Icicle Creek, Frosty - Wildhorse Creek, Icicle Ridge & Chatter Creek — Sunday, Aug. 31, 2014

Central Cascades > Leavenworth Area

This was a three-day loop through the southern Chiwaukum Mountains, the "Ladies loop". We began at the Icicle Creek trailhead, camping at Lake Margaret the first night. The Wildhorse-Frosty trail was a little brushy compared to Icicle Creek, but not hard to follow. Apparently there were some big avalanches last winter judging by the large volume of freshly cut logs in the basin below Margaret (also in the upper Chatter Creek basin on day three). On day two we ascended to Frosty Pass, detoured to Lake Mary, then climbed to Mary Pass for lunch. The views were fantastic, and the flowers were still putting on an impressive display, especially the pink monkey flowers. We continued on over Ladies Pass to Lake Edna, camping in the rocky upper basin at about 6800 feet, southwest of the lake. The evening was pleasant with great views, but the wind picked up overnight, causing our tent to flap and bend violently. Perhaps camping below the lake in the trees would have made for a better night's sleep! Day three we moved on to the Chatter Creek trail, climbing to the Index-Chatter Pass and then dropping the 4000 feet down to Icicle Creek Road far below. Be forewarned, this is a very steep trail. Fantastic views, great flowers, tremendous heights, this was a great trip despite the unsettled weather. The climb from Icicle Creek to Ladies Pass/Cape Horn is significant any way you go, but the effort makes it all the more rewarding. Moderate numbers of people despite the Labor Day holiday weekend; we passed a couple of parties per day. We also enjoyed the contrast between the granite bedrock around Lake Margaret and Chatter Creek and the Chiwaukum schist along points in between, particularly around Lake Edna.