What a lovely trail! I think we missed a lot of the flowers but there were still a few in bloom.

PRACTICAL INFORMATION Some guidebooks say there is no marking at the trailhead but there definitely was a proper trailhead – trail nameplate, information board and register, though no privy. Contrary to some trail descriptions, the information board said "No National Forest pass required", but most people did hang theirs in their car. The information board also warned for poison ivy on the lower switchbacks. We saw 3 patches of groundcover with poison ivy. The first one, a pure patch of poison ivy, reached out over the trail towards the unsuspecting hiker. Another one involved a mixture of plants so the poison ivy was less obvious and therefore even more treacherous. We did not see any poison ivy on the upper half of the trail. We hiked the trail on a weekday and there were probably about 5 other parties hiking the trail, so no problem with parking. The trail has a mixture of forest and sun-exposed areas so you can alternate walking in the sun with resting in the shade as much as you like. It can be hot so take plenty of water. With plenty of time to enjoy views and wildflowers, it took us 1 hr 45 min to get to the top and 1 hr 30 min to get down, with 1 hr spent enjoying the amazing views and wildflowers at the top. The trail is well laid out, a dirt trail with occasional rocks or roots and a steady approx. 10% grade all the way up. The trail was very dry when we were there. Caution was still needed, as the trail traverses a steep slope. At one switchback where the dirt was more gritty, we skidded a little going down. When you can first see the ridgeline above you, you are about halfway. When you get to the top (saddle), you can recognize the saddle from the 3 tree stumps that provide a nice resting and lunchplace. To conclude the day hike, turn right at the saddle and follow the trail for a couple of hundred yards up and down a little bit, until what appears to be the end of the trail, a small clearing with a couple of horizontal logs where you can see Leavenworth lying beneath your feet. However beautiful it already is at the saddle, it is definitely worth the few minutes extra to go to the right, because of the additional views and wildflowers. TRIP DESCRIPTION This is a beautiful trail featuring everything you might want to see: lush green forest with both maples and Ponderosa pines and an understory with wildflowers, open drier areas teeming with wildflowers, stunning views of picturesque townships, meandering blue rivers and agricultural valleys below, Tumwater canyon with whitewater and waterfalls, and all around rugged mountains, a few snowpeaks, and expansive foothills. It was 80F on the day we hiked and we were very happy to have some shade from the trees and even a couple of small streams to help cool down. On the upper part of the trail there was also a nice breeze. The abundant wildflowers are a top attraction of this trail in the spring. Several species had already finished blooming, but others were still plentiful or just starting. Large patches of tall silvercrown on the way up had mostly gone to seed. The prolific yellow balsamorhiza sunflowers were at their end – still able to give a splash of yellow in the flowerpalette, so nice next to the purple lupins. But seen close-up, the flowers were almost all wilting now. Lupins were in their prime and literally everywhere along the trail and ridge. An especial treat were the white Cat’s Ear lilies, found along the upper half of the trail and at the top. Other treats were blue larkspur, pink large-flowered penstemon at the top, dark blue small-flowered penstemon at the top, several different types of paintbrush, white western starflower, white prairie starflower, pink wild onion, pink geranium, coral root, orange honeysuckle, and many others beyond my identification skills. Flowering shrubs included white thimbleberries and pink roses in the forest, and white snowbrush (Ceanothus) abundant in the more open areas, especially at the top. It is interesting to see the gradation in the species of wildflowers as you climb the trail, and also the gradient of flowering for a single species – for instance, on the lower part of the trail the snowbrush was setting seed, whereas at the top it was in full bloom. After many teaser views of the Icicle Creek valley below as we ascended the trail, when we got to the saddle we were rewarded with a view into the Tumwater canyon. As we walked the trail to the right, we could see more and more details of the Tumwater canyon. The Wenatchee river winds below, alternating white rapids with placid blue. Snowmelt streams glint silver on dark green slopes. To the north, on the west side of the canyon, Drury Falls races down a vertical rock precipice. Apparently only the 600 ft upper falls are visible from this vantage point, to see the full 1270 ft you would have to hike Tumwater Mountain – not an easy task. Behind Drury Falls, the formidable rock walls of an unnamed mountain spur – unnamed except for Josephine Crag – reminded us of what makes the Cascades so exciting and beautiful. Once we got to the east end of the trail, we could see down into Leavenworth and the valleys and hills beyond. There is an almost 360 degrees view of the entire area. There was a thicket of blossoming snowbrush (Ceanothus) at the end of the trail – probably protecting us from seeing the sheer dropoff beyond. On the way back, we saw additional wildflower species that we had missed on the way up – there are just so many varieties !

Who: Daniel & David Tveten What: Chiwaukum Ski Tour When: May 17-18th 2016 (30 hrs) Note: Although this TR describes a ski tour, I've made special effort to describe information relevant to hiking and snowshoeing in the region. David and I got a late start up Chatter Creek trail (4pm) to our camp at Lake Edna. The trail is in good condition, the stream crossing near the top has an easy ford just downstream, and snow doesn't start until above 5,000ft—and even then it's just short patches. The switchbacks were nearly snow-free until you reach a solid snow field 6,200ft, which we followed straight up on our skis, leaving the trail which continues traversing to the left. We skied all the way over to Lake Edna (on what would be the Icicle Ridge trail) and camped. Wednesday we left at 7am and skied through the col North of the Lake (also would-be Icicle Ridge trail). We maintained our elevation, skiing over the upper reaches of Chiwaukum Creek trail and staying left of Lake Brigham and Lake Flora. (If you are climbing the Chiwaukum Creek trail to get to Brigham and Flora, patchy snow will start at 5,200ft, ~0.3 miles from the lakes, which lie at 5,700 ft and are mostly frozen over). We continued northward, traversing the southeastern flanks of Snowgrass Mountain to the stony ridge above Lake Charles. We packed our skis through an exposed scramble, after which we descended toward frozen Lake Charles, and then continued northward around Big Chiwaukum. We gained the ridge above Cup Lake, and left sudden white-out conditions for a fun descent with a few very minor wet-slides. We passed the lake and stayed left, and climbed back into the clouds via the snow on the far ridge. From there, we maintained elevation with excellent views of the Scottish High Lakes area—Chiwaukum Lake, Loch Eileen, Lake Julius, Lake Ethel. Look at the picture of Cup and Larch Lake for an Idea of snow conditions. Lakes Ethel, Eileen, and Julius are 700-1,200ft lower than this, and from what I remember were pretty accesible with only patchy snow. We reached a steep slide path, referred to as The Swath, and followed the ridge left a couple hundred feet till we found a more appealing shoot. After a (horrendous, epic, painful) brush battle, we followed a deteriorating logging "road" back to our ride on White Pine Road. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- To ask questions, just leave a comment below. Or text me. For more info on the route, see Backcountry Ski Routes Washington by Martin Volken, published by Mountaineers Books: https://www.rei.com/product/873427/backcounty-ski-and-snowboard-routes-washington?cm_mmc=cse_PLA_GOOG-_-8734270001&CAWELAID=120217890000846831&lsft=cm_mmc:cse_PLA_GOOG (I requested it from the library) Look fun? I'm always looking for skiing/rock climbing/mountaineering partners, so if you have anything like this for which you want a skilled, fit partner, just text me beta and your plans. Here are a few trips I'd like to do if I can find partners: Dakobed Traverse (3-4 day ski traverse with summit of Glacier Peak) Ingalls Peak south ridge 5.6 rock climb, and/or nearby Mt Stuart Mt Rainer, Ski Furher Finger or Emmons Glacier, or climb Liberty Ridge Mt Hood, ski and/or climb. Anything epic - text me your plans! Beautiful backpacking trips/ultra runs included. Peak-bagging - ditto! Any climbing on Leavenworth granite! (It is my home town) Maybe Prusik Peak West ridge? *Text My Cell: (50nine) 8six0-062zero I live in Leavenworth on Ski Hill Drive! Happy trails! Daniel Tveten

We started out today at around 10:30am as to avoid dehydration on what was to be an 80° day in Leavenworth. Trailhead is super easy to find and just outside of town. The trail was in fantastic condition, but I highly recommend poles as it is a steady climb and rarely flattens out. The path can get slippery on the way down and is quite narrow, requiring good hiking shoes. Plenty of shady spots along the way to rest your glutes, take in the surrounding views and varieties of brilliant wildflowers. We made it to the top within 2 hours, averaging 2.1mph., however my companion & I are in fairly good shape, so most should allow for more time to summit. When you reach the top veer to the right and head in that direction to view Hwy 2, Tumwater Canyon and Leavenworth Proper. We averaged 4.1mph on our descent, moving right along, while keeping in mind that falling could be pretty easy to do if you weren't paying attention. All in all a great hike to take in the a.m. close enough to town to grab a well earned lunch.