The Eagle/Oval Loop was an incredible 3-day Larch Madness hike, just past peak but still stunning. The road was in fine shape for a sedan going slow-ish when it turned to dirt for the last few miles. I hiked the loop counter-clockwise. I camped at Silver Lake the first night, which made for a shorter first day after the long drive to the trailhead. Silver Lake, despite being mundane as alpine lakes go, did have several nice campsites. The trail there is very well graded, but was made infinitely more difficult by dodging hundreds of land mines left by a team of twelve horses who dropped off a pair of hunters earlier in the day over Eagle Pass (I met them as they were headed back to the trailhead). The first day to Silver Lake was rather boring, to be honest, with no views and just trudging uphill; the same was true going downhill on day three descending from camp at West Oval Lake. However, the middle day was absolutely stunning. The larches start coming into view about a mile shy of Eagle Pass, and from there all the way around to West Oval Lake the views and the larches were indescribably beautiful. Tuckaway Lake in particular was mesmerizing. There were some patches of snow on the trail, in particular when climbing on the Chelan Summit Trail just before the unnamed pass looking down into Fish Creek Basin, and again climbing Oval Pass from the south, but the worst was on the Oval Lakes Trail just below Oval Pass until the saddle heading into Middle and East Oval Lakes (there was fresh snow the day I did it, and that night it got more along with an overnight low of about 25*). I didn't need any traction, but the stretch leading to the saddle between Oval Pass and Middle and East Oval Lakes will likely need traction after mid-week, if not now. Middle and East Oval Lakes were beautiful, as were the high meadows in the descent to the lakes. Middle Oval definitely has better campsites. West Oval (where I stayed) had many great camps, too, but as previously noted, the birds are quite friendly and have become accustomed to food. The hike out down Oval Creek was long and monotonous, made worse by overgrown brush spreading into the trail and getting my pants and shoes absolutely drenched with rain from the night before (snow at higher elevations; it was 30* at sunrise at West Oval). After navigating around the horse poop again in the final two miles it was back to the car and a stellar drive home over the North Cascades Highway.

Overnight larch march Oval Lake Loop from Eagle/Oval Creek TH to West Oval lake and back out. Day 1 was 13.61mi and 5,492ft gain via Eagle Creek/Eagle Pass, around Summit Wilderness Trail to Oval Pass and down to West Oval Lake. Day 2 was hike out from West Oval Lake to the TH which was only 8mi and 105ft gain.

TL;DR:
Trail in is good condition. The first/last 6 miles of Eagle and Oval Creek trails are in an old burn area slightly brushy and overgrown, but nothing bad and trail is easy to follow. The real highlight is from Eagle Pass to Oval pass via the Chelan Summit Trail. Larches were out, and the views are stunning on this back end of the loop. I went on Thursday and saw no one all day until camp which I shared with only 2 other parties. 

Road Conditions: Paved quite a long ways until you hit the gravel which is in great condition. Once you hit the sno-park though the tread gets a little more interesting and complicated. There's some more sandy and deep grooved track with bumps, and then when you turn back onto the gravel there are downed trees that force you to hug one side into the bushes, so expect some shrub branches to brush the side of your car to get around them. Aside from this, if you're confident enough driving, I think the clearance would be fine I could see the sno-park area getting mushy if there was fresh rain, and possibly needing AWD or 4WD, but if dry it was no problem. There is also a pit toilet at this TH. Arrived around 10am on Thursday with only 2 other cars there, but full when I returned Friday around 1pm. 

Trail Conditions: 
Eagle Creek
First 8 miles are up. You'll be averaging about 500 per mile with the last 0.5mi up to the pass getting steeper. The first 6 miles are in the woods with the beginning 2-3 miles in an old burn area and a little more exposed and brushy. All of this area had great fall colors though. You'll hit the larches around mile 6 and they get are INCREDIBLE at the pass. Just a dense golden yellow. The trail itself is great and super easy to follow and tread is good. It's a little loose(ish) as you approach the pass, but had no issues. The view from the pass is stunning with the fall colors and larches with mountain views. 

Wilderness Summit Trail:
This trail was the highlight of the trip for me. From Eagle Pass to Oval Pass was amazing views. You can see all the surrounding mountains and the cascade range in the distance with fall colors and larches everywhere. The trail itself is in great shape and very easy to follow. There were some really lovely camp spots along this trail that would be ideal for anyone looking to extend their backpacking trip to more days. 

Oval Creek:
Very similar to Eagle Creek trail in that the tread is a little loose near the pass, but nothing too bad, and the grade is steepest on each side of the pass, but the grade is more gentle as you go down. It's more rocky and rooty and technical trail on the east side of the pass. The basin from the trail junction up to the pass is gorgeous and really nice grade. Like eagle creek, it's mostly forest trail and is more fall colors in the exposed old burn area the last (first) few miles of trail.

Animals/Bugs: No bugs, a few yellow jackets still buzzing around but nothing problematic. No animal sightings aside from chipmunks and squirrels. Also the birds at West Oval Lake camp area are not "aggressive" per se, but they will get VERY close to you. They clearly are used to humans and understand that we have food, so just be cautious and aware of that. 

Water sources: Plenty of water sources all along the trail. No issues with collecting or dry spells. 

Other: I was lucky to have this trail to myself more or less, but passed about 10 people hiking out Friday afternoon, so if you can go on an off day or time you'll be rewarded with solitude, but given the perfect fall weather window and the larches it's a popular trail. Only other note, there is a pit toilet at the trail junction camp as well as west oval. 

Happy Trails!

I climbed Oval Ck Trail and visited all three Oval Lakes, then over Oval Pass with a side trip to Gray Peak, dropping to the Summit Trail and back to the Eagle Creek trail and returning via Eagle Pass.

This is a strenuous but beautiful loop offering a wide spectrum of scenery and landscape.  26 miles and about 7200 feet vertical but I had perfect late summer weather, no bugs, no smoke, no wind and generally impeccable trail conditions. 

The first 1.5 miles from the Eagle Cr. trailhead passes through the 2018 Crescent burn. This is the worst of the burned area and even here there are patches of surviving trees. It is encouraging to see considerable fir/spruce/pine regeneration along with willow and abundant fireweed coming in.

Aptly named Duckbill Mountain divides Eagle and Oval Creeks. After crossing Eagle Creek the trail climbs sharply about 400 to the junction with the Oval Ck Trail. Above this point the burn scar is more spotty, and after a mile one is back to unburned forest. 

This is similar if one stayed on the Eagle Ck Trail. After a .7 mi level traverse around Duckbill through fireweed and willow brush on well maintained tread the trail crosses Eagle Ck again. After this crossing the trail climbs sharply through the burn but after a mile reenters undisturbed spruce forest.

Both trails were free of all but the most superficial blowdows.

Continuing up the Oval Cr trail, the grade.is mostly gradual through forest dominated by old spruce. There is little water available crossing the trail but in several locations the creek is reasonably accessible. There is a steep but well graded climb for the last mile to the spur to West Oval Lake. 

This lake is truly a gem: deep and sitting in a larch filled basin with ample camping and smooth white ledges leading into the water. I soaked my feet and had an excellent lunch here.

From the spur junction the trail to the other Oval Lakes climbs steeply through larch meadow towards Oval Pass. A few hundred feet below the pass the trail to the other lakes goes left at an unsigned junction. This traverses steep gravel climbing to a rocky rib at 7600 feet that divides West Oval from her sisters. 

Oval Peak, the "Titan of the Chelan-Sawtooth" dominates the landscape here. Gray Peak rises just above this rib, which then connects to Courtney Peak, towering just above the lakes. From Courtney the ridge climbs to the massive rock pile that is Oval Peak. 

From the rib the trail drops 800 feet in a mile or so down through larch filled meadows, then forest to Middle Oval. There is an excellent if currently dry trail camp in the meadows a quarter mile above the lake. This last quarter mile drops sharply to Middle Oval. There are several significant blowdowns across the way. The lake is not seen until near the outlet at a dusty but accommodating trail camp. The cliff face of Courtney Peak gives the otherwise forested lake a dramatic backdrop. 

I camped here and took a morning hike down to the East Oval Lake. The trail to this lake is well worn but there are several more blowdowns. This is the smallest, lowest, most forested lake and appears quite shallow. The shore is difficult to access in most places and I did not see any established camp. Walking around the lake was essentially a bushwhack, with occasional traces of a path. It is an attractive but not terribly accommodating lake but could be friendly to the angler.. 

After  my trip to the East lake I packed up and scrambled back up the thousand feet to Oval Pass. On the way I saw my first other hikers on the trip! From Oval Pass I followed the well established boot path +-.7 miles up to the 8100’ Gray Peak. It was a perfect day and the well documented 360 degree views cannot be overhyped. Here I met a ridge-runner out bagging some peaks. The ridgeline from Courtney Peak to Battle Mountain provides great moderate scrambling,

Sticking to the trail myself today, I dropped down to Tuckaway Lake to soak my feet in the cold water of this small round lake in a lovely alpine meadow. Another short hike brought me down to the intersection with Summit Trail in a larch filled open basin. At this junction is the finest trail camp in the Sawtooth area. There are nice benches, several good tent sites, a nearby open air privy and cold spring water bubbling out of white granite talus. 

The two mile stretch of the Summit Trail back to Eagle Creek Trail is well graded up and over a shoulder before crossing the saddle between the East and North Forks of Fish Creek and then dropping steeply to the junction with the Eagle Creek Trail. 

I filled up with water at the stream near the junction as there is no water this time of year at Eagle Pass. There is also a very accommodating trail camp here. The trail up to the pass is very steep but in good condition, climbing about 800 feet in a bit over a mile. Just below the pass is a broad meadow with excellent views to the west. My camp was a compact site right at the pass with views up into the Pasayten. I climbed the small ridge at the pass to eat my supper and watch  the sun set over Bonanza Peak.

I got up before down the next morning to see if I could view a comet which supposedly would be visible in the predawn. I could see no sign of the comet, although Venus and the Moon were spectacular shining above Oval Peak in the early dawn sky. 

The trip down Eagle Creek was about as nice a 4300’ descent as one could have. After the initial 500 drop off the pass the trail is nicely graded and well maintained through old forest and the occasional meadow. There are several springs crossing the trail although the creek is inaccessible. Halfway down is a sign for the short spur to Silver Lake, which I did not visit. As you reenter the burned area the trail gets brushy and steeper but there is still good tread. A final few switchbacks bring back to the crossing of Eagle Creek and the short, enjoyable traverse back to close the loop at the Oval Creek Trail. Note that old USGS maps show the Eagle Creek Trail descending all the way to the foot of Duckbill Mountain before the junction but this was obviously rerouted long ago. 

We hiked what some call the Angel’s Staircase loop.  It was about 24 miles.  We took three days to do it.  We hiked it July 27, 28 & 29.  We started at the Crater Creek Trailhead.  After a short while we followed the Eagle Lakes Trail (431).  Our original plan was to spend the first night at Upper Eagle Lake.  Eagle Lakes Trail was relatively buggy, but so long as kept moving, it was manageable.  Upper Eagle Lakes though was very buggy, with lots of mosquitoes.  There was a swampy area just as you approach the lake, which I am sure contributed to the bugs at the lake.  We decided we didn’t want to spend the night there, so we walked out and continued our walk.  We ended up spending the night at Boiling Lake.  It was much better at Boiling Lake.  There were a few bugs but not nearly as bad.  We were by ourselves at Boiling Lake.  We actually had some rain a couple times during the day which was very unexpected.  The next day we continued our hike past Angel’s Staircase.  At intersection just past Boiling Lake we headed south.  The trail junction signed pointed to Navarre something which was the general direction we wanted to go.  About a mile later we came to an unmarked trail junction.  The left trail seemed to be heading generally east and the right side continued south, which is what we needed to do.  This was the correct decision as we eventually ended up at a junction with a sign the pointed to Angel’s Staircase.  We followed this up and over the Angel’s Staircase ridge.  Especially on the downhill side this was quite steep, even with the switchbacks.  We stayed the second night at Cooney Lake.  We again saw very few people this day, though there were some horse campers at Cooney Lake.  Not too many bugs at Cooney either.  The last day, which was a Saturday, we walked out.  On this day we saw bunches of people, hikers, mountain bikers and motorcyclists.  We could sure tell it was a weekend.

Throughout this hike there were several new trail signs at intersections.  None of these new signs had any direction arrows.  Without a map it would have been difficult to figure out which way to go.  Older signs often pointed to a particular landmark.  These new signs list state the name of the trail.  With a map it was easy to figure out which direction to take at the intersection but without it, some were not obvious.

We saw large numbers of Larch Trees in the upper portions of this hike.  Would be very pretty in the fall.

Friday (6/23/23) - Sunday (6/25/23)

Two cars: one left at Eagle Creek/Oval TH, one left at the gate approach to War Creek.

Day 1: There is room for a few cars to park near the gate going up to War Creek TH. The washouts of the road are significant, likely to take years to fix, but easily passable on foot. The entire War Creek trail is heavily overgrown, lots of trees down, brush covering the trail, though it's easy enough to follow - suggest to wear pants or have your legs heavily scratched up. The cabin is 6.5 miles from the gate (coordinates below) at the intersection of the War Creek and Splawn Trails. It was too dark when we arrived so no photo evidence (some things are best left to the imagination anyway :) )

Day 2: Leaving the cabin, bugs attached us almost immediately. Bring nets and/or spray. Relatively steady climb in the trees up to War Creek Pass where you break out into the open. We got hit immediately with downpours of rain and hail so we took refuge under a tree for about 30 minutes. Intermittent views of Lake Chelan as we went south(ish) on the Summit Trail. There are a few solid camp sites along this stretch, prior to Trail Camp near Tuckaway Lake, as well. Tough climb up Oval Pass and a steep descent to West Oval Lake for night #2. We saw our first-and-only fellow hikers at West Oval Lake. War Creek Cabin to West Oval Lake: 15.6 miles.

Day 3: Steep descent to Oval Creek in the morning. I clocked 7.7 miles from West Oval Lake to the Eagle Creek/Oval TH.

Overall, an incredibly beautiful and isolated hike. War Creek could use some maintenance but maybe not... the rugged conditions seem to keep the crowds away. There is a log book in the cabin showing 4 other folks making the journey through. So despite the lack of evidence here on the interwebs - people are hiking here.

GAIA links:

Day 1

Day 2

Day 3

Cabin coordinates: 48.34955, -120.51844