My 71 year old mom and sister and I did our annual mother-daughter backpack trip in the Chelan Sawtooths last week. We chose the area for low likelihood of snow and slightly better weather than the west side of the Cascades. This was a low snow year so we were fortunate to find little to no snow on the trails we traveled. 

Day 1: we hiked in from the Crater Creek Trailhead (one car in the parking lot on a Tuesday!), which has recently been improved. Lots of room for cars, horse trailers, and a few camping spots. The trail was in fantastic condition all the way to Upper Eagle Lake and all deadfall had been cleared. We spent a chilly night at Upper Eagle Lake. 

Day 2: we headed over Horsehead Pass with beautiful views down to Eagle Lake and Boiling Lake on the other side. At the junction we headed north on the Chelan Summit trail. The Summit trail was noticeably less well-traveled than the Sawtooth Lakes loop. It got a bit brushy in parts and there were a few deadfalls to navigate. It felt like more of a wilderness experience though as we saw quite a bit of bear scat and a deer. We camped near the shelter after Prince Creek. 

Day 3: we day hiked to Star Pass and then traveled cross-country back towards the trail junction. Then we headed up to the pass over to Indianhead Basin. This section of the trail crossed a gorgeous meadow with marmots and picas whistling and then contoured a ridge above Surprise Lake. Beautiful stretch of trail! We only saw two other parties that day. 

Day 4: we packed up camp and headed back south on the Summit Trail. On our way to Angel's Staircase we got caught in a rain/hail storm but it passed pretty quickly. Angel's Staircase was an amazing stretch of trail, even though I watched my mom's footing very carefully! We made it down to Cooney Lake, talked to some rangers camping there, and managed to set up camp before the rain started again. It was a full house at Cooney Lake, 8 parties camped there on Friday night of the Fourth of July weekend. 

Day 5: fortunately we woke to a sunny morning, which dried our tents out quickly. We day hiked back up and over from Cooney Lake through Merchant Basin to Sunrise Lake and then back again. We'd planned to camp at Martin Lake that night but the rangers said that bugs were bad there, so we decided to skip Martin Lake and head back towards the trailhead. My sister saw somewhere that there was a campsite along Martin Creek, but we didn't see one. Eventually we found a flat spot just across Eagle Creek that turned out great - phew! 

Day 6: in our short hike out in the morning, we encountered several horses and a motor bike. Added to the mountain bikers and other hikers we'd seen earlier, it seems that the trail is being well used by all users - awesome! 

Bugs were not too bad - probably the worse at Cooney Lake, although occasional rain throughout the trip helped keep them away. Wildflowers were at peak bloom! All in all, a wonderful, memorable trip!

This is a GREAT trip and highly recommended now because the road and trails are all in good shape.  I have been wanting to do this for years - and it was well worth the wait. 

First and foremost: THANK YOU to the excellent trail work that was recently completed by some generous trail angels.  Past reports talk about the trails disappearing but that is not the case.  They are in very good shape and are all probably pack-accessible.  We saw no one else for our three days, we summited four peaks and enjoyed spectacular views. 

Day one: Met in Chelan and drove to the trailhead. The road was in possibly the best shape in years.  Actually, we drove to half way between the Summer Blossom TH and the South Navarre Campground TH which was a good choice at the end.  2 pm - left the TH and hiked the gentle hiker-only trail to the North Navarre summit at 7964 by 3:30.  Found a very nice camp below the trail below point 8002 with plentiful water.  Note: there were 2 large logs near the TH that need cutting and 3 small ones on this section of the trail.

Day two: packed up and left camp by 8:30.  Hiked to Deadman's Pass with spectacular views to all the areas that we had explored - and endless future opportunities.  Hiked to top of Peak 7500 with more views.  Hiked the 1.8 miles to the trail junction and this is where the recent burns' impacts were dramatic: scared earth, dust, charcoal.  We headed right on trail 1260 to a lovely established camp just off and up from the trail about a mile from the junction.  Set up camp and headed out for our summits at 1.  Excellent trail to the Ferry Uno col.  Then headed up Ferry/7777' arriving at the beautiful summit at 2:15 and taking a long time admiring the views.  Then back to the col and up to Uno/7660 by 4:30.  This was my favorite summit as it has a lovely view of the Greatest Lake in the World: Chelan.  (you have to read the book).  Back to camp, fabulous food, great stories and friendship shared.

Day three: packed up and left camp by 8:30. Excellent trail back to the junction and then out via trail 1259.3 to the South Navarre Campground and road by 11.  This trail was in great shape except for two recent blowdowns about 1/2 mile from the road.  Then headed up to South Navarre and reached its lovely summit at 7870 by 1.  Back to the road at 2 and the car at 2:30 and then back to Chelan at 4:30.  Hopefully this is encouraging to those who want to explore this part of the State. 

Thanks to Elle for driving, to Izzy for routefinding, to Barb for stories and to all for a great trip!

We did this trip in 4 days/3 nights.

On July 19 (Day 1), we took the Lady II boat from Chelan, requesting a special drop-off at Prince Creek, about 2.5 hours uplake. We disembarked in the heat of the day, around 11:15am, and started the trek up on the Prince Creek trail, with the goal of doing about 7 miles to the campsite just before the trail's intersection with the Cub Lake trail. The first 3 or so miles are hot, dusty, and exposed, but the trail here, which is not maintained, was in reasonable shape. After a somewhat tricky crossing over Prince Creek (the water was still pretty high and fast-moving-- probably would not be the case later in the season), we entered more forested terrain. The trail was passable but very brushy with many blowdowns, making the steady climb even slower. We reached camp at about 5:30, having climbed from 1100 ft to 4600 ft. The campsite is lovely-- right on the creek, where the water flows over large boulders, forming a series of small falls and great dunking pools. The main campsite is in the trees, below some large boulders that are adjacent to the creek. We actually slept up on the boulders without tents as the breeze was so nice.

Day 2: We continued upward through mostly forested terrain-- again encountering many blowdowns and overgrown brush. At about 3 miles, we passed an old shelter, but we are glad that we didn't push on the night before to get there as it would have been a buggier place to camp.  Shortly after that, we picked up the Chelan Summit Trail, turning more northward. (The Summit Trail is in much better condition than Prince Creek.) At about 4 miles, we arrived at the turn-off for Surprise Lake. Another group was headed that way and said the fishing was amazing, but we forged on. Within a mile, we came to an open cirque to the left. If you turn left on one of the fairly clear side trails (to the left), you will come to a large horse camp. This can be confusing as, at first, it seems that this should be the turn for continuing onto the main Summit Trail. It is not! To continue on, do not get off the main trail. It will naturally turn northwards (left), leading up and over a beautiful 7400 ft saddle. From there, we descended a bit and traversed through a large scree/boulder field- then up again to a lovely campsite at 7000 ft, about a half mile below Tuckaway Lake, which proved to be a great swimming spot. Total mileage for the day was about 7.5 miles, with more than 2500 ft of elevation gain.

Day 3: The next morning, we were climbing again - up and over another beautiful 7400 ft pass with 360 degree views. Then we descended downward for several miles, into a beautiful wooded valley-- then back up again to a 7100 ft pass, where we saw our only bit of snow. The views were gorgeous again and we took a break there, before heading back down to about 6500 ft. The last push of the day was back up to Juanita Lake (6800 ft) for the night. As others have written, Juanita Lake is not very picturesque or appealing-- more like a small swampy pool. We had a permit for the horse camp, where water was sparse. We had to walk about a 1/4 mile closer to the lake to access moving water. Bugs were the worst that night compared to the previous 2.

Day 4: We were on the trail by 7am, with hopes of making the 11am Stehekin Valley Ranch bus up the valley (we made it!). We reached Purple Pass by about 7:30, which provides an amazing view of Lake Chelan and beyond. Then we began the relentless downhill-- 8 miles, 59 switchbacks, 5500 ft of elevation loss. Definitely hard on our 60- and 57-year old knees. It took us about 3.5 hours.

Overall, this was a rigorous but rewarding hike-- we did something like 15,000 ft in cumulative elevation gain over about 32 miles. The advantages are that this route it is not trafficked-- we didn't see anyone during Day 2 or 3, until we were approaching Juanita Lake. The views are spectacular and with more time (or more speed), there are plenty of options for side trips to other lakes and viewpoints. We also highly recommend recovering for a couple of days at the Stehekin Valley Ranch! Massages, great food, a beautiful setting...we have been going there for years.

- Amie Bishop, 7/30/18

This is an update on trail conditions for a few trails in the Lake-Chelan Sawtooths region that haven't seen trip reports this year yet.

My group spent five days in the Lake-Chelan Sawtooth Wilderness from June 30 to July 4. We hiked in via the East Fork Buttermilk Trail. The road to the trail is clear. A few spots / ruts to negotiate but our small SUV managed OK. Low clearance cars may have more difficulties.

The trail is in decent shape. There are a number of trees over the EF Buttermilk trail but we were able to go under, over or around them. Right now both crossings of the creek are either fords or you can go up/down stream to find logs to use for crossing.

As of Wednesday, July 4th, there was still snow lingering on the switchbacks heading up the last portion to Hoodoo Pass. Folks that are uncomfortable with steep snow travel may want to wait a week or so for the trail to melt out further. We were able to use a combo of snow travel, boulder scrambling and melted out trail to ascend/descend from the pass. We did wish we had microspikes for the ascent up to the pass for more grip. If steep snow is intimidating, I would suggest using one of the other trails into the Sawtooths before the middle of July, such as the Eagle Lakes, Martin Lakes or Foggy Dew trails. EF Buttermilk / Hoodoo Pass was the snowiest pass we went over on our trip and is a directly north-facing pass, unlike other ones in the area that access the same area.

Once at the pass, the descent into Hoodoo Basin was lovely and snow-free. We turned up the Summit Trail and headed north into Chipmunk Basin. Again, just a few trees down here and there. 

One day two we did a day hike over to the Surprise Lake area. We again negotiated over/around a number of downed trees but nothing was too complicated. The trail to Surprise Lake is in good shape and I don't recall a single tree over the trail from the junction to the cut-off to the lake -- we didn't descend down into the lake basin. The trail up to Indianhead Pass was almost snow-free except for an old, eroding cornice at the top of the pass, which we did see a way up and over.

On day three we headed to a bench above Old Maid Mtn Basin and near the trail to Angel's Staircase. We did a quick side trip to Boiling Lake, which was melted out nicely -- flowers quickly on their way to blooming. The trail to where we camped was almost snow-free except for some quickly melting snow patches in the trail. The views from our campsite were stunning!

One day four we headed up Angel's Staircase, which was melted out. There's an old cornice remaining if you want to drop down to Cooney Lake -- it's about a 20 foot section of snow you'd have to hike down. There's likely a way to head into rocks and around it as well. A couple and their dog negotiated it ok. Our journey did not take us down to Cooney however. We went down into Merchants Basin and on to Sunrise Lake. Only a few patches of snow left. Cooney and Sunrise were melted out with fish jumping. Note: the Summit Trail south of the Angel's Staircase junction is still closed due to the 2017 Uno Creek Fire. 

On day five we headed back to EF Buttermilk trail and negotiated the steep snow downhill (soft snow plunge-stepping made it easy) and steered clear of the melting out boulders so no one twisted an ankle via a nasty posthole.

The weather was on the cool side -- we even got some snow flurries one day. But that kept the bugs at bay, which was a plus!

If you've never been to the Sawtooths, add it to your list if you're a fan of larches, lakes, wide open meadows, pikas, marmots and the high country!

The Lake Chelan - Sawtooth Wilderness is a stunning place to visit in the fall. Meadows, lakes, and peaks abound in this area which makes for a wonderful place to spend several days. The larch trees a little past prime, especially on the more exposed slopes.

The West Fork Buttermilk Trailhead is reached on a well maintained road most of which is paved. Some potholes in the paved section are easily avoided. The W.F Buttermilk Creek trail is well maintained and clear of downed trees. We branched off on the old abandoned Oval Peak/Scaffold Ridge trail. This "trail" is not always easy to follow as it zigzags through what feels like a maze on the way to Buttermilk Lake, especially after a dusting of snow covered the faint tread. 

Back on the W.F Buttermilk Trail up and over Fish Creek Pass is in fine shape. The drop from the pass to the meadows near Star Lake is steep but short lived. Strong winds coming from the west through the pass had us quickly fleeing to the meadows below.  

We headed south on the Chelan Summit Trail up and over a pass between Baldy Mountain and Star Peak into yet another larch filled basin. The good trail descends to a junction with the Surprise Lake Trail in open forest. 

We headed west on the Surprise Lake Trail and continued on to Finney Lakes for the night. The trail gently meanders through multiple basins and up over a minor ridge and we were greeted with sun, snow showers, and the ever present wind.

We retraced our steps the next day and camped at Star Lake under full sunshine. A short scramble of Courtney Peak in the afternoon was in the order and we were treated with a very fine fall vista.

My desire to scramble peaks or lounge about in gorgeous meadow basins are constantly battling each other, and they are never more at war than when I'm in the Sawtooth. Our trip was topped off by a stop in the lovely Cinnamon Twisp Bakery.