We were hoping for an Enchantments permit for the peak of the Perseid Meteor Shower, but didn't have luck Thursday morning at the Leavenworth Ranger's Station. At the recommendation of a ranger we decided to hit up a loop on the other side of Icicle Road from the Enchantments. Our loop started at the Icicle Creek Trailhead and went up to Lake Margaret, Frosty Pass, Lake Mary, Mary's Pass, Ladies Pass, Cape Horn, Lake Edna and the Chatter Creek Trail back down to the Chatter Creek Trailhead. Bugs were horrendous the entire time. Whenever we stopped moving they'd swarm us. And not just pesky mozzies, but black flies that could bite through longsleeves too. Bring the jungle juice, you'll need it. Icicle Creek Trail: Super easy and flat, it follows along the creek and has numerous turnoffs for other trails. The turnoff for Lake Margaret/Frosty Pass is just after a bridge, and I believe it was signed for Frosty Pass and possibly Icicle Ridge. Icicle Creek to Lake Margaret: An uphill climb with overgrown brush on what appeared to be a non-maintained trail. Wayfinding wasn't difficult, but it was a constant battle through shrubs through a steep rocky valley. Trudging through with an overnight backpack was difficult. Lake Margaret: Pretty waterfalls but poor campsites. Tons of fish if you're into that sort of thing! At one point there's a split to go left or right (both lead to the lake), on the left side there was a nice campsite, but poor water access. On the right side there was also a nice campsite and a nice small boulder field for laying out on/swimming in the lake from. There's a toilet near where the Lake Margaret trail splits away from the main Frosty Pass trail. Lake Margaret to Frosty Pass: Sort of steep, but easier than the previous stretch of trail. Lots of horse poop, and we FINALLY ran into the horses we had guessed we were following when we were at Frosty Pass. Frosty Pass to Lake Mary: Really great views of the North Cascades from the ridge. There are two turnoffs for Lake Mary and I would avoid taking the first turnoff, as it runs into a creek and doesn't actually take you to the lake. Go up to the second turnoff as this is actually a trail that takes you down to a lake! You'll cross the same creek you would've crossed if you took the false turn. Turning off the main Icicle Ridge trail to Lake Mary takes you through a beautiful meadow, perfect for watching the sunset. Lake Mary: We camped out in a designated campsite area on a rocky outcropping above the lake, really close to the meadow with the gorgeous sunsets. There's a bathroom down near the lake, and we filled waterbottles at the creek the main trail had crossed over. While I filled with water I noticed something moving a ways uphill -- I'm not sure if it was a mountain goat or something else. It was white and light gray, and while it appeared to move like a goat at first, it watched us for quite a while and then ran off very quickly in a non-goatlike manner. We made sure to make noise and stick in groups the rest of the night. The meadow the creek runs through affords GORGEOUS views of the North Cascades and sunset. Lake Mary was the perfect spot for watching the Perseid Meteor Shower. Lake Mary to Ladies Pass: Tons of uphill and downhill, tons of wildflowers (including lots of luscious lupine!), and tons of views of the North Cascades and neighboring mountain ranges (including Glacier Peak and Mt. Baker!) Ladies pass is just a signpost with some trail markers, and it doesn't even say Ladies Pass on it. Ladies Pass to Cape Horn: A grueling uphill on a dusty trail. Cape Horn to Lake Edna: Tons of rock and scree. A rock ptarmigan! The lake is very cold. We saw the signs saying no camping for 200 feet. We did briefly set up a tent while we enjoyed lunch because there were just SO many bugs. We set it up right on the trail so as to minimize any disturbance to the pristine alpine lakes environment. Lake Edna to Grindstone Mountain Pass: A very windy trail that can be easy to lose if you aren't stopping to look ahead. The trail is passable (no snow) but there are snow fields nearby. There are lots of cairns near the boulder field which can lead you astray, so keep looking for the trail that snakes up the hill. This is a very grueling uphill, especially in the heat of the day. Grindstone Mountain Pass/Chatter Creek Trail to the Chatter Creek Trailhead: A terrible downhill grind that we will never speak of again. It starts as switchbacks on a scree field. It meets up with a creek so you can fill up with water here. There is a middle part that's flat/easy that serves as a nice reprieve. Ughh. It was just awful. My knees want to kill me. This route is 5.1 miles longer than an Enchantments through-hike. Our total elevation gain was 8,707 feet, and our total elevation loss was 8,940 feet. The Enchantments, by contrast, gains 4,400 feet of elevation and loses 7,000 feet as a through hike from Stuart TH to Snow Lakes TH.

A long lonesome hike with plenty of elevation, solitude & views. Despite the baking heat there is water to be had in a little shady stream near a pair of tarns about eight miles in. Great day!

Parked cars at the Chatter Creek Trailhead and Icicle Creek Trailhead at the end of Icicle Creek Road and started up the Icicle Creek trail. The trail was clear and in excellent shape, berries were ripe and common alongside. At the junction with the Frosty-Wildhorse Creek Trail, the trail narrowed and became overgrown (but still distinct) in places as it rose towards Margaret Lake. Blowdowns were navigable, but not infrequent until we came across a grant funded USFS trail crew leader, who had cleared the trail the rest of the way to the pass. He advised us to call our senator to lobby for more forest service funding for trail maintenance, and I will pass the good advice along here. Spent the night at Lake Margaret, which was pretty, but bugs were an annoyance. The next morning we climbed to Frosty Pass, then took the Icicle Ridge Trail over Mary's Pass and Ladies Pass, dropping to Lake Edna after some ups and downs along the way. Beautiful ridge walking here through subalpine meadows with sweeping views. We crossed over into the Chatter Creek drainage and began the rapid descent to the Chatter Creek Trailhead. We longed for trekking poles; our feet and knees took a beating because the trail was such steep downhill.

My husband and I hiked this trail and it was really beautiful! I recommend it for adults and kids and even fur babies. The view was really nice. I think we hit the 3,000 ft above ground level and you can see Leavenworth and beyond. It was really nice.

I traveled on foot from the Chatter Creek trailhead (TH) to the Lake Ethel TH , and used my bike as a shuttle between the two. The Chatter Creek trail is in great shape from the trailhead all the way up until you first cross Icicle Ridge at 6600 ft (approx 4 miles from the trailhead). A steep climb, but there are some nice views to distract you along the way. Once you drop down the north side of Icicle Ridge, there are still several significant patches of snow covering the trail. I used microspikes, but the snow was soft enough that I’m not sure the spikes actually made a difference – I just would’ve felt really stupid if I’d slipped on the slope with spikes in my pack instead of on my feet. I was glad for my trekking poles. Didn’t bring an ice ax, and didn’t miss it. From Ladies Pass, I picked up the Chiwaukum Creek trail. This trail also had some snow lingering above 6000 ft, but it was all relatively low angle and easy to navigate. In general conditions were mixed along Chiwaukum Creek. The trail faded away occasionally in the meadows directly below Lake Brigham, and then became very brushy before intersecting with the Index Creek trail. After Timothy Meadow there is an amazing section of clear runnable trail, all the way down to the intersection with the North Fork Chiwaukum trail. North Forth Chiwaukum… this was not my favorite trail. The first section travels through a sooty burn with occasional blow-downs, before becoming brushy and mosquito-ridden with more blowdowns. The actual North Fork of Chiwaukum Creek was running high and fast. I noticed a cairn on the opposite bank, but crossing at the cairn would’ve required fording the creek just upstream of a waterfall. Maybe at lower water that’s the best place to cross, but it did not look good to me. I spent a good 40 minutes wandering up and down the streambank before finally crossing on a slick wobbly log below the falls. After crossing the North Fork Chiwaukum, the trail begins a steep brushy climb. I can’t imagine this section of trail has been maintained or even seen much travel in recent years. Unsurprisingly, this where I hit a rough patch. I was mentally exhausted from trying to find a way across the river, the whole trip was taking much longer than I anticipated, it was getting dark, and I was tired of fighting slide alder. Waaaah. On the plus side, as soon as Chiwaukum Lake came into view, it was as though someone had waved a magic wand and instantly made the trail perfect. Thank you to whomever did all that work! McCue Ridge trail was completely clear of brush and blow-downs, and a lovely gentle grade. Conditions stayed near-perfect all the way through the Scottish Lakes area, including the trail to Lake Julius as well as the Roaring Creek trail to Lake Ethel. (Hiking season starts at High Camp on July 25 – get some! And no I’m not affiliated with them. I just love the place:) ) From Lake Ethel down to the trailhead was also in great shape, but man it went on forever. More details and pics here: https://evergreenendurance.com/2016/07/13/chiwaukum-traverse/