Today was a wonderful day for the east end of the Icicle Ridge. The temps were about right, although a little chilly on top, fall colors everywhere, friendly hikers on the trail, and of course the great views in all directions. It's about 2 miles and 1800 feet of elevation to get to the viewpoint looking over L'worth and it took me exactly an hour to get there. The larch show on the drive over Blewett is the best I've ever seen there. This trail is in great condition.

I usually do this trail as a spring conditioning hike, but heading to Leavenworth on Friday I pulled off onto the Tumwater Pipeline trailhead to check out the fall colors along the Wenatchee river and slopes of Icicle Ridge. I remembered seeing the old bridge and river from the viewpoint along the Icicle Ridge trail. I opted to do this hike instead of Colchuck Lake since it was shorter and had some fall color on Saturday. First one to the trailhead this morning, the valley was draped in fog and a chilly 38 degrees. But I knew I would warm up as I climbed up. About halfway up I was above the valley fog. I turned off the Icicle Ridge trail after the two mile mark to walk up to the highway 2 and town view points. Views west were clear and the fog was drawing up the valley from Leavenworth. After a short break I headed down. By then there were many people heading up the trail and by the time I got back to the trailhead the roundabout was full.

We went from Icicle Creek TH to the Chatter Creek TH (with a lucky hitch-hike back to our car) Icicle Creek trail is in good condition and no challenge. We encountered a party of 2 close to the TH. Gradual uphill starts on the Frosty-Wildhorse trail. Stream crossing was no problem. It gets brushy in the upper basin- not tunneling through brush over your head brushy, but mildly annoying. A few bugs at the turnoff to Lake Margaret. The views became increasingly amazing as we ascended from Frosty Pass through Mary's pass on the Icicle Creek trail. Wowza! We didn't stop at Mary Lake either because we hadn't left the TH until nearly 1pm and we wanted to make sure we made camp before dark. We continued along to upper Florence lake for the night. The "trail" to the lake seems to make more sense from the other direction, or from the Pass (where the main trail doesn't seem to intersect?) Maybe we missed something, at any rate it's open and no problem to descend until you hit the lake trail. After ~12+ miles without seeing anyone we were surprised to see the one decent campsite near the lake occupied. Two other solo men and a USFS ranger showed up soon after us. Our day 4500 gain, 12+ miles, 6 hours. It rained all night despite the weather forecast 0% chance of rain. It kept drizzling and we stayed in the sleeping bag rather than hike through possible wet brush. The good news is that there isn't brush for miles but we didn't know it at the time. We started hiking at nearly 11am. The views are really sublime on this trail. Snowgrass mountain hid in the cloud layer as we headed uphill from Ladies Pass on the shoulder of Cape Horn. We didn't climb the short scramble to the summit- at one of the switchbacks there is a way trail to a spot large enough to put your backpacks if you want to. Looks like the scramble heads up from there. Lake Edna was lovely. Set in a circle of green grass within a barren rocky basin. We had a snack and pumped more water before heading downhill. Lots of amazing campsite options along the trail here, both before and after the Chatter Creek Junction. A bonus, you can avoid trampling lovely Edna- you need to camp 200 feet away anyway and there aren't many options right at the lake. Lots of ups and downs along the Chatter Creek trail through a high basin with rocks, larches and mossy moist meadows. There are a couple of nice campsites here too. We ascended to the shoulder of Grindstone Mountain and enjoyed the views. From here it is all downhill. It's fairly steep and scrambly. I'd rather go uphill here and perhaps will next time. But I can see why the other TR's of this route go up the other way, certainly less taxing and you split the gain up better. I prefer suffering and getting it over faster ;) Our knees were a little sore 4,000 elevation loss later. We really enjoyed this loop. Highly scenic, saw less than 10 humans in 2 days. Must recommend! We recorded about 21 miles, 6000+ gain for the trip.

Perfect day for a hike before the start of college. The leaves are just starting to turn making for more incredible views on the ridge line. Trail is in good condition and easy enough to do on a morning. Many people and dogs out. To the person who's dog attacked mine. She is now missing two chuncks of hair from her neck with open skin underneath. There are also puncture bites from your dog's teeth in her neck as well. If you say your dog is friendly, mean it. I have an open sore on my hand from trying to get to her. My dog would not hurt no one and no thing, but now I am more wary to take her hiking with me (my only hiking buddy and my best friend).

Nice easy hike up switchbacks to a great view of Leavenworth below. A bit late for wildflowers and berries but we did encounter a few lizards and chipmunks. A nice dry hiking alternative for when it's raining on the other side of the pass.