Cousin Tommy and I camped at Libby Lake on Friday, July 13 and climbed Raven Ridge and Hoodoo Peak before hiking out on July 14.
The road to the trailhead is well-signed and easy to drive. Like one might expect, there are a few potholes and a little bit of washboard, but we made it in my little car, no problem. There is ample parking space at the trailhead. Pro tip: as you’re looking at the end of the road, park in the back corner on the left hand side. Your car will be in the shade in the afternoon.
The trail starts off steep and switches back for a while, enters the Chelan-Sawtooth Wilderness Area, then flattens out and slowly gains elevation through the forest. There is a decent amount of blowdown over the trail during this flat section, but it looks like some kind soul took a hand saw up here and cleared out a lot of the branches, so none of the crossings were too terrible. The trail crosses and re-crosses North Fork Libby Creek, enjoys peek-a-boo views of the Methow Valley and Columbia Plateau (sounds like I’m selling real estate, here), and then climbs quickly once more until you reach Libby Lake. Lots of cutthroat trout in Libby Lake, and they were jumping like crazy the next morning. The night was pretty windy, and the bugs were ever present, but not intolerable. I didn’t bring a headnet. I was fine, but had I brought one, I likely would have used it.
The climb to Raven Ridge (go to the SW corner of Libby Lake and ascend a broad gully with lots of loose rock) was a little scramble-y, and we had to deal with some steep-ish snow on the way up to the ridge. Once the ridge was gained, it was some fun boulder hopping to the summit on the other end. There was a summit register up there, but it needs a replacement small pad or write-in-the-rain booklet, and a pencil! So, if anyone is reading this and feels so inspired…
After descending, we hiked our gear down from the lake to the abandoned cabin (lots of mosquitoes here), dropped packs, and made the quick ascent up to Hoodoo Peak. It was not difficult, just hopping from boulder to boulder up to the top. The views from Hoodoo Peak were superb. I was glad to have trekking poles for the hike out; it made my knees happy during the downhill sections.
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