. Nice hike, though.

After being a little lost in finding the trailhead (proceed about 1 mile after ignoring the first sign to the left for trail, go left about a mile at the next left, which has no sign), we were surprised to be one of only two cars at the trailhead on a Sunday. The weather was cool, and as we approached Windy Camp, the clouds came in thick from the lowlands. The trail is in excellent shape with evidence of recent care. Good job!! Toward the top, we met the other party coming down, shapes emerging from the fog. At the top, it was difficult to tell which was the top, for not being able to see the other summit. No matter, poking in the clouds produced both... On the way down, many more people and many more cars at the trailhead.

Iron Goat Trail Fathers Day 2001. A friend invited me to join he and his son on a hike on the Iron Goat trail. I felt very honored to join them on their day. Having never been on this trail I didn't know what to expect. It was one of the most interesting trails I have ever gone on to date. We started at the lower end which is accessed by the old Stevens Hwy. There are good signs off of Hwy 2. The day was very pleasant and we expected lot's of hikers. When we arrived at the trailhead about 9 am, there was only one other vehicle in the lot. We started up the only real incline of the entire trail to the first of many descriptive placards. There was a collapsed snow shed where the trail leveled off. Most of the huge timbers that were used on the railroad were salvaged when they dismantled the track but these were too far decayed so they were left. We saw old metal flumes for the water drainage and train usage. It seems fires were a big problem as well as avalanches after they raped the hillside of all vegetation. Not very far along you can begin to the see the series of cement walls they built to hold up the hillside and secure the snow sheds. The wall pretty much follows the entire 6 miles of the trail. There were artifacts laying along the trail as well as spikes seemingly growing in the mosses along the way. It is wonderful that these relics of old can be left laying and no one disturbs them. There were lot's of wildflowers blooming all along the trail. I noticed several people with flower books in hand. We also went through a tunnel that was 1/4 mile long. I good flashlight is recommended but not absolute since you can almost see the light at the end of the tunnel from the beginning. The trail has little elevation gain after the first 100 ft or so. We had planned to go the entire 6 miles and then come back the same way. The charming father I was with struck up a conversation with 4 ladies coming the opposite way and soon we had taken there car keys and were to drive there car down to the other end. What nice and trusting folks. It must have been the honest looking young man we had with us. At any rate we were very grateful. Thank you Mary Ellen and gang! Near the end is the sight of the avalanche that killed 96 people back at the turn of the century. There are several placards that have pictures and tell stories of the event. About this same time we entered a covered double cement snow shed that is hard to describe unless you see it. It was a great source of interest to all there. The trail ends at the location of the old town of Wellington which is pretty much gone. Pictures at the trailhead show you where the buildings were and so forth. There are still ruins of the old water tower and coal shed. A short walk past the parking lot takes you to the first tunnel they built. The trail was in great shape. Having read about the trail a few years ago I know that VOW did a great deal of the work. It was finished last fall and what a great job they did. Now I regret not having volunteered to help punch it through. This would be a great hike for families and older folks who don't want to climb. Starting at the upper end you could see a lot in a couple of miles and no elevation gain.

The Fifes Ridge trail is a workout! The trail up to the first lookout point on the bare knoll is in good shape. If you continue beyond the bare knoll viewpoint, be prepared for more steep ups and downs. The last mile is brutal but at the top you can see Rainier, Baker and Fifes Peak in their splendor.

If you are backpacking, the trail down to the campsites on Falls Creek still has many down trees. It is very easy to miss the trail to go down to Falls Creek. We only found it because we had an altimeter that told us we had gone too high, so we backtracked.

Well, the Mid Fork road was a little better than I remembered. The first few miles of the dirt road were still pot-holey like usual, but after that, the road appears to be filled in somewhat. Still some pot-holes, but not nearly as bad as it's been. I imagine that won't last long, though, with traffic.

I'd been wanting to head to Marten Lake for awhile now. Hadn't read anything on it but just saw the dashed green line for it on the map and wanted to check it out. Noticed that there was a recent report for it, though, and that report made it sound quite appealing. But now that I'VE been there, I kind of have to chuckle a little about that last report and I’ll give MY perspective of this trail.....

The first 3 miles on the Taylor River portion of the trail were quite uninspiring. Flat, quite wide in places, not really much to look at. We found the unmarked side trail to Marten Lake just before the wide log bridge, just as Alpinejo said in his previous report. (Thanks Jo!) Headed upward and found this to be quite a challenging trail. In fact, it might be a bit of a stretch to call it a ""trail"". The challenges lied not only in maneuvering it but also in navigating it. Not long after the start of this side trail, we found ourselves scratching our heads trying to determine where to go for more trail. We figured correctly most of the time, but had to backtrack a little on a couple occasions. It was kind of like a maze and coming to a dead end, so you're pretty sure you've gone the wrong way. And then again, some of those seemingly dead ends were actually the right way after all. So keep your trail detector sensors honed!

Anyway, finally (after 1.3 miles') got to the lake. (We were beginning to think the map was outdated and the lake had dried up.) Now, it appears there seems to be some discrepancy about how long this portion of the trail actually is. My map says 1.3 miles, but previous reports have said 1.5 and 2 miles. Frankly it felt more like 5, but we’ll say it’s somewhere between 1.3 and 2 miles.

Of course, once we got there the sun went away and the breeze came up to give us quite a chill while we ate our lunch, so rather than skinny dipping, we opted to put on our winter garb. Looked like a decent campsite where you first get to the lake, but I’d not be so envious of someone going up there with a full pack. Didn't do any exploring around the lake because we were short on time. We saw only two other people as we were preparing to leave the lake. We were actually kind of surprised to see anyone, but there they were.

Alpinejo (from the previous Marten Lake trail report) must be the wizard of speed and agility because I don't know how he could have done that trip in 1 1/2 hours each way! The three miles to the turnoff up to Marten Lake took us round about an hour, which seems to be quite normal for a relatively flat hike (going about 3 mph). The last 1.3 miles up to Marten Lake took us about an hour and 15 minutes (maybe more). Navigating it took a little bit of searching at times, and then there's the vertical spots where using all fours was sometimes quite helpful, and lots o' muddy spots. No snow to be seen anywhere along the trail or at the lake (except for across the lake on the hillside).

So, another successful day in the mountains. Now time to scrub the mud off the (once pretty) new hiking boots! Probably wouldn't bother to go there again - too many other places yet to see!

PS... At the lake, watch your step. I went to the bushes to make a pit stop and found a couple piles of un-buried feces (appeared to be of the human kind).

Cashmere Mountain 8,501’ June 16 17, 2001

The Eight Mile Trailhead is located a mile below the Stuart Lake Trailhead on the Eight Mile Road. A very popular hike for dayhikers and families is to go to Eight-Mile Lake. We were shocked to see one couple taking their dog despite two “No Dogs Allowed” signs. Doerte and I reached our junction at Little Eight-Mile Lake, and followed the rough trail up through the flowers, weeds, and grasses of the burned area to Lake Caroline at about 6,190’. The lake was 5.5 miles from the trailhead.

Lake Caroline looked very beautiful, setting in a little basin among nice meadows and pines. We set up camp on the north side of the lake and spent the afternoon resting and being entertained by two nearby marmots. I took a walk up past Little Caroline Lake to the Horse Camp to see how it would be in the morning. The trail was mostly clear but still had several patches of snow in the trees. I saw some Brooke Trout in Pioneer Creek feeding at a little rapid. They were also jumping in the lake at sunset.

We awoke a 4 a.m. to first light, a blazing quarter moon, and Venus, all rising together in the east! We were off by 6 and heading for Windy Pass 2.5 miles off. Around 7,000’ we lost the trail in the snow, and headed straight up toward the pass at 7,200’.

The view was incredible! Instead of heading down the trail toward Trout Creek and the Icicle Creek Road, we turned north and east and worked our way along the ridge toward Cashmere Mountain. It was great fun running the ridge for more than a mile, with incredible views in every direction and Cashmere slowly getting closer.

Finally we reached the last saddle before the mountain. We headed up a bit on a climber’s trail and then turned to contour around to the West ridge. We had to cross numerous steep snowfields with a few inches of recent snow on top of the old stuff. They were solid ice so we cut steps for a while, and then gave up and put on the crampons. I really hadn’t thought we would need them, but we did.

Finally reaching the West Ridge, I headed up the steep snow, and Doerte climbed the rock on the ridge, until we met below the summit block. I climbed up it to make sure there wasn’t anything still higher, and boy was I relieved to see nothing higher than the Stuart Range and the likes of Dragontail and Colchuck and Stuart.

The summit block was not difficult to climb, but small. Doerte and I both enjoyed nice seats on the top, at 8,501’. We saw from the new register placed by a large group of Mountaineers on Memorial Day that no one had summited for a week. We hadn’t seen anyone since Little Eight-Mile Lake yesterday! This was the first time we had a wilderness seemingly all to ourselves!

The trip down was a little easier, but we still used our crampons to cross the steep snow. I was surprised that it never softened up. From near the saddle we took a more direct route down toward Pioneer Creek and then cut over to the trail. Back at camp we had hot soup as we packed up to head down. The marmots were nowhere to be found.

We arrived back at the truck at 5:30 p.m. for an 11.5-hour day from camp to car. For the first time this year we hadn’t used our Gore-Tex jackets so it must finally be summer. Cashmere is a big mountain, with a long approach.

Beautiful weather and an absence of humanity greeted us all along this lonesome path to the wilderness. The trailhead originates after immediately crossing the warren-type truss bridge spanning Stetattle Creek. At least five cars can park at the trailhead.

The trail’s first few hundred yards travel behind the houses of the Seattle City Light company town. Then the next half mile ventures along the creek. The trail is bushy and full of salmonberry - a tasty treat for bears. With the adjacent noisy torrent disguising our approach, I strapped on the bear bells and picked up a stick for defense. The trail, along the creek, often obscured by ambitious plants fighting for territory, can be hard to follow. The creek’s edge selectively offers gravel beaches for picnics and large rocks for resting.

After the first half mile, the trail abruptly climbs with several switchbacks. Less than twenty minutes later and with all the vertical ascent complete, we (Mrs. Woodchopper and I) leisurely wandered, sometimes stopping to observe the wondrous flowers and the sweet scents of firs, pondering whether we would see anyone. Several streams require thoughtful consideration if you fancy dry socks.

In time the remains of a massive rockfall or avalanche demand attention. We never accurately ascertained its precise location, but we believe it to be near Camp Dayo Creek. Trees of great size reduced to twisted wreckage are intermixed with boulders and loose soils. With our turnaround time approaching, we relaxed for a short lunch. A Northwest Gartner Snake rested nearby in the moss.

The trail would certainly enjoy more traffic if it was blazed to its logical conclusion - Azure Lake. Anyway, if you are looking for a adventurous jaunt where animals outnumber humans, the Stetattle Creek Trail is for you.

Our party of three humans and two dogs went up the trail across from Alpental. There was a little snow before getting out of the trees, and then the trail was bare again until maybe 600 or so feet below the summit on the ridge. The clouds started breaking open for us after about an hour on the summit, so we hung out for a while longer to enjoy the impressive show. On the way down, we headed left out across the headwall of the basin just a short ways below the summit. We had snow for most of the traverse over to the far ridge that drops down to the floor of the basin, just below Cave Ridge. It was clear for a little crux bit of traversing, and then back to snow. It was great - easy sliding for most of the descent all the way to the woods at the bottom of the basin. After a little walk on a way path, we were back on the main trail just above the waterfall, and quickly back down to the car. The conditions are perfect right now for this hike, if you prefer a little off-trail travel on snow over steep downhill trudging on loose dirt.

Very muddy, several spots over-the-ankle deep. Seek out side trails that run parallel to main road/trail, many not visible from main trail. Mmmmmm, Salmonberrys.

Water access is tea-like on beach. Bring filter or pills & lots of flavoring.

Wanting to see wildflowers, my husband John, friend Anne and I headed to Tronsen Ridge on Sunday. We headed up toward the north end of the ridge off 5-Mile Road. The trail is clear and offers an enjoyable up and down hike with great views of the Enchantments, Mt. Rainier and points east. But I was a little disappointed at first. The mariposa lilies and small-flowered penstemon were enchanting, but the balsamroot and larkspur are fading fast, and lupine is not in full bloom.

About a mile or so up the trail, we looked around for bitterroot, which Anne had seen here previously. We looked and looked, and finally, snuggled up under a tree, thought we found it. But no, this plant had leaves. Tweedy's Lewisia! Up the trail we went in search of more flowers and views. More penstemon, a few phlox, white yarrow, paintbrush, death camas and a couple orange agoseris dotted the trailsides. We came across breath-taking groupings of Tweedy's Lewisia. Higher up, we stepped off the trail on the west side of the ridge to catch the view. I looked down on the boot-marked ground and saw dozens of bitterroot, some getting ready to bloom, others already open.

We stopped on a knob just beyond the junction with the Red Hill trail to grab some lunch and enjoy the sun. On the way, and at this point, more Tweedy's delighted us. Some of the flower groupings had 40- 50 flowers. They seemed to prefer the protection of a pine as they were more abundant in those locations.At this spot we heard a few dirt bikes, coming up the Red Hill trail, but never saw them.

We thought our flower day was complete when we saw a few Columbia Lewisia on our return trek. But no. Anne spotted one of her favorites, Geum triflorum (prairie smoke), with a nodding red flower. With wild solomon seal, buckwheat, wallflower, alumroot, rose and more, we counted 30 species. What a great day - flowers, sunshine, nice breeze and good company.

Very short hike, great for kids. It was not very crowded, particularly given the great weather. There were two other groups (both with small kids) that we encountered, and we had our two kids as well. Such a short hike with a lake as the destination makes a fine hike for young kids. Our 2 year old rode in the backpack on the way in, but walked out by herself.

There was a bit of snow left, but there was no problem following the trail, and no avalanche danger on the trail. The melting snow did make for quite a bit of mud, however, and the trail's not in the best of shape. For us long-legged adults it was no problem, but for our 2 year old there were a couple of places that she would characterize as a class 3 scramble.

There was no blow down on the trail or road, and road 4052 was clear, dry, and in great shape all the way to the trailhead.

Camped at White River campground for Fathers Day Weekend. On Sat we went to Glacier Basin for a quick day trip. On the way I saw the trail that goes up to Burroughs Mountain and thought it would make a good loop. On the way down we saw one hiker wearing a suit.

After a breakfast of pancakes I started up the trail from the campground, the Sunrise road is closed until June 30. The trail is in good shape and no snow to speak of until the waterfall. A few people had already been there. The weather was good with sun and cool. I proceeded past Sunrise to the hiker camp in the old car campground where I saw three people. I then headed up toward first Burroughs up a steep snow slope. The top is pretty much melted outwhere I saw one hiker relaxing. There was some deep new snow between first and second Burroughs. On top of second Burroughs it was windy and a fog blew in. All the rest of the way there had been great views of Emmons and Winthrop glaciers and the Cascades. After some doing I found the trail down and glissaded the top slopes. The way was pretty easy to follow with a couple blowdowns. There were some humps of hard steep snow in the woods. I followed the Glacier Basin trail back to a waiting beer. Great Fathers Day treat before the hordes arrive!

Source Lake for Fathers day

This is a nice easy close in trail. The lake is the source of the South Fork Snoqualmie river. Just start on the Snow lake trail at Alpental and continue on straight ahead at the junction 1.6 miles up. Nice trail work has been done recently (by WTA). A few snow patches exist in the forest and real snow starts at 4100 ft. just above where we stopped at the Source lake overlook. So most of the rest of the Snow lake trail, lake and basin is still under snow. Source Lake is a pretty blue green. Right now thousands of yellow glacier lilies are in bloom with many white trillium as accents. Also other early flowers such as bleeding heart. Lots of little creeks and waterfalls make this a cheerful place. My son's gift of time to share with his father in the wilderness was the best Fathers day gift.

Robert Michelson 6-17-01

Flowers are in full bloom up this beautiful, steep trail. The scent of ponderosas and lupine permeate the thankfully cool breeze on the hot side of the Cascades.

There are 3 phases to this trail - the lower treed portion comprised of good, though steep tread; the middle portion, a long, flat treed section; and the upper portion, a rocky, sunny grind. All 3 phases are full of meadows filled with blooming flowers and buzzing hummingbirds, and the beautiful, crystal clear, smooth running Chatter Creek with it's white sandy bottom, interspersed with clumps of black moss and orangy logs half-buried in the sand.

The trail tread is in good condition on the lower portion, the upper portion beyond the 2 creek fords is very brushy, so wear long pants. The upper portion of the trailbed is comprised of loose rock.

Patchy snow begins at about 4 miles near the ridge below Grindstone Mountain. There is more snow travel beyond the ridge to Lake Edna et al. We opted to end our hike at the ridge and simply enjoy the rest of the afternoon basking in the sun, soaking in the views, and listening to the swishing sound of the birds' wings slicing through the air as they raced and played in the brilliant blue sky above us.

The ridge makes a good destination for a dayhike -it's tough, though. Make sure you have sunglasses, sunscreen and a hat, as the trees disappear as you begin your second grind to the ridge.

Escaped to the East side where weather was nicer. mostly sunny (60degrees on summit, but moderate wind. It is 98 miles from eastgate (i-90) to parking lot. Road is ok for cars. No bugs (absolutely none) on hike. minimal mud and virtually no more snow. only snow left is near top above 7k (you could avoid if wanted). leave ice axe and cramps at home for rest of this year. top is 7223elev and park lot is 3160elev. took me 3:35 hrs up and 3:03 down. great views at navaho pass 6075 elev (2:43hr to get there from car). The pink flowers are starting to come in at meadow below pass. even if you intend to stop at pass---go up trail to east (navaho peak) for a few hundred yards to get much better view of Mt.Stuart and Mt.Rainier. In general, this trail is in great shape and has fewer rocks and roots to avoid than most WA trails.

one route finding tip if you do the peak. the trail waunders pretty much up the ridge line and is reasonably steep. at the point it starts flattening out more (6500 elev)--look for a carin on left with sticks in dirt pointing NE (up a gravely looking ridge with no beaten path). leave trail and follow that ridge up for about 70yds where trail resumes to summit. if you stay too long on the trail (like i did), you will come to a 50yd wide scree slope with no trees at all (GPS UTM NAD83 10T,665126; 5254090; 6506elev)-- you can scamper up that and also regain the ridge. after that, the trail is flat and starts heading down as its going to 3 brothers saddle and not Navaho peak.

hike is long with lots of vertical, but no scrambling is req'd. great views of the stuart ridge and the ""big guys"" there

Sunday morning and the area was bathed in low-hanging clouds. The weather forecast was for the clouds to burn off by afternoon so I expected good views from Dirty Harry's Peak. I left at 8:15 and saw only one other soul on the way up, another solitary hiker whose black lab startled me as I came around a bend. At 3200' the trail is completely covered by a rock slide. Certain individual rocks are still precariously balanced as I found out while crossing. I saw a large pile of coal-like scat in the middle of the trail at 3400' and was unsure of its provenance. Sections of the trail that intersect with creeks were covered with water, the combination of wet slippery rocks and the steep climb made it a difficult hike at times. I saw the first sign of snow at around 4000' but there were very few shallow patches. I reached the top at 10:30 and hung around for a couple of hours, hoping for the clouds to clear, but no such luck! At times I could see gaze down the impressive northeast dropoff to the Granite Lakes below. I left the top at 12:30 and was back to my truck at 2:15, having had the hike almost entirely to myself.

Directions: From I-90 Eastbound, take exit 38. Turn right at the exit and follow it along the river, crossing back underneath the highway. Drive through a yellow gate that is locked at 4pm, and over the river again on a one-lane bridge. At a point where the road bends to the left, the trail is off to the right. A small meadow across the road is another indication of the trailhead. At 2500' a trail off to the right is indicated by a rock cairn and blazes, this leads to Dirty Harry's Balcony.

Well, this was the inaugural warm-up hike for the new (early) season, and it was very well suited to that purpose. Only took 45 minutes from Kirkland to get to the easy-to-find trailhead. Arriving at 8 am, we encountered only a couple of cars.

Maintenance is great, and the first couple of miles are particularly peaceful. Make the side-trip to Bridal Veil Falls a couple of miles in...it's only one extra mile and well worth it. Impressive falls.

The last couple miles are steep, and are aided by sturdily constructed staircases through the numerous switchbacks. This provided a nice little early season test and brought about beads of sweat due to the sharp elevation gain. Soon enough the trail opens up and exposes Lake Serene. Nice enough lake, but little room for exploration. The trail is snow-free, and only a couple touches of snow can be seen near the lake shore. The fog this Father's Day morning prevented some of the superb views we heard about.

We encountered noone on the way up, but the throngs were out in full force on the way down. As always, an early start is highly recommended.

This is a very nice hike that would be good in either sunny or cloudy weather. It's about 2.5 miles one way and has very little elevation gain. The trail follows the Baker River toward the southeast side of Mt Shuksan, ending at a camp on Sulphide Creek.

To get to the trailhead, take the Baker Lake Road from the North Cascades Highway (SR-20) just west of Concrete. The road changes to FR-11 when you enter the Mt-Baker Snoqualmie National Forest and will change from paved to gravel. Continue all the way to the end, north of Baker Lake, at the trailhead.

I didn't get to the trailhead until 3:30pm due to family phone calls (it's Father's Day afterall) and the 130 mile drive. There were several cars at the trailhead, but plenty of room. The parking lot itself is right on Baker River.

The first quarter mile of the trail is wide and gravelled, following through the forest just out of sight of the river. There are some amaizng old growth cedars, including one huge old fellow that's leaning a good 20 degrees. It's easily the largest tree on the whole trail.

After a quarter mile, a very sturdy suspension bridge crosses the river, but a sign says it's for trail #610 Baker Lake. The Green Trails (Mt Shuksan #14) doesn't show the intersection. The Baker River trail continues along the northeast side of the river.

After the bridge, the trail narrows and becomes what you'd expect from a riparian ecosystem -- lots of underbrush, mud and rocks. Several sections in the first half mile past the bridge are heavily overgrown. The trail was never difficult to see, but the underbrush was encrouching quite a bit. Random blackberry vines made me wish I'd worn long pants. Better that than devils club, though.

The trail runs 1.7 miles in the National Forest and has several sections of impressive old growth cedars and Douglas firs. The last .7 miles are in North Cascades National Park and the ecosystem change from riparian to forest is exactly at the boundary. The entire feeling of the trail changed.

The National Park section of the trail is a younger forest, but is a fabulous display of greenery. The underbrush and vines of the river system are replaced with ferns and moss that don't encrouch the trail, but carpet the forest floor right to the trail edge. Indeed, the forest here seems almost to have an order to it, as if it grew solely to be seen. This part of the hike is absolutely beautiful. The National Forest section is very nice, but it's a trail you hike to get somewhere. The National Park section of the trail is a destination in itself.

The trail ends at Sulphide Creek, which runs off Mt Shuksan into Baker River. There are several marked camping spots here in the forest. Sulphide Creek has a wide bed, so it's easy to trek out for an amazing view of Mt Shuksan upstream. It's the only place on the hike where you'll get to see it. On this day, Shuksan was hiding behind a blanket of clouds.

Other than the mentioned enthusiastic underbrush, mud is the only problem on the trail. There are many mudholes, particuarly once you cross into the park. They are all easy to walk around except one section in the early part of the trail where a small creek is running down the trail itself for several feet.

With the hike being mostly forest, and considering how amazing the National Park section is, I'll definitely do this trail again on a cloudy day. But don't count out that one mountain view at the end.

You foiled me once, Shuksan, but I'll be back. Oh, yes. I'll be back.

We have been waiting a long time to see the famed view from the top of Mt. Dickerman. At first we were scared off by the statistics of this hike - nearly 4000ft in four miles! However the trail is well engineered and when we finally hiked it today we were surpised at how easily you gained this elevation. The trail is snow free up the the waterfall at about the halfway point, from there it is completely covered but easy to follow. There were three minor blowdowns but overall the trail was in great shape. The forecast called for partly cloudy skies in the morning becoming mostly sunny in the afternoon. When we reached the trailhead at 11am the clouds were breaking up and things looked promising. Just over two hours later we were on the summit. There was only a sliver of blue left in the sky at that time, but it was enough to get a glimpse of the yawning abyss on the other side. We quickly pulled out the camera but before we could load the film a cloud came in to cover it up. We waited up there for over an hour. The clouds never broke, instead they kept piling on like football players after a loose fumble. Visibility was reduced to less than 20 feet and we had trouble locating the trail back down. Glissading was a blast as always, and once we were back at the waterfall the sun was out in full force. Oh well, something to look forward to the next time...

No snow, no ice. What more can one say - it is MT SI! (G)

Got a last minute itch to get out and hike and decided on Iron Peak for a great afternoon of walking. Pulled up to the trailhead (room for maybe 5 cars) and was on the trail at 2:30 PM. This was one of the last hikes that I had yet to do in the Teanaway area so I was eager to see what it had to offer.

Immediately, the trail sets into tight and moderately steep switchbacks and stays this way for the first half mile or so. The trail begins along a small creek but soon trends away to the south, the last water the rest of the way to the top. After a half mile the forest begins to open up and so do the views. Here the grade eases up a bit and the switch backs really start to traverse the hill side allowing one to look out across and down valley. This gradual grade persists until about 2.25 miles from the road where the trail steepens to gain the saddle at 6150'. From the saddle turn right on a faint path that follows the barren ridge to the summit. Views increase with every step along the ridge, which after 3/4 of mile not only give one Iron Peak at 6510', but amazing views of Stuart looming impressively to the north. Total distance with ups and downs to the summit is approximately 3.5 miles.

I lounged about on the lonesome summit for about 35 minutes taking pictures and reading Lakes of Washington. Views of Stuart were incredible, but views of the rest of Teanaway Country were equally impressive. There is patchy snow starting at the saddle and extending upward and southerly to Iron Peak. However, the snow is never an issue and finding the route to the top was cake.

PCT HAS 2-4 FT OF SNOW FROM INTERSECTION TRAIL #2000 AND TRAIL #1303 BELOW TINKHAM PEAK TO ABOUT 1.5 MILES SOUTH OF WINDY PASS/RD #9070 BELOW SILVER PEAK. TRAIL STILL HARD TO FOLLOW AND FOOTPRINTS MINIMAL. PCT DIAMOND METAL TREE MARKERS SEEN INFREQUENTLY. PCT 90% SNOW COVERED AND IT IS SOFT/FRAGILE. SNOW LEVEL AT 4000' NO DANGEROUS AVALANCE RUNOUTS. BE PREPARED TO ORIENTEER/USE GREEN TRAIL MAP.

TRAIL #1303 ABOVE TWIN LAKES ENROUTE TO PCT IS 50% COVERED WITH HARD PACK SNOW. TRAIL HARD TO FOLLOW AND FOOTPRINTS MINIMAL. NO TREE MARKERS TO HELP. ADVISE ORIENTEERING/USE GREEN TRAIL MAP AND PREPARE TO ""SEEK OUT THE TRAIL"" FOR BOTH OF THESE TRAILS.

Seeing as it is Father's Day, I thought I'd take my dad out for a little hike on this beautiful early summer sunday. We orriginally planned to go to Esmerelda Basin because he's pretty out of shape, but judging by how well he did on the initial hill, we opted for Longs Pass instead because of the added reward of views at the end.

This trail starts out immaculate and, for the most part stays that way. The tread is nearly always on mineral soil except for a few rockfall areas. All junctions are well signed. I guess trails over here in the Teanaway region are easier to maintain because of the lack of erosion or something.

Views start pretty much from the trailhead and only expand as one climbs upward. The Esmerelda Peaks are quite jagged and impressive. Any worries about new snow from last week were quickly vanquished. There are a couple snow patches remaining near the juction between Ingalls Way and Longs Pass Trails and near the summit of the pass. These patches are easily negociable and shouldn't present a problem for anyone. The trail also gets a little lean near the top, and considering the moderately loose scree, one could slip and fall quite a ways if they really put their mind to it.

Once the pass is reached, nearly the entire Stuart Range comes into perfect view. This is probably overall the best vantage of the range, at least that I've seen so far. All are visible: Stuart, Sherpa, Argonaut, Colchuck, Dragontail and its Plateau, Little Annapurna, McClellan, and Wedge Mountain were all visible. Stuart is very impressive from this angle. There are surprizingly no larch at the pass (although there is a stand a few hundred feet down the north side). Go to Ingalls Pass and Headlight Basin for Autumn shows of larch gold.

This is a good hike for just about anyone; the trail is well graded, it's not terribly long, and there is a variety of interresting scenery. Round trip is about 3.5 miles 2000 feet gained and lost.

The trail has only a few small snow patches near Beaver Lake and one very small snow patch at Olallie Meadow. Some very muddy spots near Beaver Lake and south of Lodge Lake. Trail is very brushy between Olallie Meadow and Windy Pass. Trillium, marsh marigold, salmonberry flowers, yellow violet, heather, vanilla leaf and bleeding heart were noted. Broken clouds with moderate temperatures.

This trail is heavily used, especially when we have weather as great as we did on this weekend! Besides running into multiple parties of dayhikers and backpackers, it was a gorgeous trip: great views of the river and the sight of huge cedar and spruce trees. Whether you're doing a short hike or a long one, stop over at 5 Mile Island for a bit... it's a gorgeous group campsite right by the river with spectacular views. However, watch out for large mudholes in the trail and ""presents"" left by horses and llamas that use the trail.

I think we've finally made it... The ranger at REI told us to avoid anything above 4000 feet if concerned about snow. Glad we chose to risk it anyway. The hike up to Royal Basin was spectacular. Trail is completely clear and the wild flowers are just beginning to bloom. I would estimate that by June 25-30 they should be in full bloom.

Royal lake is not frozen and ample opportunities for water all along the way. Only saw one other tent at Royal Basin and not another person. It was quite cold at night, so bundle up and it appeared that the weather could get good and nasty if it chose to.

Saw many deer including one that came within 10 feet of us while at camp. Marmots are running around the basin. Beware though. I believe I saw cougar tracks as well as bear tracks. Not too many places to hang food due to some type of tree disease that has weakened the branches. Bear proof container advised.

One final note. The area is controlled by the WIC and only a handful of overnight permits are available. Call ahead and you can make reservations up to 30 days in advance. It appeared there were about 10 different campsites in the basin and we had no problem getting a permit the day before. However the season is quite early.

This hike is absolutely gorgeous. 8000 to 9000 foot peaks surrounding the 5100 foot basin. Hike is 8 miles in and a gradual climb (most of the way). It took us 4.5 hours up and 3.5 hours down. Have fun and enjoy.

MGardens

Got a late start (1245 PM) but nonetheless had a wonderful hike. Passed numerous people who were leaving as we were ascending but once we got to the lake there was only one other group of people there. Trail was in good shape with only one snow patch right as you approach the lake. For you fishermen/women, there were trout (small ones about 6 - 10 inches) rising everywhere and you could see them battling for feeding positions in the outlet stream if you remained still and watched for about 10-15 minutes.

Because we were late, we pretty much had the hike back down to ourselves......between that and the relative solitude at the lake, maybe getting a late start isn't such a bad idea after all!!!

After gaining inspiration from Ira Spring's ""100 Classic Hikes in Washington"", I selected one of Ira's classics and planned an overnight backpack to Flapjack Lakes with a possible side trip to Gladys Divide. My hiking buddy for the weekend, Jimmy Wa, and I arrived at the Staircase trailhead on Saturday morning to clearing skies and a few bleary-eyed and rumpled campers staggering from the campground to the nearby sani-can. We made good time on the easy grade of the Staircase trail but after turning onto the steeper and narrower Flapjack Lakes trail, old-man gravity began to influence our rate of ascent. We continued up the trail to the sounds of drumming grouse, stopped to admire the beautiful cascade of Madeline Creek, and labored onward. The trail is in good shape with the exception of a short and crude detour route up and over a part of the trail that slid downhill. We later learned from a Park Ranger that final repairs on the main trail would soon be finished and the detour route would be given back to mother nature. We arrived at the Lakes at 2:00 to our pick of campsites and selected one on the lakeshore with a full view of the Sawtooths. After setting up our camp, we had enough fuel and interest to venture up to Gladys Divide. Jimmy and I made it to within about one-eighth of a mile from the divide before being turned back by Mister Snowmeiser's lingering snowfields. Wonderful scenery abounded on this part of the trail and the wildlife was abundant as well. We crossed paths with several deer, gray jays, ouzels, chipmunks, and bushtits. We saw no bears or cougars or evidence of their presence. Back at camp, we tried our luck at catching some fish but got no cooperation from the lake's inhabitants, with the exception of a vicious strike at Jimmy Wa's bobber! Saturday night was calm and mild and Sunday dawned clear and bright for the trip back to civilization. After a quick breakfast and camp breakdown, we donned our packs once again for the walk downhill. After only encountering a few hikers on the trail, we were brought back to the crowded reality of the Staircase campground and parking lot. After my first trip to Flapjack Lakes, I have come to agree that this hike is a Washington Classic. Thanks, Ira!

Having seen the dearth of snow in the Leavenworth area the weekend of June 9/10, we set out on our first overnight of the year to this area. Chatter Creek trail is generally in good condition, although could use a good brushing out after about 3 miles. The trail is relatively steep for periods but not in a scary way, just a calf-burning way.

The first ~2.5 miles of the trail are steep and there are frequent views of the mountains across the valley. These views make you appreciate how much you're going uphill. Then the trail flattens out through a valley, eventually climbing up the valley wall and over the ridge at the head of the valley. We hit snow about 1/2 mile before the ridge. I was glad to have ski poles.

The other (northish) side of the ridge is still completely snowy, and we saw no tracks or trail remnants aside from the (VERY) occasional cairn. The wind had picked up significanly on this side of the ridge, and between the wind, the snow, and trailblazing, we had very slow going to Lake Edna. We had originally hoped to go further to one of the other lakes but decided we had gone far enough for one day. Lake Edna was still 98% covered in ice, and the 2% that was thawed re-froze overnight (it thawed again in the morning).

Several campsites at Lake Edna were surprisingly free of snow. None offerend much protection from the wind, but at least we didn't have to worry about bugs. By the next morning, the wind had stopped and the sun was shining and warm. Marmots were frolicing everywhere. Ahh! Summer!

All in all, the weather was good and the trail was gorgeous! Quite a nice trip.

Day-hiked up to the east summit of Mt. Daniel (~7690'), via the Cathedral Rock/Peggy's Pond route. Trails are in decent condition up to Squaw Lake, with frequent snowpatches above Squaw Lake, becoming completely snow-bound above Peggy's Pond. Mt Daniel is a non-technical snow climb, but there are notable hazards from exposure and avalanche danger- ice axe is required (and some climbing experience recommended). Weather was perfect until above 6000' where we encountered increasing wind and clouds with poor visibility above the east summit (we didn't go on to the west ""true"" summit because of this). Snow was generally firm, but some sections of soft and rotten snow were encountered above 6000'. We carried crampons up the route, but never used them (we would have needed them if we were climbing in the in the early AM).

Day-hiked up to the east summit of Mt. Daniel (~7690'), via the Cathedral Rock/Peggy's Pond route. Trails are in decent condition up to Squaw Lake, with frequent snowpatches above Squaw Lake, becoming completely snow-bound above Peggy's Pond. Mt Daniel is a non-technical snow climb, but there are notable hazards from exposure and avalanche danger- ice axe is required (and some climbing experience recommended). Weather was perfect until above 6000' where we encountered increasing wind and clouds with poor visibility above the East summit (we didn't go on to the west ""true"" summit because of this). Snow was generally firm, but some sections of soft and rotten snow were encountered above 6000'. We carried crampons up the route, but never used them (we would have needed them if we were climbing in the in the early AM).

You never know what you are going to get when you head across the Sound, and this trip was no different. We left on the 7:00 Fauntleroy ferry for points east. About two miles from the trailhead, we saw the landslide that Mike G had reported in his WTA trip report from last September. Getting out of my Jeep, we scouted the route over the landslide. It is easier than it looks, but four wheel drive is highly recommended. If you didn't want to drive over the landslide, it would be an easy mountain bike to ride to cover the two miles to the trailhead.

The trail is in great shape - however, it becomes brutally steep once you cross the old road and head up into the Wilderness Area. I would say it rivals the ""Staircase"" on Glacier Peak, bringing you up 3,000 feet in just under 3 miles. There are a few blowdowns in the avalanche path, but nothing major.

We reached the upper meadow at the Park boundary around noon, still shrouded in fog. The snow began at about 4500 feet, and was fairly continuous in the meadow. The Olympic climbing guide is somewhat vague on how to get from the meadow to the next bench. Mike G had a good description, but it led us to believe that we had a bit of a bushwhack ahead of us. Jim charged off up the hill in search of the way trail described in the Olympic guide to no avail. After getting turned around in the fog and going back to where we started from, he decided to head up beside the small creek. We topped out above the meadow, but only after battling some brush and slimy rocks for about 200 vertical feet. I kept repeating ""This is too popular a climb to have this unglamorous of a bushwhack!""

We headed up on continuous snow (maximum 35 degrees), and the clouds lifted just long enough for us to catch a glimpse of footprints in the next draw over. We angled up to the footprints and followed the tracks all the way toward the ridge. With the lack of visibility, the footprints were a welcome confirmation that we were on the right track (or hopelessly lost with about 8 other people!). We wandered up over easy rock (Class 1) and steeper snow (45 degrees for about 50 feet) to the start of the ridge scramble. The pillow lava rock was of excellent quality - the difficulty mainly Class 2 with minor exposure. We had to cross another snow field (steep at the top but with a good run-out) to get to the summit tower. Once below the tower, the route was not too obvious. We chose to go left up a cleft and come up behind the tower, which ended up being quite exposed on the last 10 feet to the summit. Once on top, we saw that there was an easier, less scary way (Class 2/3) if we would have gone right at the base of the tower and ascended a short (20 feet) Class 3 scramble to a ledge, from where it is Class 2 to the summit. But there are numerous possibilities. We hoped for a sweeping view of the Olympics, but instead got teased with a peep-show of snowy rock between casual partings in the clouds.

On the way down, we decided to follow the tracks, and see if we could find the way trail described in the Olympics guide. We did - and realized that we were within 200 yards of it earlier, but couldn't see anything through the thick fog. The brush on the way trail really is minimal. The climber's way trail begins past the first stream by the talus field (the one that Jim and I ascended), and then just past a small pothole at the base of the cliffs. A second, larger stream with a 20-foot waterfall marks the way trail's beginning. There is also a tree/stump with orange flagging on it in the middle of the meadow. If you enter the trees before you cross the second stream, you will probably intersect the way trail.

It was an Olympics full-meal deal, complete with fog and a late night ferry boat ride. We missed the 10:15 ferry, and slept in the car while we waited for the 11:50 boat. It was a long, but glorious day.

STATS: 9 miles round trip, 5000 feet elevation gain, 5.5 hours from car to summit, 3.5 hours from summit back to car.

The climber's trail leading up to the terminus of the Boulder Glacier at around 5,600 feet is in good condition, but muddy after the meadow. The exposed, wet tree roots are very slippery.

We found a nice spot to pitch our tents where we found a trickle of melting snow and ice so we did not have to burn fuel and time melting snow for water. Having pitched our tents, we retired at around 6:00pm as the sun just went down on the West side of the summit.

We awakened at 2:00am and finally began the process of getting roped up around 2:45am and departed for the summit at 3:30am. If you want to spare yourself the wagon train and small communes associated with the climbers on the Easton and Coleman Glaciers, choose the Boulder Glacier route. There were a total of 10 other climbers on this weekend.

The route was crevasse free for the most part with minor foot wide openings to cross. However, it did sound and feel as though we were walking on snow bridges at times since one's ice axe did manage to penetrate the surface a little farther in certain areas and a hollow sound emanated under one's feet while climbing. It definitely gets your attention.

We topped out on Grant Peak at 9:30am after accomplishing roughly 5,100 feet of vertical distance in 1.8 miles. Perhaps not as easy as the Coleman or Easton routes, but we did not have to walk across the almost flat top to get to the summit since the Boulder route ends at the top. When we arrived, there were surprisingly a large number of climbers from the Coleman and Easton communes on the summit. A climber in our party counted at least 41 climbers when we arrived.

The weather was clear on the summit with views of Mt. Shuksan, Glacier Peak, Mt. Rainier and Bellingham all clearly visible.

We stayed long enough to snap a few pictures, eat, and take in the view before our 2-hour decent back to our tents. We packed our gear and hoofed it back to the trailhead by 5:00pm.

The path between the summit and the grave is a very narrow one indeed. That there is no way of telling in advance which way it will finish, doesn't mean that life up there is any more significant than elsewhere, but it is certainly more intense. - Reinhold Messner

We took exit 71 off I-90 but were unable to find the access road to the north trailhead (the road that goes along Tucker Creek). Undaunted, we decided to try an approach from the south. We headed west on Road 41 (Cabin Creek Road) out of Easton and were stopped in our tracks by a wash-out. A river now runs through it. Happily, a foot bridge has been installed, so we geared up and took the left fork, following the road that goes along Cole Creek. The road eventually bears to the east, crossing Cole Creek and ascending Goat Peak. It appears that many new side-roads have been created, so we tried our best to stay on the main road. We must have done something right because we made it to the 4700 foot level of the mountain where we were rewarded with nice views of the Cascade mountains and what I believe was Cle Elum Lake. The hike took us under two hours on the way up and about an hour and a half down. Curiously, we never actually saw anything resembling Trail 1304. However, we didn't have a lot of time to look for it. Also, we did not make it to the very top of Goat Peak because the last 300 vertical feet are very heavily forested.

Our group of five hardy hikers headed for Snoqualmie Lake from the Dorothy Lake trail head. This trip is 14 miles round trip with about a 2,000' gain. At the parking lot a troop of Boy Scouts were backpacking into Deer and Bear Lakes. The trail to the lakes is still a rough one with rocks, roots, mud and water. There are spots on this trail that need some work. Drainage to get water running off the trail instead of down it. After crossing the inlet stream at the head of Dorothy Lake, you switchback over a ridge, hike on some snow and then down to Bear Lake. Up over another ridge and hike along Deer Lake. Both of these lakes are in a nice setting. You loose a lot of elevation going down to Snoqualmie Lake. We found a rock near the lake shore for lunch as the clouds moved in and out. After a bite to eat and a photo op, it was back up hill to get to Dorothy Lake and out to the trail head. We were the only ones this day to hike to Snoqualmie Lake.

The trail to Ashland Lakes is in excellent condition. There is a little mud in spots, but most of the trail is boardwalk and groomed.

Beyond the lakes, up to Cutthroat Lakes via the Bald mountain trail is very rugged. There has been a lot of blow-down, and parts of the trail are over grown. The view is worth the effort though.

There is still 6ft of snow at Cutthroat lakes. The lakes are also frozen.

There was a ""no-camping"" sign posted for all the camps when we got back to the trailhead. The camp toilets are being upgraded.

A part of the wonderland trail climbs 2000' in 2.6 miles from white river CG to the sunrise rim trail and access to the high trails early. Another gentle 1.5 to 2 miles brings you to the junction of burroughs, mt. fremont, berkley park trails at frozen lake. Go to the far end of 'D' loop where you will see the TH sign.

There are a few snow patches in the last quarter mile to the rim trail that are no problem, the waterfall area is completely melted out. Phlox is already blooming along the last half mile and along the rim trail. Heading west there is a bit more snow cover to navigate with. One blow down before sunrise camp blocks the trail, there is still snow cover to walk around.

Today we kept a clear path on the trail, snow in longer patches but still melted out areas to stay on trail. Shadow lake is thinly snowcovered but it's outline is clearly visible as it is quickly melting out. From sunrise camp to the next 2 intersections of the wonderland there is consistent snow cover 1-2 ft firm, still several large melt outs and we had very little post-hole problems.

Our destination was to go to mt. fremont but there was a big cloud ensconcing the top of the trail and we elected to lunch by frozen lake junction and enjoy the sunshine. We didn't see another person, just a marmot playing in the snow.

No snowshoes needed and a great way to see the sunrise area before the mobs arrive. Officially Sunrise road will open 6/30. Burroughs mtn still has a lot of snow with some nasty cornices, sourdough trail looked doable.

I hiked up about a mile beyond the Falls Creek trail crossing - worth the extra distance to see more views of the Stuart range - including a pretty waterfall to the north. I just have a few things to add to the excellent trail report of robert michelson (Jun 02,2001). In addition to all the flowers he described, I saw queen's cup and larkspur. The lupine were just about done - but there were still many other flowers yet to bloom. I also did see a rattlesnake sunning itself on the trail. It scooted off to the side and let me pass. I caught a glimpse of a western tanager about half way up the trail. All in all, an excellent place to visit.

Three of us scurried up the Chiwawa Basin trail, which starts at the forboding town of Trinity. Once past all the KEEP OUT signs, the trail becomes an old road that climbs very slowly. We passed Buck Mountain on our left, and came to a junction at 5 miles. Take the left fork (slighly obscured by fallen trees) to the basin. This is a heavenly place, mostly free of snow. The trail vanishes 1 mile after the junction. From here we continued to the tip-top of Fortress and Chiwawa Mountains, splended viewpoints of the DaKobed Range, Glacier Peak, Bonanza, Maude, and dozens of other peaks. Dark clouds obscured the top of Glacier Peak, and mountains further west. We saw nary a soul on our 13-hour trip, but the deer were legion.

An interesting trip to the top of Vesper Peak with a group of speedy Mountaineer Scramblers. Since I come to the mountains to absorb the spirit of the hills, I was the last one on top of the peak and spent most of the day by myself (I won't be rushed). The road to the trailhead is in good condition. The trail is in poor shape. There is a log across the Stillaguamish. Easy trail following and you reach snow in the basin. The gully up to Headlee Pass is steep snow but soft enough to kick step up (you will need an ice axe). From the pass you cross a couple of rock falls(the snow is melting off them). Then its lots of soft snow to the summit. A few guys were trying to summit Sperry Peak but were turned back by fresh unstable snow just below the summit. Vesper is gentle enough to be safe. Take your time enjoy the wilderness, otherwise stay at the gym on the treadmill.

Great weather, few other people on the trail. I hadn't hiked this since I was 12 years old. A few logs to go over/under/around, but over all a nice little leg-stretching trail. I even found 4 Morel shrooms growing trailside. A dandy hike for warming up after a long inactive winter.

Our first time trip to this part of the mountains was delightfully rewarded by non-stop flowers and views. Parking lot was full but still plenty of room on the shoulder when we arrived about noon. In spite of the cars, we encountered only a few parties on our dawdling stroll to Fortune Creek pass. First we enjoyed the cascades along the trail, then the meadows of glacier lilies, shooting stars, desert parsley, and star flowers', and increasing views back down the valley and surrounding mountains. Any distance on this trail is rewarding for those who have kids or are aging wimps like us but it’s definitely a fine pay off to reach the pass. The sun shone brightly all afternoon with a cool wind. The two-legged party members were a little under-dressed for the gusts at the pass, but Miss M rolled in the snow bank and then stared out at the Stewart Range to the west, nose extended, ears plastered back. There are frequent small creek crossings and the trail is generally in good shape with minimal mud. It is well-graded, though some sections (through glacial morraine') are uneven with loose rock and cobbles. Five hours round trip to pass all on Trail 1394, including lunch in a meadow and romping at the pass.

Trail has several blowdowns from medium to large from the trailhead at 3900 feet to the pass. Its a shame since it appears that someone recently went through there to eliminate previous blowdowns. Otherwise trail is in good shape to the pass. Only one blowdown from the pass to the summit of Basalt Peak. I only went to the summit with my wife, child, and dog.

Sometimes I wonder why we live on the west side of the mountains. Saturday was a typical June Seattle forecast, ""mostly cloudy"". But by the time I drove through Easton the sun was out and the sky was blue. It stayed that way until I drove home again.

The previous trip reports describe the route pretty well, so I won't bore you with too many details.

I found the route to be obvious. A few previous descriptions along with 101-Hikes describe having to pay close attention at the start. That was not my experience.

The trail is indeed long, dry and only partly shaded by trees. Leave early. You do not want to be hiking up this hill on a hot afternoon. Consider camping the night before at the trailhead. There is plenty of room and all you will hear is the river.

The trail is in fine shape. A few minor step-overs, but nothing worth worrying about.

There was about a combined 150 yards worth of snow-patches. Just enough to add some variety, but not lose the trail. In a normal year, you would need trekking poles or an ice axe until about July 1st.

The top has a great view of the clouds to the west and Stewart to the east.

Please tread lightly on the summit meadows and carry down a bit of the debris from around the old lookout.

Here is a tip for you sun loving hikers: Check out http://traffic.wsdot.wa.gov/sno-info/ before you leave home. It has live photos of all the passes and the Easton chain-up area. Checking this site the day before and the morning of your hike will tell you if it is worth the extra drive to get over the crest and out of the clouds.

Trail to Longs Pass is in great shape. There's snow at the intersection of LP and Ingalls Lake trail, but clear otherwise.

From Longs Pass, I followed a faint trail along the ridge to head towards Ingalls Pass. Right before the pass, the trail disappears and you end up scrambling to the pass (at least I did :^).

Ingalls Lake is still snowbound, but melting rapidly. No special equipment needed, but the snow bridges are melting rapidly...so watch out.

Climbers were out, scaling Ingalls Peak and Mt. Stuart.

Very windy...but very sunny.

The Ingalls Way trail is in fine shape, with a (very) little bit of snow right as you come down from Ingalls Pass towards the trailhead.

There were 55+ cars in the parking lot when I came down at 3:00pm. Wow.

Pics at http://photos.yahoo.com/keven_elliff click on ""LongsPass_IngallsLake""

Trail is in good condition, minimal mud and rocky overall. A little snow at the lake and a bit cooler up there, so bring a jacket. Very popular, so at least on a weekend don't expect to find seclusion at the lake.

The trail is in great condition, there are only a few small snow patches on the way up to Ingalls Pass. The snow starts on the other side of Ingalls Pass: the flat areas in Headlight Basin are still mostly snow-covered, Lake Ingalls is completely frozen. Despite the crowded parking lot, there were only few parties up in Headlight Basin for the night.

Busy as a ski resort at the Paradise Parking Lot at 9am Saturday morning. We joined the huge crowd of onlookers and hikers to ascend up to Camp Muir for our third time in the past few months. The crowds started to get real bad around pebble creek as there were many groups of skiiers that thought it was okay to stop in the middle of the trail as we switchbacked towards Panorama Point. Does anyone understand the basics of hiking' As we leaded out around numbers of skiiers, we found ourselves trudging at 2X speed to get around them in powder. Once back in front of the groups, you really get wiped out, especially above 8K feet. Pebble Creek at 7200 feet is starting to reveal alot of rocks and the trail is easy to follow at this point. Signs are even showing along the lower trail. We ran into many ground squirrels and a few Marmots (I got real close for one image). We finally got to Muir 3hrs, 15 mins later and settled in for some sun and food, and WATER! It was incredible to see all the folks coming towards Muir, although I did not see as many make it up as I saw at Camp, so I assume they all skiied down. It seemed like the clouds hung out between 7-9K feet the rest of the day as it was like being in an airplane looking across the sea of clouds. Someday I will see the landscape from Muir, ...........someday. We climbed the small peak just southeast of Muir to get a good look down on the Cowlitz Glacier and check out Little Tahoma. Big time opening of crevasses. Cathedral Gap is looking pretty dry as well, with quite a few teams coming down from summit bids. The glissade down was just awful as many people thought that you were supposed to walk in that path. After having to stop numerous times to stop for people eating lunch and relaxing in the glissade route, we just gave up as we could not keep speed up to get going. Once around 7000 feet, the skies opened up for us, but the mountain was not visible for the rest of the day. All in all a great day, and I must pat myself on the back for deciding to take the Emmons route this year as I do not believe I would have the patience to take the DC route. To each their own though!

We left Phelps Creek trailhead (few cars) on Friday, and quickly covered the distance to the UNMARKED (at least we couldn't find a sign) cutoff for Leroy Creek.

Leroy Creek is a very steep trail - few switchbacks, just up-up-up. A sign just above the Phelps/Leroy junction said ""Trail Not Maintained"", but it was lightly maintained and in quite good condition (some easily passed blowdowns). The lower meadow is completely snow-free, and the upper basin will be by next weekend. The basin is beautiful, Seven Fingered Jack and Mt. Maude close and big. We saw deer in the meadows.

We met a number of people headed for Spider Meadow - much lower and more easily accessed - probably a much more popular destination. Leroy probably attrcats only climbers, altough the basin is just beautiful.

Overall, the trails were in good shape and easy to follow. Plenty of water. No bugs yet. Enjoy.

Looking for a new place to go, my wife and I spent another sunny day in the Teanaway and day hiked to Gallagher Head Lake. The turn off to the trailhead is just after High Country Outfitters (looks like they are just about ready to open) and before the trailhead to Iron Peak. Turn left on road 1392 (North Fork Teanaway Road) and drive to an open and recently remodeled De Roux Campground that features the only “FIVE STAR” restroom facility in Washington State. The two bridges that used to cross the North Fork Teanaway River sit in a heap a hundred feet or so above where the trail meets the river. Instead of a bridge there are two downed trees that make an acceptable crossing for the semi-nimble, which my wife and I barely qualify for. This raises the two greatest questions of mankind, where do all the elephants go when they die, and how come all man made bridges wash out while downed trees stay forever. The trail proceeds through a cool forest and crosses the De Roux Creek (your choice of logs is available) before the turn off to Koppen Mountain. Stay right (well signed) and proceed up a beautiful valley with the sounds and sights of waterfalls until you again cross De Roux Creek and enter a wonderful valley at 5,000 feet. The trail proceeds through the valley then switchbacks four times with increasing views before reaching Gallagher Head Lake. The lake sits between Hawkins Mountain to the left and Puppy Peaks (named by my wife AKA Pack Pup) on the right. The lake is 95% thawed and the only snow remains to the Southeast. The trail is snow free to the lake. This is a great trail and a fun hike. I was relieved to see that there was no outlaw 4-wheel drive gangs at the lake (just joking), however, there is an obvious 4-wheel drive road a few hundred feet Northwest of the lake, and the two main campsites are large enough to accommodate a jeep or two. At the lake we encountered only one other backpacker and two mountain bikers. In the next month I’m sure both the Teanaway River and De Roux Creek will be easily crossed without using logs. I also suspect that Gallagher Head Lake will be a frequent destination with the High County Outfitters. This appeared to be the best time of year to visit the lake. There were more deer tracks that boot prints to the lake, even came across a series of Bobcat tracks.

Trail is snowfree except for one tiny patch near the summit. There are considerable snow patches around Camp Windy. Trail in superb condition.

Flower display good, but not as spectacular as it often is around this time - perhaps a combination of dry winter and lack of late spring sunshine. Lots of rhodies in bloom along FS 27 on the way in, but the ones along the trail are just starting to show color. They should be out in a week or two.

Fog never lifted at the summit today, and was accompanied from time to time with heavy mist or light drizzle.

Eagle Peak became a ""Must-Go"" at about the same time the Kia car company had a Sportage commercial with 2 guys taking the urn with the ash of their dead uncle up an ""Eagle Peak"". The ash spills, and it's just a funny commercial. So, I found Eagle Peak in the Northwest and added it to the list.

This trail is in amazing shape. It is not rocky or rooty, nor does it have any drainage problems. After slogging through Squire Creek last weekend, it was a nice treat. It is wide (but not too wide) and well constructed. Kudos to the builders and maintainers.

The trail is about 3.7 miles to the saddle, gaining about 3000 feet. The first 2 miles is in the forest, and the trail flirts with a creek for about 4 switchbacks before finally crossing it. It is a wonderful forest walk, as long as you stop every few switchbacks to breathe and enjoy it. It is a steep trail, but we blazed through it and made it up to the first clearing in about 1.5 hours. The Randle Green Trails map show this point at 4700ft. The Mt Rainier West GT map show this same point at 4900ft. I think our altimeter said it was 4800ft. Eh.

This is where it gets fun. And steeper. You climb up about 250 feet or so (just a guess) and then walk through the upper forest gaining some more. This is where the snow is. This is the ONLY place the snow is. Follow the trail made in the snow, but watch out for the dualing trails. On the first split, take the low road, and it joins up later with the high road. On the second split, take the high road. If you go low, you'll end up trampling a strip of meadow that is older that you are. Don't be a meadow stomper!

Once you are out of the forest, you enter the last final ascent to the saddle. It consists of about 20 switchbacks, each one steep as hell, and each on getting progressively smaller. I think the final switchback was about 5 feet long! It provided some entertainment, zig-zagging back and forth like that at the end. Total time to the top: 2.5 hours. Plenty of blueberries growing.

The saddle' Well, I'll assume that the view kicks ass, but since we are early hikers we were robbed of a view due to fog clinging to the mountain. But, I did get to play with some very fluffy camprobbers while eating my orange and trail mix. Tightened the boots and headed back down. We met about 8 groups on the way. Made it down in 1.25 hours.

After enjoying burgers and berry cobbler at the National Park Inn, we left only to find the fog had cleared the mountain, and we got to see exactly where we went. Wow. Yay mountains! Stupid fog.... Never got a view or Rainier, or the hand in front of my face, for that matter....

Trail is excellent, 95% snow free. No water on trail, a few mud holes, no blow down. Marvelous.

I returned again to the Camp Sheppard area, this time with a small group of Mountaineers. The weather looked promising as we headed towards the junction with the White River Trail, just beyond the outdoor amphitheatre of the scout camp.

Our loop went through beautiful, serene mature forest for the most part, connecting with the Ranger Creek Trail after about two miles and heading up a couple of miles towards Little Ranger Peak, for the first views. We had a short break at the overlook, but a wind had come up and people were piling up layers. My little thermometer registered in the upper 40's, not including wind chill.

At 4.8 miles from the White River Trail junction, Ranger Creek Trail comes to another junction with the Palisades Trail. The junction is marked by an old shelter and springs. No stock is allowed on the Palisades Trail. Mountain bikes are allowed, but presented no problems.

Upon leaving a high point of 5200 feet, at the junction, the trail winds along the narrow perciptious ridgeline, dropping and twisting through forest and out to spectacular overlooks of the White River and surrounding ridges. Today we could see up Crystal Mountain Blvd., but to the southwest, the Mountain eluded us. Too many low-lying clouds were blocking our views.

While hiking through the forest we came upon a few flowers in bloom. I was especially pleased to see a pale blue anemone in bloom. The cliff areas and some moist sunny openings were also good places to look for flowers including desert parsley, serviceberry, wallflower, paintbrush, wild strawberry and davidson's penstemon.

We did not encounter any other hikers all day, although a couple of groups of mountain bikers zoomed by with a flash of jerseys and cheery hellos.

A couple of streams are crossed while following the ridgeline. When the trail finally begins heading downhill, it drops into a narrow, rocky canyon filled with the sound of water and birdsong. Delicate vine maple and huge conifers create a serene environment for a series of falls and cascades.

Near the northern junction with the White River Trail, there is one last obstacle, the old bridge is out. It has been carefully taken apart, the old support logs, etc, scattered all over the creek banks. A temporary trail leads to a rock hop crossing. Since there are caution barriers up, it looks like some work may be done on the area soon. The local boy scouts have generously contributed time and muscle in the past towards keeping this trail system going.

This is a long trip, but one worth doing once in a while. There was also relative solitude, at least on this cool spring day and lots of great views.

Stats: 14 miles, 3,000 foot gain.

The trail is mostly snow-free through the high point of the Mt Defiance Trail, just before descending into the Rainbow Lake basin. The trail is mostly snow-covered approaching Rainbow Lake. The lake is completely snow-covered with an average snow depth of less than two feet. There is a tree across the trail at the half-mile point and a group of trees over the trail at the crossing of Olallie Creek. Some muddy spots. Trillium, yellow and blue violets, Canadian dogwood, marsh marigold and skunk cabbage were seen. Sky was overcast.

A friend and I decided to summit Rainier but were tired of the long approach to Camp Muir with heavy packs. So we decided to day-trip the outing. Leaving Paradise parking area at 9:30PM the snow greeting us fourty feet away. It was firming up from the daytime slush and footsteps held firmly. With no moon and only starlight our headlamps turned on early. It was a cloudless night so finding Camp Muir was not problematic but one could just follow the trench that leads to the camp also. We reached Camp Muir at 1:30AM. Stopping in the climbers hut we saw a party of four getting ready to ascend. We stopped to eat and rest a bit before jumping off at 3:00AM for the summit approach over Ingraham Glacier and Disappointment Cleaver. The valleys were covered with lowlying clouds adding to the seclusion we felt. There were only two crevasses visable and both were easily jumped over. There are fixed ropes in place for protection near Ingraham Glacier. Disappointment Cleaver is thankfully covered with snow now so the danger of rockfall is minimized. We watched a spectacular sunrise and were able to summit at 8:00AM. There were strong winds on the approach with blowing snow. Goggles were a great help. We didn't stay very long on the summit as the winds were very strong coming in at what I suspect was 50+ MPH.

I headed up the Chatter Creek trail on a beautiful Friday morning. This is a really nice trail, but probably was not the best choice for my first hike of the season. The grade is immediately steep and I found the going slow. It looked like parts of the first mile or two had recently had some maintenance. But above the creek crossing there are some mud holes and some brushy spots - I got completely soaked from the dewy brush.

Once you reach the basin below Grindstone Mountain the incline lessens and the forest thins out for tremendous views. Then another steep section through talus slopes, until snow covered the trail at 6000 ft. or so. Slogging up through the soft snow was not pleasant. Just below the ridge crest there's a steeper snowy section that would have been very treacherous without an ice axe had the snow been hard. I negotiated this by shimmying up on all fours.

Upon reaching the pass, I saw that the trail disappeared into deep, steep snow to the north. So I bagged my original goal of making it to Lake Edna and had lunch on the ridge. On the way down, I avoided the snow altogether by traversing off-trail about 100 yards to the west, which was no picnic but easier and probably safer than the snowy trail route.

The hike back down was uneventful but really a quad-burner. My legs were sore for four days after this hike. I only saw two other hikers all day. Solitude, great views, and a real workout.

A new region for me to finally start exploring, as I've never hiked the areas east of Stevens Pass nor Icicle Creek before. This was to change this year, and so I made a trek up Whitepine and Wildhorse Creeks toward Frosty Pass today.

The three mile hike up Whitepine Creek Trail was excellent...fast, fragrant, and almost always within earshot of the roar of the massive creek below. The first mile of the trail was a highlight in that it was lined with the largest population of wild ginger in bloom that I have ever witnessed! The four creek crossings were all going quite well, but with good waterproofed boots and fair creek crossing skills, the feet can remain dry...it was harder coming out, I could definitely tell, where the last creek was a good 2"" higher and 5-8' wider! I checked out the blown-out bridge over White Pine Creek just beyond the trail junction with the Wildhorse Creek trail. Brrrr, that water looked COLD to cross up to ones belly at the moment! This is a route to take in late summer or fall when it would be only a shin-deep ford. There is a HUGE old growth cedar tree right here as well with a trunk mass at least 15' in diameter that goes up into three towering trees. I then tracked on up Wildhorse Creek trail, and at exactly 12:55PM encountered the only humans of the day...about 500' overhead...traveling about 550MPH...and just too darn loud! After the three Whidbey Navel jets completed their blasting of the wilderness, I picked my heart and other vital organs back up off the trail, took a breath again, and moved on. I went to about 5100 feet, about half way up to Frosty Pass, and called it a lunch and turn-around point. The trail was in great shape, but be ready to huff up some pretty steep grades in sections!

About 38 flora species noted, a cute marmot about a mile from the trailhead, and a Douglas squirrel chattering away with a very little newborn with it made my day complete! This trail really doesn't appear to get very much traffic, at least not this early in the season when the high country it accesses is still out of reach for many.

Glacier Peak Wilderness and good friends - what could be better'

White Chuck River trail is clear to Kennedy Ridge intersection. Kennedy Ridge trail is snowfree and clear.

The PCT north of K.R. trail intersection was clear for a couple miles, then we started encountering snow patches. There was a tromped-in path and the way was obvious for the most part, however take a map&compass.

The camp at Kennedy Creek is under snow - we had fun digging tent platforms. Didnt find the toilet box, however the log bridge across the creek is exposed.

Turned off PCT and started up Glacier Ridge (ice-axes are a good idea here) and headed for highcamp at 6600. Dug out tent platforms and found running water nearby.

We got lucky and had a clear night & cold temps and cramponed nicely up to 8800. After that we had a kick-steppin' good time up to the Rabbit Ears. Some in our party didnt like the class 3 downclimb and none of us liked the impending whiteout so we headed back to camp.

Should've placed wands on the way up but it looked sooo clear we thought we had it made. That mountain suckered us good. Crampon tracks were nearly impossible to follow and we had to pull out the map & compass to find our way down.

Despite the whiteout by midday, we had marvelous views during the morning of our climb. We all returned safe and had a blast.

Good times! -Dox

A nice walk thru low elevation mossy forest. A few huge, old growth cedars. A few muddy spots. Approx. 2.5 miles one way to Swift Creek with minimal elevation gain. Despite warnings that bridges are washed out, Rainbow Creek has a nice log bridge about a 1/4 mile upstream. A well-worn trail leads straight to the bridge. Swift Creek is another story. A little larger and wider than Rainbow Creek, I found no easy way to cross. I ended up wading thru fast, crotch-deep water across the widest spot I could find. Someone has rigged a nice cable and rope setup across the creek, but it needs some kind of seat gizmo on a pulley to make use of it. The trail resumes on the other side a bit upstream. It's completely overgrown but followable, at least for awhile....

I went for the sun, headed east out of our heavy morning drizzle, and arrived intact in Teanaway land ready to explore some new trails I've yet to hike. What happened first was a clue to how grand of a day it would be: not 100 yards from the trailhead I saw my first ever Wild Turkey from about 75 feet away! A female, she cautiously strode into the deep shade under a thick area of pine trees, and over the next 45 seconds disappeared. What a beautiful bird!

The trail up Johnson Creek was a dandy trek through forest, and after crossing the creek 5-6 times (water is pretty low already since all the snow is melted) meets up with the Way Creek trail. From here I went to the intersection with the Koppen Mountain trail #1225, and launched myself off into primo ridge hiking land. Not much sign of motorcycles on the Way Creek trail, but they can go there sometimes. North of here they aren't allowed, and many large blowdowns remain in place to aid with this regulation. Whille the maps indicate the trail north on #1225 might be hard to follow, I never felt out of place just using common sense. Sure, there are many game trails that make up for a mix of 3-5 trails going in all directions across it, but there is always one that sticks close to the ridge, and you can always see another trail below or above you, and sure enough they all cross/meet up again. The open rocky ridge was splendid! An amazing collection of old, huge gray snags dot the ridgeline, making photography absolutely a blast. The Stuart Range was wearing a hat of clouds much of the time, but on occasion popped out. About half way between Way Creek and the intersection where you can continue to Koppen Mountain, I side-tracted up Malcolm Mountain for stunning views in all directions. The trail back down from the ridge via 1383 back to Johnson Creek and the trailhead was fine.

Flowers were abundant everywhere, and I couldn't take a step without seeing numerous species at any given time. Personal favorites included serviceberry, oceanspray, deerbrush, paintbrush (3 vars.), small-flowered penstemon, lunia, kinnickinick, creeping oregon grape, tall oregon grape, two species of wild rose, lupine, death camas, yarrow, desert parsley, larkspur, davidson penstemon, bluebells, balsamroot, forget-me-not, false solomon-seal, vanilla leaf, ball waterleaf, western trillium, columbia lewisia, and vast areas on the rocky ridge of large-flowered sedum.

Also enjoyed were two large 3-pt bucks, a doe, western tanagers, townsend warblers, harry woodpeckers, and a mama grouse with two little fuzzy newborns that I was able to photograph as she led me away from the chicks before circling back to them! What a great day of wildlife, flora, and yet again zero sign of humans. An excellent corner of Teanaway Country that should be enjoyed!

Trail is in excellent shape and snow free (the avalanche chute is completely clear) until the final ridge to the lookout. At this point the snow is stable and in good shape. Be careful on the snow around the rocks! Punching through near the rocks is possible. We went without ice axe's, but felt confident of maintaining our footing. In places a fall could result in a substantial and dangerous slide. Carrying an ice axe (and knowing how to use it!) is probably the best idea.

We wanted to do Independence and North lakes, but ranger said there was recent snow on the trail, so we opted for this very pleasant abandoned road instead. It's a beautiful, easy trail, and the signs and sights of the old mining town are fascinating.

Craig and I had originally planned on a Pratt River through hike combining the MFK road and Exit 45. Those hopes were dashed in a hurry by extreme flows in the MFK. Instead, we decided on a one-way trip from Exit 45 (Talapus Lake trailhead) to Exit 47 (Denny Creek trailhead). We ditched the first truck at the Denny Creek trailhead then sped back to Exit 45 where we finally got started at 9 A.M.

From the trailhead to Talapus Lake the trail is free of snow and any other obstructions. Yet, with the recent rain the trail seemed to be under at least 2” of water and mud the entire way – similar conditions persisted all the way to Pratt Lake. We bumped into Talapus Lake (elev. 3261’) about 30 minutes after starting and quickly found the switchbacks leading over to Ollalie Lake. Talapus Lake is completely thawed.

Patchy snow greeted us just below Ollalie, but not enough to totally conceal the path. When we got to the lake (now completely thawed) at 3766’, we stayed high on the west side and made our way to the north end via a well defined path carved in amongst the blueberries. At the first campsite we came to (on the north end), we used the way trail going up hill to make the link between Ollalie Lake and the main trail to Pratt Lake. The way trail persistently gains elevation and is much easier to find down near the lake. Its exit point up at the trail is difficult to find and not readily obvious. From the truck to this point we used up 70 minutes.

We continued to ascend until reaching the ridge crest at 4225’ and the intersection with the trail going above Rainbow and Island Lakes. We jumped over the ridge and descended to Pratt Lake. Along the way we stepped on only a few patches of snow, but no other obstructions other than the ankle deep mud and water. We made the lake (elev. 3385’) in 110 minutes and were almost surprised to find it free of snow and ice. The weather at this point was turning on us. The temperatures in the lake basin seemed to be quite a bit colder than what we had seen thus far, and the rain began to increase in intensity. We searched in earnest for the old trail leading deep into Pratt Valley, but after 30 minutes we gave up not finding a single trace. Turns out that we were on the wrong side of the outlet, evidently the trail leads into the valley from the west side of the outlet.

We hurried on (going easterly) trying to warm up. Before we knew it Lower Tuscohatchie Lake popped out of the brush, no snow or ice on this one either. A couple dudes camped out near the outlet greeted us as we arrived, but we didn’t stay long and continued up valley. Just after the turn off to Windy Lake, there’s a behemoth of a blow down that would be a real grunt with an overnight pack. We crawled over and continued on, shortly thereafter encountering 2-3 other similarly sized downed trees. As we neared the head walls of the valley we ran into more patchy snow, but actually far less than either of us had expected. From here, the trail gradually climbs up to Melakwa Lakes. This section of trail is free of obstructions other than one tricky section of blowdowns that reminded me of a new game of Pick-Up-Sticks. Here we were forced to hop from tree to tree to make it through, fun. As we neared the two lakes, we got into fresh snow and freezing temperatures. Both the upper and lower lake basins are covered in a foot or two of snow. The lower lake (elev. 4511’) is 85% iced while the upper (elev. 4519’) is about 70% iced.

After a quick bite to eat we exited the lake basin and made our way through persistent snow to Hemlock Pass, elev. 4678’. Descending from the pass, we glissade straight down until we came to a clear section of trail at about 4350’. We walked for a bit and then started running. We ran and ran and never stopped till we hit the trailhead 35 minutes later. The trail up to Melakwa Lakes is essentially clear of snow to about 4300’.

Since people always ask, and for those stat folks out there, this is about a 12-mile trip with ups and downs and you’ll pump out about 4600’ of gain along the way. We hiked this fine thru-trip in 4 hours and 55 minutes and added to that about 45 minutes of side explorations and pit stops. The trip was definitely worth the two car coordination.