To end our autumn pilgrimage to the Okanogan we hiked the old mining road to North Lake. The trail quietly switchbacks upward and into the North Creek drainage. Abernathy Ridge rises steeply to your right and Mount Gilbert forms the center of this creek's inward spiral to your left. There is some old growth, there are a few open meadows where flowers would dominate in season, there is ample shade for a sunny day. Being an old mining road the trail is mostly very wide and gradual in grade with the exception of one reroute. Our favorite part of the day was finding an old enamel "Chelan National Forest" sign. As Romano notes, the CNF was dissolved and changed to the Okanogan NF in 1955. This means that this sign predates 1955. We noted that the sign (which is partially obscured by tree growth) mentions "North Creek Butte Lookout". We did a little research when we got home and discovered that a little known fire lookout once existed at "North Creek Butte" or point 6580' on Abernathy Ridge. This lookout was abandoned in 1952. As the trail curls counter-clockwise into the valley below Mount Gilbert the trees thin and mountain views dominate. Meadows open up and a few fantastic campsites are available. We fished in the larger lake and quickly made our daily quota. Further wandering invited and tempted us. This would be a great place to spend a night or two.

This report covers the North Creek Trail (#413) from the trailhead to North Lake. It does not include the Cedar Creek Trail up to Abernathy Pass, nor the side trails to the mine sites. Currently, there are flowers (Paintbrush, Penstemon) between 1.0 mile and 2.5 miles, in short sections. Deer and bear have been observed in the area at and beyond the ford. All the logs prior to the wilderness boundary at 1.3 miles have been cleared. After that there are at least 55 logs over and along the trail, ranging in diameter from 3” to 20”. There may be more currently unseen under the 2ft of snow near the lake. None of these are a significant impediment to hikers, but many require leaving the trail to get around. Stock has turned around at 2.0 miles due to logs on the trail. There's a good down valley view of Reynolds Peak at 2.4 miles (look back when at the 6ft boulder by the trail). Streams are on the trail at 2.6 miles and 2.9 miles. Farther along the trail, the tread has streams and ponds in it due to snowmelt. Snow starts at 2.7 miles and makes hiking a little more difficult with the additional ups and downs on the mounds of snow. The snow decreases between 4.0 miles and 5.0 miles, the old meadow trail being a better, albeit slightly wet, alternative to staying in the trees at 4.8 miles. After 5 miles, the trail is essentially covered by at least 2 ft of snow. At 3.0 miles, the 4 log crossing over North Creek is currently a waterfall with a steep snow embankment approach from the west side. The “frigid” ford (38degF) is about 10” deep with moderate current and is about 20ft in length. Due to the high water, the ford is the safer way to get across the creek. The campsite just beyond the ford is mostly melted out. The pond at 5.0 miles is completely melted. North Lake is about 30% melted, with a narrow band of dry ground on the north shore.

Just two other cars in the lot for this Friday hike, but it was going to be a warm one. The trailhead temp was 65F at 10am. The trail had been logged out all the way to the crossing of North Creek (3.1mi), there were a few sections of brush, but nothing really bad. The trail starts with couple of long, slightly dusty switchbacks in the open forest, before turning into the North Cr valley. Up until the North Cr crossing, the trail stays well above the creek, mainly on a sidehill. It crosses numerous hot, sunny avalanche and scree slopes, with forested sections providing shady sections in between. The trail tread is pretty good, with some dust, some nice tread, and some sections of loose rock. None of the creek crossings were an issue. Once in the open, west of Abernathy Pk, The views back down valley include Reynolds Peak in the Sawtooths. After the short section in the open, the trail returns to the trees. The narrow section in the USFS report has been cleared. At the North Cr crossing, the permanent bridge is long gone, so a set of 4 logs, each about 6" in diameter form the 8ft long bridge over the creek. Trekking poles were helpful, since the logs were somewhat springy and slick. After the crossing, there are a couple of nice campsites, but the trail quality degrades to a partial streambed (large loose rocks in a broad trough) in places. Between the crossing and North Lake there are about 6 downed logs that can be easily negotiated. The trail quality varies between streambed and nice smooth forest trail. At the head of the meadow at 5700ft, the stream is running full, but crossable. The trail has a couple of significant snow patches after this creek, as it climbs up to the lake. Once at the lake, I took the fisherman's trail around to the south end of the lake and enjoyed some sun, cool breeze, lunch, and views. There were small rainbow trout (6"-8") surface feeding. Too soon, it was time to head back to the car. As I hiked back down, I could tell it was getting warmer. By the time I reached the car it was 85F and I was looking forward to a cold drink.

This is the North Lake trail that is off the end of the Twisp River Road, Methow Valley area. We were looking for an overnight destination with kids where we could camp within 2-4 miles and dayhike to an interesting destination from there. This trail fit the bill and we hadn't hiked it before, so nice to explore. Day 1: Hiked in to the stream crossing at about 2.5 miles. The trail ascends steadily from the trailhead through forest and open slopes to this crossing, which we were told could be very difficult early in the season but was no big deal now. Nice camp right by the trail just after the crossing. We would have gone a bit further but were told the next camps were at least 2 miles further by the lake. (I think you could find something about 1/4-1/2 mile further). Day 2: Great day hike. First we walked up the trail to the intersection with the Cedar Creek Trail, and took that trail 1.3 miles/1000 feet up to Abernathy Pass. Though a sign says "unmaintained trail" the path was in fine shape with one or two blowdowns. The Cedar Creek trail continues over the pass and you can go 9 miles down Cedar Creek to highway 20 if you want. We just took in the great views, ate lunch and went back down the way we came. Then, we turned upvalley and continued to North Lake. The trail to North Lake is mostly in woods with few views until you get close to the lake. It's a pretty little lake in a dead end cirque, forest on one side and rocky slopes with some larch on the other. Total distance for the day hike about 7 miles. Day 3: Packed up camp and returned to the trailhead. Note that we saw almost no other people, almost no bugs, great views, nice trail. Most people signed at the register seemed to be headed to Twisp Pass.

North Creek/Lake & Jolly Mines With Bandit, the crazy dog. With another hot day in the valley, we got an Early start, on the trail at 8am. Good shade kept us cool on the way to the lake. Snacked on top of an erradict which Bandit didn't hesitate to climb up. A little later he swam in a tarn spontaneously I.e., without fetching a stick. We got to the lake at 11:30 and ate lunch. At noon, we decided to follow the source of the lake, a creek, up a gully to the west. It lead to the Jolly mines and an old trail which I saw on the USGS map. We rested and then decided to shoot for the ridge to the west. It was a mix of heather, scree and talus. At 2pm, we reached the ridge (7200') and looked down to Cooper Pass/Mtn, Stilletto Peak and beyond. Concerned with slippage on the way down, we took it slow and managed our way back to the creek where we saw quite a few marble rocks, one bowling ball sized. Bandit went crazy in the snow, stretching out front and back and sliding on his belly. We took the miners trail all the way back to the main trail bypassing the lake and creek path in the gully. Bandit swam at the tarn again and I was tempted to. Grinded out the rest of the trail back down, following some horse hoof prints (and occasional apple jacks) that were not there in the AM. We saw no one all day. The creek crossing was no problem by stepping on some rocks. Got back to Gilbert (TH) around 6 and took a dip in the creek there to cool off. A great hike for a hot day. The main trail is mostly shaded. The off trail part was at elevation so it was considerably cooler up there. I did use a little DEET for bugs at the lakes and should've used more sun block than I did.