A pretty hike, with larches and no crowds.  The trail is in excellent shape and easy to follow.  There is one easy stream crossing (water is low in October).  I hiked to the lake and back, and climbed the spur trail to Abernathy Pass, and I literally did not see a single other hiker.  The lake is lovely, and the larches are stunning (though no larches were visible before the lake.). 

We encountered an aggressive unleashed dog who bit our 4 year old child on this trail at 11 am on 8/31. We are trying to find the owners of the dog because we didn't get their information in the chaos of first aid and tears. The owners were 2 white middle aged women with 3 unleashed dogs. One dog was a wiener dog (friendly) and the other 2 were medium large white and brown. The white dog (probably a mut) bit our child's finger. If you have any information about these women please email me at cara.christensen@gmail.com. One of the women was a nurse and they had both spent the night (8/30) at the lake. Thanks for your help.

"Thank You!" to the WTA crew that brushed and logged out the first 4.9 miles to the lake. Here is some additional information to augment MDR Scout's Jun 14, 2024 Trip Report.

At 2.9 miles, both log+rock crossings of North Creek are under about 2" of fast flowing water. I opted for the ford which is about 30ft long and a foot deep in moderate current - not a problem with sandals & poles taking careful steps around large rocks - yes the water is cold.

The snow is essentially gone, except for a couple of small patches at 4.9 miles, which are melting fast. There is one tree in the trail just beyond the snow, easy to get around. Another "double stack" of large logs, just before the lake, has a short bypass path cut around it.

The campsites at the lake are melted out and usable. The bugs were not bothersome in part due to the wind at the lake.

This was my first trip to the Sawtooth Wildness on the Twisp River watershed.   The trip was part of a WTA work party in the area that removed logs for stock travel and brushing for hiker comfort.   Our first work days were on the North Creek Trail that circles Gilbert Mountain up to North Lake as the final destination.   We removed all the logs on the trail (approximately 4.5 miles) until we ran into heavy snow covering the trail at about 5700’ elevation.   The next day, a local hiker told us that there was one more log right at the lake, but we did not go up into the snow.   The trail is currently snow covered for about the last 1/2 mile to the lake.   After the second work day, we had brushed out the first 3.5 to 4 miles of the trail.   

Each day we saw 2 to 3 hiker groups on this trail.   The trail was built over an old miners road into the higher elevations making for a relatively shallow climb and wide corridor.   There was plenty of room in the parking area.   The rest room is open and in good condition.    

It is time to come out and see the spring wildflowers in the area.   Numerous types of flowers and woody perennials were in bloom.   Sorry, I do not know my east slope wild flower names. 

The gravel forest road (Twisp RiverRoad) is in very good conditions and suitable for all vehicles.   Be careful with your speed past the Scatter Creek Trailhead.   There are six or seven dips across the road to remind drivers to slow down.  They are difficult to see, but you will know when you find one.   

We enjoyed the hike around the mountain.   Although this area was affected by a recent fire, there are many areas that are still wooded.  Also the top half of this trail was unaffected by the fire.   Enjoy the wildflowers and a chance to get away from the crowd.

I have not seen any recent reports regarding Abernathy Pass from the North Creek trail side. This trail starts at the Gilbert Trailhead at the end of Twisp River Road. The trail gradually works its way to North Lake but before you get to the lake there is a junction which heads up to Abernathy Pass. Its about a mile from the junction and about one thousand feet up. The trail has about 18 trees across it and is brushy in some places but both were easy to navigate around and thru. In a couple of places the tread has fallen off the hillside but its still easy to walk along the hill. The views from the pass are great and it was a beautiful smoke free  day! Overall about 9.75 miles and 2900' elevation gain...and oh so hard on my knees, 2900 feet back down! Very quiet trail, saw no one else...perfect!