Large lollipop route from Thirtymile up Chewuch, Boundary Trail from Cathedral to Horseshoe Basin, and some cross country miles and the Basin Creek trail back to Chewuch. Chewuch River: majority of the blowdowns are in the first six miles, with a handful of climb-overs. Mostly clear past Tungsten Creek junction. Consistent snow from Remmel Lake north, up to four feet; we often postholed up to our thighs in the deep areas. Boundary Trail: significant snow around Cathedral Peak/lakes, and at most shaded areas all the way through Horseshoe Basin. Very few blowdowns and overall in good shape, though hard to follow through snowy areas. Basin Creek: snow at the junction with Windy Peak/Creek trail. We got lost and decided going cross country down Basin Creek to rejoin the trail below the SW ridge of Topaz Mountain was the best option. It actually worked out very well, and we hit the trail with a couple of miles of descending left to rejoin the Chewuch River trail. Given the recent fire, the upper part of the trail over Topaz probably is worse than the actual basin we followed. Full trip report and photo set: http://seekingultra.blogspot.com/2014/06/pasayten-wilderness.html

89 downed trees at more than fifty locations counted in the first six miles. The trail was logged out earlier this year, but a recent wind storm took more fire-damaged trees down.

North East Pasayten Loop #510 Chewuch River, #534 Tungsten, #533 Cathedral, #565 Remmel and back to #510 Chewuck to Thirtymile TH. Aug 26 – 31, 2012 We began our trip at the Thirtymile Trailhead out of Winthrop. A must see before the trailhead is the memorial to the 4 firefighters who gave their lives back in 2001 which is on the left just before the trailhead. The end of August is always our annual trip to somewhere we have not explored before and we were not disappointed with this choice (as with all the others). The weather was quite agreeable with only some minor rain along the way and virtually no bugs the entire trip (another late August choice). The first day took us to the junction of 534 and 510. As you can imagine the burn out is quite visible for most of this section but the Chewuch Falls and the swimming pools above were exceptional. Open meadows along the way and lots of new growth made it a bit better than expected. Day 2: We headed north along 534 and found the trail to be muddy in spots with some overgrowth but quite passable. We stopped and explored the old Tungsten Mine that was abandoned during the Great Depression in the early 1900’s. Nearby were the old bunkhouse and cabin that is still in pretty good shape thanks to many who have restored this site over the years. The outhouse was a 2 seater with brand new seats … amazing! We continued north and setup camp in a nice meadow area just beyond the intersection on trail 533 and below Wolframite Mountain. Day 3: We continued west on 533 over Apex Pass on the way to Upper Cathedral Lake. Along the way we were treated to spring like flowers that were plentiful as we got closer to Cathedral Pass. Incredible views were also a big treat as we made our way along a very good trail. We setup camp at the west end of Upper Cathedral Lake having learned that the east end was typically very windy. A mother and her baby Mountain Goat kept us company for the 2 days we stayed here and we also had Deer drop by. Day 4: We explored the area and went up to the top of the mountain range to the north alongside Cathedral Peak. At this point you are looking into Canada and can see where sections of demarcation actually show you where the border is located. We also saw a Canadian patrol helicopter flying right along the border line. Some of us spent more time climbing while others went back to the lake for some good fishing. I attempted to climb Cathedral Peak 8,601’ and had to stop about 100 feet short due to the loose rock and ice having made it past the first snow field (backside of summit at 8,515’). Day 5: After waking up to frost and below freezing temperatures (lake is at 7,400’) we began our ascent along the west side of the loop. Trail signs are lacking and you have to be very careful when trying to figure out which trail to take in places. Green Trails does not show many of these which is to be expected. We ended up taking a left trail that took us partially around the backside of Amphitheater Mountain. As it turned out this gave us a nice walk thru open fields to pick up the trail with no real delay. We took the left portion of trail 565 (unmaintained) which takes you past the east side of Remmel Lake which you can’t see. As the forest cover is quite dense you have quite a long hike with no real view along this section. Once we merged with 510 along Remmel Creek it was much the same until we got to the Four Point Creek intersection close to where we setup camp for the night Day 6: The trail along this route has many sections of heavy and loose rocks so be careful of your footing along the way. Quite the test to keep from twisting an ankle or falling along this portion but very passable as long as you look down at all times. Also there are sections with much undergrowth on the trail so good eye protection is a must. Our intention was to hike about 5 miles and end up with an easy hike out on the following morning but the further we got the less opportunity for a flat camp area next to water existed. We ended up going the distance of about 12 miles back to Thirtymile TH and drove to a camp site by the Chewuch River for our final night.

Remmel Mtn - Hiked up Remmel Mtn on Saturday,June 30, via the Chewuch and Coleman Ridge Trails (aka the Four Point Creek Trail). Came down and part way out to a camp at Saddle Creek, then the rest of the way out on Sunday morning. The first 6 miles of the Chewuch Trail has a dozen or more recent blowdowns. Some would block stock but are only annoying to backpackers. Otherwise the trail is in good shape. Plenty of flowers along the sunny hillsides. There are a few mosquitoes out, but not swarms - yet. There is an excellent "improved log bridge" over Tungsten Creek next to the ford - multiple foot logs and a hand rail, all lashed together with cord. About a mile further on, a similar bridge crosses Saddle Creek, but it's about 50 yards upstream from the ford, and difficult to see until you're pretty close to it. Sections of the Chewuch Trail west of the Saddle Creek crossing are messy, with lots of drainage problems and brush. Lots of water everywhere, and mud, and swamps, and water over mud, and wet brush - fun, but again nothing to block hikers. The Four Point Creek side of the Coleman Ridge trail is in excellent shape, once you ford the Chewuch. No bridge here, and the water was inches above the knees late morning, and mid thigh early evening - on a 6'2" big guy! Refreshing ! The trail up Remmel is bare and mostly dry until almost to the Four Point Lake spur trail, where there are spotty snow drifts and lots of melt water running all over. Still no navigation problems, and the trail is dry again past the Lake, until about 7100'. The climbers path to Remmel summit starts at the top of the switchbacks at 7100', and is immediately under thinning but solid snow cover. Bare rock shows up again at about 8000', with the path clear of all but a few snow patches near the summit. The summit is bare and dry and glorious ! Incredible views, including various thunder clouds blowing past me, but never over me. I descended Remmel, re-forded the Chewuch, and hiked a few miles back out, to a very nice camp along side Saddle Creek. A pleasant, cool morning stroll back to the car Sunday morning was a perfect "recovery hike".