Morning run up to Scatter Lake, a little over 2 hrs. It's 4.5 miles to the lake and roughly 4,000ft of gain. Needless to say, this is a steep trail but surprisingly runnable because the trail is in good shape with only a handful of obstacles. Maybe 4-5 down trees and some overgrowth in short sections. No snow and wildflowers are blooming in the basin just before the lake. Otherwise, it is mostly fireweed blooming since this area was burned. Lake is beautiful. Fish are active. Some nice camping spots. Great hike if you're up for the vert challenge and want some solitude. 

My friend and I decided to check out another Bulger peak this weekend and settled on Abernathy. We left Kirkland at 5:15 AM and reached the trailhead around 9:10 AM—ours was the only car there. With no recent trip reports available, I packed for all conditions. The trail was overgrown for the first couple of miles, with plenty of downed, burnt trees and debris to climb over. Water was easily accessible right from the trail—no need to bushwhack for it. The climb to the lake was steady, and we took a break there, enjoying the views all to ourselves. A visible path to the summit starts on the right side of the lake. Snowfields began at the far end of the lake, but they were soft and easy to cross—even in trail runners. From there, we couldn’t find a defined trail, so we picked our own route. I had downloaded an AllTrails map from previous trips, which helped a lot with general orientation. The final mile was mostly loose scree and rock. Helmets and poles were definitely helpful. We reached the summit, signed the register, ate lunch, and soaked in the views.I carried an ice axe and crampons, but neither was needed. Total time for the trip was 8 hours and 50 minutes.

Road is snow free and clear to trailhead.

I intended to do an overnighter but instead was met with dozens of downed trees and tons of limbs scattered on the trail within the first two miles. after passing over 20ish I decided to say screw it and started moving what I could off trail and broke limbs off the bigger trees in an attempt to clear the trail for others (and myself in the future). After hours of going at it, I was so exhausted I ended up just coming back down and calling it a weekend. The trail still needs TONS more work and doesn't even look like I did much after all that time. Might see if the park Rangers will be ok with me coming down with a chainsaw.

Disclaimers

Quick-and-dirty version

Access: Scatter Lake Trailhead
Round Trip: 12 miles
Elevation Range: 3160'-7618'
Essential Gear: helmet
Dog-Friendly: with guidance

It was our second time on this trail 13 years after visiting Abernathy Peak above Scatter Lake. Campgrounds along Twisp River Road were now fee-free late in the season. We car-camped at the empty South Creek Campground,

TWISP RIVER ROAD: Paved and free of debris.

THE TRAIL: An maintained path to the lake except the two dozen downed trees in the first three miles. It briefly overlaps with Twisp River Trail before zigzagging up the gentle slope. 

THE LAKE: Semi-frozen and covered in larch needles.

THE WATER: A tiny stream at mile 1.5 followed by water from Scatter Creek at mile 3. Five more streams to mile 4.25, including Scatter Creek. Our last water source was Scatter Lake at mile 5. There was a thin snow patch on the yellowish color saddle between Point 7763 and Point 7612.

Our Route

1. Hike 5 miles to Scatter Lake and go west cross-country over Point 7763 via the east ridge.
2. Drop to the south saddle and go over Point 7612. One can also bypass the peak from the north slightly below the top.
3. Continue through Point 7416, the rockiest of the three high points.
4. Hug the crest to Greyhorn Peak's southeast ridge at 7400' and move into the southwest gully.
5. Climb the peak, retrace steps and hike out.

Highlights

• Vistas in the vast Lake Chelan-Sawtooth Wilderness and the national forest
• In-your-face view of Abernathy Peak
• A bluebird turned partly cloudy day

Lowlights

• Windfalls in the first three miles of the trail
• Traversing over three ridge bumps to get to Greyhorn

A very nice hike to a beautiful lake basin with golden larch trees just past their peak color. And for those that demand more, there is a steep and challenging (but not technical) bootpath, much of it through loose scree, up to the summit of Abernathy Peak.

• Distance: 11.5 miles
• Elevation gain: 5250 feet
• Duration: 8.3 hours (with lots of rest breaks and picture taking)
• Road and Trailhead: All cars can manage the 3.3 miles of gravel road (it is wide, but slightly bumpy due to washboarding). About 10-12 cars can fit in the small parking area, and there is room for shoulder parking on the short access road and FR4400. There were 7 cars at 7:30 a.m. and 6 cars at 4:00 p.m. The pit toilet was clean, but not stocked.
• Weather: A sunny Sunday, with trailhead temperatures of 35°F at 7:30 a.m. and 66°F at 4:00 p.m.
• Trail: The trail to Scatter Lake is in good condition. The first mile is especially nice as the brush along the trail has been cut back. But the trail over the next 1.5-2 miles was frequently narrow and very brushy, for which I was very glad to be wearing long pants. I counted 24 blowdowns across the first 3 miles of the trail, but it felt much less than 24 as only 4 blowdowns required some effort to navigate (the most difficult one was about 3/4 mile in from the trailhead).
• There was no formal trail to Abernathy Peak, only a bootpath straight up the scree slope from Scatter Lake. The going was most difficult when the scree underfoot was loose -- one step uphill, one-half step slide downhill, and repeat. But about two-thirds of the way up the slope, better footing was found by traversing to the climber’s left and through a rocky outcrop, and then following a clear bootpath the remaining way to the summit. If the climb doesn’t take your breath away, the views from the summit might as peaks galore await on a clear day.