Plan extra time for this hike during wildflower season--you will stop every five minutes to take pictures!

Day 1:

Iron Peak to Beverly Turnpike, camped at intersection with Fourth Creek Trail.

Day 2: 

Scrambled Mary and Judi peaks

Day 3: Hiked out

Parked at DeRoux TH and found the unmarked, but featured on Gaia, trail up to the road and IP TH. This trail is a lung burner. Lots of switchbacks which I don't mind because they make the trail easier. Several blowdowns, some of them quite old, so it seems like it's overdue for a visit from WTA. Eldorado Creek was dry--or it least I couldn't hear or see any water from where the trail gets very close to it. So no water on Iron Peak Trail.

Bev Turnpike Trail has several spots of severe trail erosion been IP and 4th Creek trail intersections. I camped at the nice campsite at the intersection between BT and 4th Cr trails. There are some other ones scattered around the area but I was the only person camped there. Several abandoned but empty bags of backpacking meals that I packed out. (Yuck!)

Day 2 I did a loop from my CS up Fourth Creek trail, turned right off trail up the north ridge of Mary's Peak, continued along the ridge to Judi, and then attempted to descend the SW ridge of Judi. There is no boot path although the way is clear up until the treeline when descending Judi. Then, I had trouble finding a good "line" and ended up bushwhacking down very steep slopes and gullies, trying not to break an ankle and ending up on the Bev Tpike trail far to the west of where I intended to. Awful! More experienced scramblers may have a better time finding the best route down but I was hating life for a while there. Took the Bev Tpike trail back to my campsite, trail in good condition.

Day 3 I hiked out. 

This route is a great and not crowded alternative entry to the Teanaways. I saw one party the first day, one the second, and two the third. Parking at the north end of the DeRoux CG is a great way to avoid the traffic jam caused by Lake Ingalls.

There is a wanted poster for Travis Decker at the TH. Stay alert out there.

1 night backpacking trip

Day 1: Beverly Turnpike TH -> to saddle bet Volcanic Neck/Devil's Head & Bean Peak -> campsite ~6.6mi (extra mileage because of backtracking to find a campsite)
-Unpaved road to trailhead is in decent condition, any sedan can make it if you go slow. No toilet at trailhead.
-Overall, trail in good condition other than at least a dozen manageable blowdowns that are easy to step over or stoop under. Seems like the unmanageable ones have been removed. Still some lingering wildflowers to admire. Snacked on tasty ripening berries in the 4000s' range. Surprisingly, bugs not that terrible, only bothering me once I dipped down into Fourth Creek basin a bit to scope out the camping situation, and then at dawn/dusk while camping. Really not crowded at all, which was a nice bonus. Only saw less than 5 people on each day.
-Camping situation: lots of campsites at the intersection of Beverly Turnpike trail and Fourth Creek trail, near brisk-running Beverly Creek. A few dry campsites after ascending the saddle to the intersection of Fourth Creek trail & Hardscrabble Creek trail. As mentioned above, I dropped into Fourth Creek basin a bit to look for any convenient campsites on the other side of the saddle, but the bugs worsened and I aborted that mission pretty quickly. Ended up hiking along Hardscrabble Creek trail to the saddle between Bean Peak & Volcanic Neck/Devil's Head. About 0.4mi along Hardscrabble Creek trail, from the saddle intersection of Fourth Creek & Hardscrabble, I spotted some campsites off-trail by some running water. Unfortunately I did see a fire ring, which I don't think is legit at this elevation ~5500'. This fulfilled all my criteria for camping with water access, partial views of the Stuart range, and I ended up camping here.
-Saddle bet Bean Peak & Volcanic Neck/Devil's Head was worth it for the broad views of Mt Stuart & Stuart range. Did not attempt to summit the adjacent peaks, since my scrambling experience is limited. Trekking poles would be nice to have for the steep crumbly gravel path below the saddle, but not absolutely necessary.

Day 2: camp -> Iron peak -> Turnpike Pass -> back to Beverly Turnpike TH ~8mi
-Got up early, made it up to Iron Peak by 8:30a, enjoyed the view of Rainier. No scrambling required for Iron peak, just traversing some steep loose gravel sections that I was glad to have trekking poles for.
-Descended and took a side trip to Turnpike Pass, which lacked views due to copious trees. Did see some people on Iron peak while I was returning to the trailhead.

Teanaway!  6/26/24

What a stunning Trip!  3 Nights, 4 days, Per Gaia: 29miles, and 10K gain exploring the Teanaway trails! 

Wednesday:

My hiking buddy and I met in Cle Elem on a Wed afternoon and we headed out to the Teanaway epic-ness!  First, we both drove to the Bean Basin trailhead and left her truck there.  Then we both rode in my SUV to the Stafford Creek/Navaho Peak trailhead and parked there.  The day was stunning and trail good as we made our way up the trail!  We stopped at ~4,800ft for a food break at the creek crossing by those camp spots and then continued.  The next camping area near the meadow was really beautiful, but after admiring the view we continued on.  The trail from the meadow to the pass opened up and with all the open sandy/rocky ground and erratic larger stones here and there it felt like a total moon scape!  At about 6000ft, just below the ridge, there is a little trail that takes off to the left with a couple really nice camp spots with water access I’d spotted on my last trip and wanted to try.  We set up camp, ate, and soaked in the epic colors of the sunset! 

Thursday:

Unfortunately, along about 11pm, the drizzle and wind arrived including some occasional hail just for variety.  The morning brought more of the same for a bit, but thankfully the water dried up and just left the wind.  We packed up and climbed up to Navaho Peak.  The view was breathtaking!  The wind however was really moving and Cold!  We stayed on the summit just long enough to take pictures and appreciate the view before returning to the saddle. 

Next we took the trail straight ahead along the ridge to Wrong Turn Peak.  The trail took us up and over Wrong Turn and back down to the next little saddle.  We passed the junction (very faint) there that descends into the Hardscrable Creek valley and continued to follow the ridge up to the next point.  There was some remaining snow along the ridge, but thankfully the actual ridge line was melted out just barely enough to walk on dirt 95% of the way!  We only had to take a few steps on snow! 

Once we reached this point at 6,800ft, the ridge got, shall we say, “Interesting.”  This little piece of trail was a big question mark of the day though I’d found mention of a successful crossing of this bit of ridge in another trip report so we felt hopeful!  We are not rock climbers, but enjoy some scrambling and this was just challenging enough without feeling too sketchy.  The rock was solid, but there was some pretty good exposure at times.  The real challenge was the weather as the wind was quite fast and kept trying to pull us off the rock!  The misty rain added to the situation, but thankfully the rock stayed grippy.  We started by skirting right of that 6800ft point, then down around to the left of the next bump (I think?) and then below the ridge a tad at 6,700ft (great views of the little pond on the south east side of the ridge) before scrambling rock/fighting up scree to join the ridge again at ~6,800ft toward Earl Peak.  There were a couple moments of wondering if we’d have to bail down to the lake and to access that other trail up to the saddle into Standup Creek, but thankfully each time we discovered a way to work our way through the ridge “teeth” and continue!  We were both very happy to reach the Earl/Bean Peak ridge! 

The weather began to deteriorate rapidly at this point as we made our way toward Bean Peak.   Right before the last ridge bump before hitting the Bean basin trail, we saw a way to shimmy down the scree at an angle and took the opportunity to get off that dang ridge!  The rain was pelting us, and the windy gusts were unpredictable and strong enough to cause us some real concern.  Plus, by this time we were tired and cold and super happy to head down!  The Bean Basin Camp was beautiful and after dropping the 700ft or so down the wind subsided and the temperature was much warmer!  We extatically set up camp, ate some hot food, and burrowed into our sleeping bags to warm up! 

After taking some time to re-warm and relax, the rain had pretty much stopped and we enjoyed a lovely evening of cards and even made a little campfire.  Great Adventure Today!  I was so stoked we were able to successfully travel the whole ridge from Navaho Peak to Bean Peak with full packs!

Friday:

Once again, I was amazed by the rapidly changing weather in the mountains!  Friday morning dawned with blue skies and was already showing signs of heating up early!  We packed up quick and headed for Bean Peak!  There were a couple scrambly bits, but totally do-able.  What a view!!  We chilled at the summit for a bit before descending toward Volcanic Neck.  This trail was easy to follow and chill!  There were about three snow fields to cross, but they were not steep so no problems there.  The saddle below Volcanic Neck was snow free and Beautiful!  Felt like a moon scape again : )

The trail down from the Volcanic Neck into Fourth Creek was stunning with countless wild flower meadows and little stream crossings.  We popped over the little pass (Hardscrabble Pass?) there, then down to meet up with the Beverly Creek trail.   We filtered water here at the sweet little camping spots and headed up toward Turnpike Pass.  This bit of trail was rocky and a bit exposed.  Beautiful day but getting hot!  We met some folks coming down who had climbed Bill’s Peak; Wow!  So cool!  On the North side of Turnpike Pass we encountered some snow as we had expected.  Thankfully it was easy to stay on route as the trail is just heads straight down the little valley.  In a bit less than a quarter mile we were back on dirt.  A few blow downs to step over but no problems.  This trail looses elevation rapidly very into the Turnpike Creek basin!  I would not want to come up this trail.  Once we reached the valley proper at about 4800, the trail was gorgeous!  Such a pleasure to hike along a cool creek under the trees!

There was a very kind log to cross over Ingalls Creek.  The 200ft up from Ingalls Creek to Ingalls Creek trail was quite Brushy and we did some pushing through a tall yet stunning hillside of flowers!  The boot tread underneath was solid and obvious.  The junction with Ingalls creek trail was a small meadow of Tall Bluebells; the perfect spot for some food.  Next we cruised downhill on Ingalls Creek trail for about 1.5 miles to the junction with the Fourth Creek trail.  We set up camp on Ingalls Creek at a pretty nice camp there with room for 4 or 5 tents. 

Saturday:

Started the morning with a brisk crossing of Ingalls Creek in our crocs.  Water was only about 5” deep, but Cold.  The Fourth Creek Trail was cruisy with beautiful little meadows as we neared the Hardscrabble pass.  Upon arriving at the Beverly creek camp spot again, we set up our tents and headed up to Eldorado Pass and Iron Peak with only our day equipment.  The trail was snow free and easy to follow!  Standard Cascade Grind up to the top of Iron Peak!  Beautiful Views!  Holy Cow!  Perfect Day!  We spent almost an hour up there relaxing, snacking, and just basking in the mountains.  I am beyond grateful to live so close to all these special places!  Back at camp by the Beverly Creek junction we rested, but the day was only about half done and the car only about 3miles away.  We knew rain was predicted to arrive late that night, so after some discussing of options, instead of spending the night, we packed up our tents and headed down the Beverly trail and back to the car waiting at Beverly/Bean Creek TH!  My hiking buddy dropped me off at my car back at the Navaho TH and we high-fived a GREAT TRIP!!  I decided to relax for one more night at a nice dispersed camping spot to spend just a tad more time in the peace of the mountains. 

The previous trip report made this hike sound so good, and it really lived up to expectations. Such a hidden gem.

I'm in WA on a work trip and couldn't resist getting a trail run in. With plans to run a marathon tomorrow in two days, I tried to take it easy, but a combination of needing to be back in time for work and the stunning scenery kept me moving quickly.

Hit the trailhead at 5:50AM - no issues with the road, suitable for all vehicles. To my surprise there were maybe 5-6 other cars at the trailhead, but all must have been backpackers, because I didn't see a single person on my hike in or out (one other car driving in when I was driving out around 8:30AM).

Not much to say that the previous trip report didn't. Trail was in excellent shape, upper stretches had some small patches of lingering snow and mud but nothing that wasn't passable and my feet stayed dry. I hiked up to the saddle between Bean and Devil's Neck for spectacular views - had I not been pressed for time, I would've loved to tag those peaks too. I'd also just generally love to come back and explore this area more - seemingly endless trails that connect.

Really made me miss Washington!

Summary: I hiked from the Beverly Turnpike trailhead to the saddle between Bean Peak and Volcanic Neck. This is great Teanaway hike that 1) gives up close views of the Enchantment range and 2) doesn't involve any scrambling or cross country travel. As a bonus, you'll likely see fewer folks heading this way. I only passed two groups the entire time after breaking from the Bean Creek basin route. 

Picture of the route is attached, but essentially you stay left on the Beverly Turnpike trail instead of heading into Bean Creek basin. When you get to the junction with Fourth Creek trail, turn right to ascend a small pass between Bill's Peak and Mary's Peak. This is where you start to get nice peekaboo views of the Enchantment range. At the pass, you'll keep right onto the Hardscrabble Creek trail and follow this all the way to an exposed saddle between the northern ridge of Bean Peak and Volcanic Neck. 

Trail conditions:

There are maybe a dozen blowdowns on the route from start to finish, but none posed any challenge to step over. The section on Hardscrabble Creek has a few small patches of snow, but much of it has melted recently, leaving the trail soggy in places. There's a few steep switchbacks leading up to both of the saddles, but overall the grade on this hike isn't too hard. The crossing of Bean Creek at the beginning is not too hard right now; I was able to walk slowly across two thin logs, but you could safely walk through the water as well. 

Stats:

• Roundtrip distance: 9.08 miles
• Elevation gain: 2,840 ft
• Total elapsed time: 3:24:11

Road: The last mile to the Beverly Turnpike trailhead is a bit bumpy but should be passable by any car with some care.