Navaho Pass — Sunday, Jun. 27, 1999

Snoqualmie Region > Salmon La Sac/Teanaway

We headed east to escape the seattle rain and decided to try our luck with the Teanaway River. The trailhead is approximately at 3000' and we hiked 4 miles up to the junction (@ 5000') with the trail that heads west over the ridge. We walked another 1/4 mile or so on the main trail toward ""Navaho Pass"". After a short scramble up the side of the ridge to a bluff we turned around and went back. Except for the last 1/2 mile or so before the junction, the trail is free of snow and blowdown. There are several areas that show evidence of avalanche, (lots of cracked off trees) but nothing blocks the trail. All in all it is a nice creek to walk next to and the forest has occasional clearings that allow you to view the surrounding ridges. As for that half mile or so of snow before the junction, be careful. The snow lies in patches ranging from 8' across to 25' or 40'. Most are the smaller variety and shallow (2 to 3 feet). Some, however, pass over running water and are quite hollow inside. I discovered this the hard way after I marched over a rather large one (with some evidence of holes in it) and abruptly broke through. I landed on my feet, although I now stood about five feet lower than I was a second ago. My head poked up through the neat round hole I made and I had to realize that, yes, I still do stupid things. Anyway, after the 4 mi. junction the trail swithbacks up the ridge some and leaves most of the snow behind on the vally floor. I would imagine the trail stays snow free for a while but views up the valley revealed a lot of snow, so I would think there would be more snow to encounter before reaching the pass. The valley has a lot of character to enjoy, just be careful with those innocent looking piles of white stuff.