A group of 3 of us did a 4 night trip starting at East Bank trailhead, up to Desolation Peak, to Hozomeen lake, and took a water taxi across Ross Lake to do the Little Beaver-Big Beaver loop. We encountered snow in some places but encountered no troubles without any snow gear.
There are ~20 blow downs on the Desolation Peak trail right now. Wildflowers are abundant until the snow starts at the Desolation campground (right about treeline). The snow at the campground isn't bad, we found and used a snow-free site. The mile up to the peak from the campground is mostly snow covered but is easy to navigate and the terrain is not dangerous.
The trail first got buggy around willow lake. We stayed a night at Hozomeen Lake and got to experience the incredible views of Hozomeen mountain over the lake.
The next morning we took a water taxi to the Little Beaver creek, where the trail became noticeably less maintained (at least at this time of year!). We encountered 50-100 blowdowns ranging from small and easy to huge trees. The trail became a creek for some time slightly after Perry Creek and the overgrowth around this area also could make it difficult to follow the trail, but we had little problems! The bridge at Redoubt Creek is out, so we had to cross the knee-high water with boots off. There were plenty of mosquitoes and a few ticks along the way.
Contrary to the NPS warnings we didn't encounter any snow until shortly before Beaver Creek (after the switchbacks). The trail became a little bit difficult to follow here, but we found the campground with few issues.
On the way down from Beaver pass we encountered overgrown trails (less so than Little Beaver) and another 50-100 blowdowns. I think that these were harder to cross than in Little Beaver Creek but it could have been the fatigue. One of these blow downs took out a bridge somewhere between Luna and 39 Mile campgrounds, but it was possible to pass. A few of the crossings were very difficult/dangerous if you don't want to get your feet wet, so watch out for that. The mosquitoes were thick along this trail as well, but I got by without any bug spray.
Overall we had a great trip with few difficulties aside from getting drenched on the hike out!
Comments
asox on Big Beaver Trail, Desolation Peak, Lake Hozomeen, East Bank Ross Lake, Willow Lake Trail, Little Beaver Creek
Thank you for the great write up. How did you get the water taxi from Hozomeen to Little Beaver Creek and how much did it cost?
Posted by:
asox on Jun 29, 2017 03:07 PM
jupsal on Big Beaver Trail, Desolation Peak, Lake Hozomeen, East Bank Ross Lake, Willow Lake Trail, Little Beaver Creek
As far as I know the only water taxi is through Ross Lake Resort, which is what we used. The cost is rather high, we paid $200 for a 15 minute taxi (they did have to spend 2 hours of their day getting there, dropping us off, and heading back).
Posted by:
jupsal on Jun 29, 2017 04:44 PM
asox on Big Beaver Trail, Desolation Peak, Lake Hozomeen, East Bank Ross Lake, Willow Lake Trail, Little Beaver Creek
Got it, thanks! That's expensive but sounds like an insanely cool trip
Posted by:
asox on Jun 29, 2017 05:02 PM
Ticks at Hozomeen ?
Can you inform me on the camp sites at Hozemeen Lake.
Posted by:
Secret Squirrel on Jun 20, 2018 05:51 AM
jupsal on Big Beaver Trail, Desolation Peak, Lake Hozomeen, East Bank Ross Lake, Willow Lake Trail, Little Beaver Creek
What did you want to know about them? If I recall there were 3-4 nice sites, but I can't remember much.
Posted by:
jupsal on Jun 20, 2018 08:10 AM