Reached the Top Lake trailhead via the Smithbrook Rd, which was drivable, but rough enough to not save me any time over going the long way via Little Wenatchee Rd. The final section of the road appeared to have been decommissioned, and rerouted to a large turnaround, which increased the round-trip distance to the lake (excluding side trips) to 14 mi. The trail was in great condition, apart from the blowdowns in the 0.5-1 mi burned section. No water, other than at the lakes. Did a short side trip up the NE ridge of Fall Mountain: The start of the climbers trail was obvious, but I lost the trail further up on the ridge. Spent the night at a nice, well-established site at the east end of Pear Lake. Did a side-trip to Fortune Mountain the next morning. Tried to head up along the ridge from Frozen Finger Gap, but ended up having to drop down on the west side a bit. Couldn't find any obvious trace of a climbers trail among all the shrubs and trees, except on the last few hundred feet to the summit. Lots of wildflowers were blooming. Countless bugs at the lake in the evening and morning, but for the most part they were well-behaved. Only encountered one person on the Top Lake trail, and saw one or two parties camped at Pear Lake. Caution: One member of our party developed a bacterial skin infection a few days after this trip, likely from sticking her feet into Pear Lake for cooling off. The rest of us were fine, despite having gone swimming in the lake.
Type of Hike
OvernightTrail Conditions
Minor obstacles posing few problemsRoad
Road rough but passableBugs
Bugs were an annoyanceSnow
Snow free
