Our stalwart group of 8 Mountaineers set out on a sunny, muggy day to scout the loop from Beverly Trailhead, across on the Bean Creek trail over Navaho Pass and around the back on County Line and Hardscrabble Creek trails back to the Beverly trailhead. We were successful, but learned a lot about the loop route that was not previously available in trip reports. Anyone wanting to do this as a loop should be aware that this is a scramble route that should not be attempted without a GPS, plenty of time and a party interested in some adventure. Bean Creek trail was well marked and lovely, flowers out and beautiful colors on the rock as we passed Judis Peak, Mary's Peak and Bean Peak. For those planning to head up into Bean Basin, stay straight after crossing Bean Creek. Those wanting to head up to the Earl Peak saddle and on to Navaho - watch for a trail going nearly due south right at Bean Creek! No sign or marker!! This trail climbs steadily, switchbacking to the ridge under Earl Peak at about 4 miles & 6000'. Here you find a well trodden path north to Earl. The trail going forward toward Navaho inexplicably switchbacks quite a ways down into the Standup Creek basin before joining the Standup creek trail # (you will pass a Standup Creek sign - keep going downhill until you meet the trail, then go left to traverse the bowl.) From here it's a short way to the 6200' high point looking across the Stafford Creek basin to Navaho and Freedom Peaks. A great lunch stop. Go south from the broad flat atop the ridge to find the trail winding down the northfacing slope from the saddle. The trail switchbacks steeply back and forth below some lovely red rock formations, finally crossing the first of several streams draining into Stafford. Keep going - you are still quite a ways from the meadows and camps below Navaho! You will descend further, cross a fairly significant creek (still hopp-able), and then climb west around a knob to suddenly come upon a broad meadow expanse and camps with Navaho Pass just behind. Turn right there and circle the meadows, climbing through the trees and then coming out on barren serpentine-rock slopes. You will come to a junction - look right to the final, lovely traverse over to Navaho Pass. From the pass there are amazing views across to the Enchantments, though Stuart isn't visible from here. A mile to the east is the top of Navaho Peak. Our route for today didn't leave us time for the Peak. We cut WEST on the bootpath signed as the 'County Line trail', but this was really little more than a boot track and sometimes barely visible at that. (It may have been better to have descended back from Navaho to the junction and continue on from there to the saddle to drop down into the Hardscrabble Creek basin.) We followed the barely visible boot track over a lot of residual snow patches essentially to the top of the knob due east of Navaho Pass (~6800'?) and then had to descend and traverse over and through boulders with steep drops below to get to the saddle above Hardscrabble Creek basin. From the saddle, the GPS track and our intrepid pathfinders located the barest track heading steeply downhill through the trees (not across the scree...at least not yet). Finally we did dump out onto fairly loose gravelly soil which we then 'glissaded' down through, still following the GPS track and the very occasional signs of a boot. Our route then turned just about due west, traversing under the prominent knob on the ridgeline to Earl Peak (Unnamed on the Green Trails map but marked 6823'). We eventually encountered minimalist cairns and followed them across wet tussock, rockpiles and forest. (Go around the big pile of red rock to the left, then continue straight through the woods.) We never did find a marker for Hardscrabble Creek trail. Soon after the redrock pile, you come out of the trees and find a trail going steeply to the left (south), switchbacking up a gravelly slope to the top of a ridge with a rugged rock outcrop just to its west end. In places this hard gravel slope was a bit treacherous, with a long fall if one slipped. But enough footing to make it up safely in boots - just don't even think about it without ice axe and traction if there's snow! From the top of this saddle (I refer to it as Fourth Creek Pass), the views are stupendous, across to Mt Stuart and the Stuart Range, and there is a very well marked (finally!) trail down to the Beverly creek drainage. Well signed junctions mark the Fourth Creek trail (go left) and the Beverly Trail (go left again), back to the trailhead. Be very sure of snowmelt before even thinking of attempting the loop! A week earlier and we wouldn't have made it. Wildflowers were absolutely gorgeous on this trip! Thunder clouds loomed around us through much of the walk, but we lucked out with sun breaks overhead and no rain other than a pitter patter that cooled our final mile. Plenty of water through the length of the hike; no wet fords, though somewhat tricky rock hopping. Bring extra socks in case you slip!

I went on a Cascadian backpack Fri - Sun to the 6100' bench just west of Tooth Saddle. We hiked up the Beverly Turnpike trail to the Fourth Creek trail & climbed the hill to the County Line/Hardscrabble Creek trail which took us to our bench. There were a few blow-downs on the Hardscrabble Creek trail, but nothing we couldn't step over or walk around. After setting up camp we went in search of water. Crossing the Fourth Creek basin there were a number of small streams, but up here the streams we usually used were dry. We finally found a rivulet about 1/4 mile away with a little current & a few pools big enough to dip a pan into to fill the water bag. Thankfully it had clouded up some in the afternoon so we could wear a few more clothes to help keep the hoards of mosquitoes at bay. On Sat Eric, Jay, & Karen headed off for Navaho Peak, but this old man knew that this was more than he wanted to do, so me & Ethan (who stayed behind to keep an eye on the old man) headed up Bean Peak from Tooth Saddle. It was a clear sunny day & the views were magnificent. After spending an hour or so on top, we decided to try running the ridge out towards Earl Pk, but the down climbing turned out to be a little more strenuous that we expected & after making our way a little ways across the south side of the peak we decided to bag this idea. We climbed back over the peak & found a nice shady spot on the ridge & took a short nap, then headed down to the saddle & back to camp. The others arrived in camp about 5, after having had a very good day. The evening's entertainment arrived about 8:00 in the form of a military (MAST?) helipcopter and we watched fascinated for the next hour as it performed what we assume was a rescue high on the slopes of Mt Stuart. It actually lowed itself out of sight behind one of the spur ridges near the west ridge 3 or 4 times before finally flying off towards Wenatchee. Sunday dawned sunny & warm and rather than hang out with the mosquitoes, we had breakfast, packed up, & headed out about 9;45 and were back to the cars about noon. There were nice flowers, but the peak is definately past over here. The mosquitoes were thick, but the views were spectacular.

My mom, dad, and I set out on the first Tuesday in August from the Boulder-De Roux trailhead for a four day (3 night) backpacking trip through trails in the Teanaway area. The weather was absolutely gorgeous and the wildflowers were stunning...the most I have ever seen on a hike! Day 1: We started hiking at 9:30 up boulder-de roux to Gallagher Head Lake, stopping to take pictures in the many meadows. From the lake (which had abundant shooting star blooms along with some mosquitoes) we followed the jeep track for 1-ish miles to the fortune cookie pass trailhead. NOTE: when the jeep track splits (not shown on green trails map) stay to the right, and then continue going downhill after crossing a small stream. After the pass, we took the trail to Lake Ann. Only a small traverse of snow was required, and it was soft and very maneagable. The Lake itself was beautiful, with awesome reflections, meadows, and views. A stream of 10 horses and riders arrived in the evening from the outfitter, but they did a wonderful job of maintaining the peaceful atmosphere :) Mosquitoes were present, but not too worrisome. Day 2: Starting at 9:30 again, hiked out of Ann and turned left on the Esmerelda Basin trail. Lots more wildflowers, and a beautiful hike in lovely weather. About 1/2 mile from the parking lot, we turned left up trail toward Lake Ingalls (labeled Ingalls Way Trail). Took the hot and exposed trail up to the saddle, then continued over snow (once again soft and easy to follow) towards the lake. The lake is starting to thaw, but the basin is still full of snow. An ice bridge that had been used to circumnavigate the lake on the right broke under a man and his son (neither of whom were hurt) and is no longer safe to use. The left side of the lake basin could be crossed with care, but, not having ice axes and not feeling in the life-risking mood, we descended a ways and camped on some rocks below the lake. We encountered many mountain goats near the lake. At first they had us a bit nervous, but by the end of the night, we realized they were unafraid, but also not agressive. Mosquitoes were rather thick. Day 3: Broke camp and hiking by 7:11. After a leisurely breakfast in Headlight Basin and many pictures of goats, we decided to hike down the basin to Ingalls Creek Trail. After crossing the river and scouting around a bit, we emerged into the Ingalls Creek Valley. It was STUNNING. Amazing views of Stuart and its meadowed slopes. Wildflowers were everywhere and some almost as tall as me. The trail was very brushy in places, but SO worth it. We hiked a few miles and turned right on the Fourth Creek Trail. We ascended through lovely meadows and forest and LOTS of mosquitoes to the saddle at 5600ft. where we camped. Mosquitoes, mosquitoes, mosquitoes. We ate dinner as we literally ran around camp trying to avoid the voracious bugs and jumped in the tent at 6:30. *NOTE: If anyone hikes up Fourth Creek Trail, could you please check for my Vibram Five Finger shoes? From the Fourth Creek/Hardscrabble junction, go NW maybe 50-100 yds up a small rise. You may see where we cleared a tent area. The shoes are grey and green and sitting on a tree (probably 4ft. off the ground) 20-ish ft. South of the tent area. You can contact me at mikeesl@hotmail.com Thanks!............ Day 4: For our final day, we skipped breakfast to avoid mosquitoes and started hiking at 7:15. We continued down Fourth Creek Trail, turned Right on trail 1391, and then took a left on Iron Peak trail 1399. Really interesting terrain up to Iron Pass. Lots of green rock and shale. The view from the pass was wonderful (Mt. Rainier, Mt. Adams?, the tip of Mt. Stuart, etc. etc.) and the mosquitoes less voracious, so we made coffee and took a rest before the final descent to the North Fork Teanaway road and the walk back to the car. I was so pleased with the hike! Wildflowers were everywhere (queen anne's lace, shooting starts, penstemon, lupine, wild rose, indian paintbrush, avalanche lillies, and many more), snow was very minimal, and the views were spectacular. The main difficulty were the mosquitoes, but I suppose they are the price you must pay for such glory.

Starting from the Ingall's Creek Convenience Center, with some of the most beautiful B&B style rooms anywhere, I pushed my pack up easy breezy Ingalls Creek about 10 1/2 miles to a nice camp at Fourth Creek, then zipped the rest of the way up to Stuart Pass, a sweet perch between handsome brown Ingalls Peak and rugged massive granitic Mt Stuart. After some poking around I capped off the day with a trip to Ingalls Lake, a rock rimmed beauty, stark and remote. Day two began with a rock hop across Ingall Creek followed by a climb to the County Line trail atop Teanaway Ridge. A couple scenic miles of ridge running brought me after a false stop at a fake saddle (where I ate all my victory cookies) to Tooth Saddle and amazing views across the Ingalls valley at the full sweep of the Stuart Range. An amazing experience!

I went on a Cascadian backpack outing Fri – Sun to the arm just west of Volcanic Neck & Tooth Saddle. Once the Beverly Creek Trail broke out of the trees the hillsides were covered with Northern Desert Buckwheat & Scarlet Gilia. The trail was in fine shape. We then took the Fourth Creek Trail up to the junction with the County Line Trail and then along this trail to our campsite. The County Line Trail to this point was generally easy to follow, though a little boggy in places. Our campsite was next to a long outcropping of beautiful orange serpentine with spectacular views to the north across the Ingalls Creek valley to the Stuart Range; to the west to Ingalls, Bill’s, & Iron Peaks; and, right above us, Bean Peak & Volcanic Neck. Once in the higher country there was lots of Wild Alyssum, Spreading Phlox, Martindale’s & Wenatchee Mtn Lomatium, Ivsia, and, in the wetter spots, Jeffrey’s Shooting Star. Most spectacular, however, was one of my favorite wildflowers, the beautiful serpentine endemic, the Wenatchee Mtn Spring Beauty (Claytonia megarhiza, var. nivalis), growing in almost every little nook & cranny in the serpentine. It took considerable self-control not to photograph every composition I found. We hadn’t been there too long, however, before we were discovered by the mosquitoes. It took liberal amounts of bug juice & mosquito net hats to keep them at bay. On Saturday we day-hiked the County Line Trail east toward Navaho Pass. Once past the two forks of Hardscrabble Creek the trail was faint at times, though cairns generally marked the way. There were also lots of blow-downs, both old & new. Once we reached the saddle just before Navaho Pass, Ethan & I decided that we had gone far enough. I took a group shot with the Stuarts in the background and then the others headed off to Navaho Peak, which they reached in about an hour. The skies were clear & the views magnificent, though it was quite warm. When we arrived back in camp later that afternoon clouds were building & there was a party of two in one of the other campsites a little farther out on the arm. These two and a day-hiker were the only others we saw the entire time. We woke on Sunday to overcast and a cool breeze, a welcome relief from Saturday’s heat. After breakfast some of the party headed up towards Bean Peak, but it was so cold & miserable at Tooth Saddle that they turned around and came back to camp. The breeze was only intermittent by the time they returned, and the bugs were as thick as ever, so we packed up and headed out. We stopped for lunch on the open slopes above Beverly Creek and arrived back at the cars about 2:30, the end of a very nice outing. A final note: when we arrived at the trailhead on Fri there were some Forest Service folks there checking out the drainage ditches that were mentioned in earlier reports (we scraped bottom of one of them). We were told that the plan is to modify them enough so that the road is passable to passenger cars while still providing the necessary drainage.