Overall, a wonderful hike. Myself, my fiance, my sister and our 3 year old pup made the trek. We started our ascent around 115PM and it was HOT. Bring a lot of water, sources are scarce... only two tiny melt streams that I imagine will dry up soon. To be honest, the three of us are in pretty decent shape, and the ascent was TOUGH. We took a lot of breaks, but the elevation gain in those switchbacks is strenuous. That view at the top though? worth it! make sure you keep walking past the saddle with 3 stumps alllllll the way to the edge of the ridge. We got to the top around 310pm. We got to the bottom at around 4-420pm. The descent was breezy, but make sure you have good hiking shoes or shoes with a good grip.

We hiked this with our three children ages 6, 11, and 13. Started at the trailhead at about 2:15 pm. The trail alternates between foliage and barren ground, with an occasional stream. Switchbacks are abundant and the hike gains elevation quickly. The hike took us about 1:45 to reach the top. I suppose without kids it would have been a solid 1:15 at minimum. The kids did OK though it is a pretty demanding hike for a 6 year old. The vista at the top is absolutely worth every step. Spectacular views of the town of Leavenworth, as well as the surrounding mountains. The return hike to the trailhead took about an hour. There were a few spots with loose gravel so watch your step. Overall a fantastic hike that I would recommend highly. If you bring your patience, you can probably bring your kids along for the adventure.

Spent two days this weekend doing a partial traverse of the Icicle Ridge Trail starting at Fourth of July Creek and hiking out on the Icicle Creek Trail. The amazing views paired with excellent weather made for some great hiking. Trail Conditions: Fourth of July: Trail is in great condition with only one tree down. There is a small creek flowing maybe half way up and a slow dripping spring above that. Right now neither make for an attractive water source, so make sure to bring plenty as the trail is steep and exposed to the sun. Icicle Ridge Trail to Lake Augusta: Trail is maintained from the junction with the Fourth of July trail to the former lookout site. Beyond, the trail is fairly easy to follow north along the ridge but often disappears in the open meadows. Cairns mark the way but a few times we had to stop to relocate the trail. Once the trail begins to descend towards Cabin Creek it is severely overgrown and difficult/impossible to follow. Eventually it enters a burn area and completely disappears. We opted to head straight down to the valley floor where we crossed the creek on a downed tree, re-located the trail by the old campsite, and then followed a path through the alder to the other side of the valley. Pink flagging marked the first switchback but the trail soon vanished into more slide alder and we opted to head straight up to re-find the trail on top of the ridge and follow it north to the junction with the Hatchery Creek Trail. For all intents and purposes I would consider the section of trail through Cabin Creek as a cross-country route as it non-existent for long stretches. Where the trail does exist, it is severely overgrown and very difficult to follow. From the Hatchery Creek junction to Lake Augusta, the trail is in great condition. We spent a very windy night at the lake. The bugs down in the valley were terrible but really only a nuisance at the lake with the breeze. Lake August to Lake Edna The trail is in pretty good shape. Only minor snow crossings at the pass on the shoulder of Big Jim, above Carter Lake and again before Edna. The trail is very brushy in places (especially going down into and out of Index Creek) but is always easy to follow. The tread becomes very thin in places before and after Carter Lake but can be picked up again with a little looking around. Right now there is a lot of water running and some of the creek crossings (like Index) were hard to do without getting wet feet. Lake Edna is starting the melt out but there is still quite a bit of snow around in that area. Lake Edna to Frosty Pass: The trail along Cape Horn has two potentially treacherous snow crossing in gullies on the north side. A couple of parties turned around at this point because of the snow. Ice ax and crampons would be required if the snow was at all firm. If the snow was softer you could probably get away with just using poles but that all depends on how comfortable you are with steep snow. The rest of the trail from Ladies Pass to Frosty Pass is basically snow free with the exception of a couple of easy patches and a more significant stretch above Lake Mary. Tread is in great shape and there are only three small blowdowns just before Frosty Pass. Frosty Pass to Icicle Creek: The Wildhorse-Frosty trail is in great condition up high but becomes very overgrown farther down valley. The brush is never really a hindrance just more of a massive annoyance. There are also many downed trees across the trail, a few of which are quite large and require some effort to climb over. Icicle Creek Trail: This was a very pleasant trail to walk with some very comfortable looking campsites along the way. Only three blowdowns that were easily stepped over or walked around. A special thanks to the group of five backpackers that very kindly made room in their van to spare us from an 8+ miles road walk back to our car!

Having been tasked with taking Cedar far away from 4th of July fireworks, I chose a 4-day traverse through high lakes of the Chiwaukum Mountains. As it is still early season in the high country, I knew we were taking a chance on trail and snow conditions, but decided to give it a look anyway. We left the Icicle Creek trailhead Saturday mid-morning in sunny conditions and hiked 5 miles upstream to the junction with the Frosty Creek trail. The Icicle Creek trail is in great shape, many wildflowers, including Pink Pyrolas in prime condition. (navigation note: the junction with the Frosty Creek trail is just past the bridge across Icicle Creek, about 1/2 mile upstream from where my USGS topo places it). The Frosty Creek trail is another story, all of my notes on trail obstacles (except snowfields) refer to the Frosty Creek trail. It starts out well enough, until it reaches Doughgod Creek which is still running high and requires caution; shin-deep wading and careful foot placement, would have been dicey without trekking poles. Cedar, of course had no problem, and laughed at me from the other side while I cautiously proceeded. A half mile or so farther on (about 3500') the real fun begins, blowdowns, more blowdowns, blowdowns on top of blowdowns! It will take an extensive logging operation to clear this trail, not sure when or if that might happen. There were also several sections of trail which were overgrown by vegetation, not too hard to follow for now, but maybe a different story by mid-summer. The obstacles continued until we reached the bench at about 5000'. We considered camping there, but decided to continue on to Lake Margaret. We camped at the north end of the lake, there is also at least one other spot near the outflow. I was impressed that 2 more groups of backpackers arrived after us, both having successfully completed the Frosty Creek obstacle course. There were a few mosquitoes at Lake Margaret, but none at the higher lakes. In the morning we proceeded up to Frosty Pass and on to Lake Mary where we ate lunch. Beyond Lake Mary we encountered the first of several snowfields, this one on the north facing slope leading to the pass between Lake Mary and Upper Florence Lake. The snow was soft, perfect for step-kicking, and we proceeded over the pass where we first encountered the strong winds which continued until we were well down the Chatter Creek trail. All of the snow that we encountered was soft and did not freeze overnight. I carried micro-spikes but did not use them. I was glad to have the trekking poles however. On one of the later snowfields I noticed crampon tracks. In my opinion, crampons and soft snow are a dangerous combination, but they seemed to have worked OK in this case. The Upper Florence Lake basin was windy, but mostly snow-free. We found a reasonably sheltered spot at the south-east end of the lake and spent the night there. Cedar was ecstatic to encounter marmots for the first time this season. She was also especially pleased that some previous visitors had left used toilet paper out for her to sniff (and probably rolled in if left to her own devices). We were hoping for sunset/sunrise/starry night, but were out of luck as clouds moved in in the afternoon and brought some light showers overnight. The next morning we woke up to less wind, but white-out conditions that persisted until early afternoon. When the weather appeared to be lifting, we packed up and headed for ladies Pass, intending to camp in Spanish Camp Basin. The weather did not completely clear, and at Ladies Pass waves of clouds and showers were passing through. We hemmed and hawed for a time about crossing Cape Horn to Lake Edna in the changing weather conditions. We knew that the steepest snow slopes of the route would be on the north side of Cape Horn and again on the ascent to the pass to Chatter Creek. Eventually we chose a break in the showers and went for it. Again, the snow was soft and step-kicking was easy, at least for a 170 lb human wearing leather boots, not so much for a 50 lb dog! I belayed Cedar with a length of webbing tied to her pack harness, a good decision, as she slid part way up and would have had a long ride of several hundred feet. We safely made it over Cape Horn and down to Lake Edna, a windswept and thoroughly uninviting place on this particular afternoon. We passed by without stopping and continued down to Spanish Camp Basin to look for a spot to spend the night. There was still considerable snow cover in the basin, periodically obscuring the trail. Fortunately the weather had lifted enough so that we could see the pass to Chatter Creek and keep ourselves oriented. Eventually we reached the base of the pass without encountering any camp sites that we liked. Considering the weather at the moment to be acceptable, but the next day's an unknown, we decided to cut bait and cross the pass. I put Cedar back on belay (she didn't slip again) and over we went. Interestingly, there had been a skier in the area within the last day or two who had left a skin track up the slope. We dropped down into the Chatter Creek Basin and chose one of the established camp sites at 5000' to set up for the night. The next day we had an easy walk out along the Chatter Creek trail, which is in good condition, only a couple of blow downs. I imposed several stops for flower pictures, always an annoyance for Cedar, who likes to keep the show rolling. There were numerous tiger lilies, bluebells, columbine, blue and white shooting stars, and many others. Overall another successful outing in another beautiful area. Under better weather conditions there are outstanding views of the Stuart Range and the Central Cascades. Right now, however, this trip is best for those with experience in snow travel and route finding. I can't recommend the Frosty Creek trail as an access to the high country, but Chatter Creek is in good condition, and the Chain Lakes and Wildhorse trails are other options that may be in better condition. As far as our main agenda: no fireworks were heard, clearly Cedar's best Fourth of July ever!

While most folks take this trail to the first view point on the ridge, we decided to extend the trip to get up onto Icicle Ridge. 13 miles round trip and 5,000 feet of elevation gain to get to near the crest of the ridge, but it is definitely worth it! The trail is very well graded. Just a few days ago a Forest Service crew cleared and brushed the trail (through to 4th of July Creek), getting this trail in the best condition its been in years (the unanimous opinion of all the hikers and bikers we ran into)! The views on the ridge beginning around 5,000 feet are spectacular, particularly into the Enchantments and down into the Icicle Creek and Wenatchee River valleys below, and the wildflowers up there are still blooming, particularly the abundant lupine. Definitely worth the extra huffing and puffing, particularly if you are looking for an early season workout. Get started early to avoid the heat, and pack plenty of water, but get ready for an epic hiking gem!