Overview:  Onward north up the the Alpine Lakes Wilderness.  I would meet up with Andy in Yakama, WA to stay with his relatives the night before beginning our journey.  It was a fabulous dinner and they happened to have a raised topo map of the Alpine Lakes Wilderness.  We got a chance to see a 3-D version of the divide that runs from Stevens pass to Leavenworth. Just glancing at our agenda and relentless undulating terrain we knew we were in for a massive traverse.  Clearly illustrating to us how the 4 days would give us an Elevation gain/loss of:  13,500 ft gain; 16,200 ft loss.  To make it even more difficult was the a majority of the route was unmarked and cross county skills would be required.  The traverse of the Icicle Divide was originally the back-up plan.  We arrived at the ranger station in downtown Leavenworth at 7:30 AM early the next morning to try our luck at the daily lottery to gain access to a very popular area "the Enchantments".  The Enchantments is where 95% of visitors want to go (but only 5% of the wilderness area), and is a high alpine basin surrounded by granite peaks. Thus obtaining a permit well in advance is required or, you could try your chance at a daily lottery and lose like us.  But going into it we knew it would be a slim chance of winning and had an equally (or more so) epic adventure as plan B.  So we were fired up either way and it gave us the chance to experience some of the most rugged and expansive terrain in this wilderness.

Route:  We both drove and left one car back at Leavenworth at the Icicle Ridge trailhead where we would finish the hike and we then headed up to Stevens Pass to begin the trek.  We began hiking underneath the chairlifts of the Stevens pass ski resort and finished day one at Doelle lakes.  A majority of day 2 was spent cross county to Frosty Pass and up and over Ladies Pass to Lake Edna.  Day 3 began with a vengeance putting us into a deep valley and eventually to Cabin Creek and the ascent up Icicle Ridge where we made camp.  Day 4 started with a traverse of the Icicle Ridge leading to a massive 6000ft decent into Leavenworth, the end of the hike.  The guide book warned us to be prepared.  Often calling much of the route a thin scuff of a trail and that you would lose it in many areas.

 Day 1 

Stevens Pass to Doelle Lake

  The trail from Stevens Pass took us over a pass an we soon were hiking beyond the ski resort.  Later we crossed the Alpine Lakes Wilderness boundary.

  Extremely lush and giant strips of moss hung from the pines.  From Josephine Lake we headed into a deep wooded valley.  The trail was overgrown in places and we were a bit worried we missed our junction to Chain Lakes.  Just then, there she was.  We had a quick lunch at the junction and then headed up the side of this valley.  The trail was so steep you needed to kick your toe in the dirt for more traction.  The trail took quite a bit out of us and we were surprised that we had not even hit Chain Lakes yet.  On top of that, the GPS also confirmed that we still had 700ft. of climbing to go.

  After meeting up with Chain Lakes we followed a small use trail around the lake.  Turns out the trail just led us to the end of the lake and not beyond. Now we realized for the first time we were definitely off track.  There was a saddle 750 ft. above to the north that thought we needed to cross.  We knew that the day's destination, Doelle Lake, must be on the other side.  So we picked the least line of resistance up.

After a bit of climbing, we hit a trail and crested the top.  The views North across Washington were amazing.  Glacier Peak was dominating the skyline far away covered in massive glaciers.  Mt. Baker was behind it and lots of jagged ridgelines were between.  We headed down and set of camp along the lake.  We had a fire and discussed tomorrow's route to Frostys Pass.  Topos were out and multiple way points were set on the GPS.

Day 2

Doelle Lake to Edna Lake

This was a day of significant cross country travel.  After getting a bit off track the day before we realized that we could not rely on a trail anymore.  We soon were traversing high up on a ridgeline that began near Doelle Lake.

 From this viewpoint the days work was set before us and as you can see it was not an easy task.  Brushy, rocky, steep, terrain, with no trail to follow.  We ended up high on the ridge to the left.  Doing the best we could we cliffed out in spots and tried to find the best way around while losing as little elevation as possible.  We eventually made it over each one of these ridges seen here mainly following the one in the middle to Frostys Pass.

  We were looking deep into a valley that we did not want to have to ascend back up, so we continued on the high route.

We eventually hit some more mellow terrain but now faced thick growth and it was harder to tell where to go.  We had a good idea of the direction to Frosty Pass, but could not spot it from our location.  We utilized every instrument we had.  GPS being especially useful  because it could always tell us our elevation.  We know Frostys Pass was at 5700 ft.  Once at that elevation we knew the direction that it was in.  The challenge was how to get there while maintaining an elevation of 5700 ft.  The compass came in use also when we used it in areas where we could set a barring where we wanted to go, but had thick forest in between.

After some difficult travel it felt good to finally make it to Frostys, but still had plenty of work to do.  More importantly, is that we were back on some tread.

The trail headed up from Frostys and again we had some expansive views.  This is one of Glacier Peak. 

 All the major volcanoes in Washington could be seen from North to South.  Baker, Glacier Peak, and Rainier with jagged peaks in between.  We had lunch at the top of a saddle just before Ladies Pass.  No surprise how difficult and remote this trail was, we did not see a soul today, just a horse. 

What we thought was Ladies Pass was not.  The trail continued up, very steep, near a pinnacle before descending down to Edna Lake.  We took a dunk in the lake that took the breath away for sure.  This hike had now hit the point that it has taken me through some of the most remote and rugged country I have been through.  Before sunset we could already see tomorrows route.  It did not look inviting.  Dropping us straight into a valley and then over another monster ridge.  Gonna be a killer.

 Day 3

Edna Lake to Icicle Ridge

We woke up at sunrise and took some time to take in the reflections.  We packed up in record time and were on the trail by 8 am.  We dropped down and then began our next battle, the mountain of Big Jim.

We bottomed out in a valley, crossed a creek and made our way up and out of another dense forest.  It was perfect for hiking, cool and damp.  We were glad not to have any problems with losing the faint scuff of trail just yet.  Soon we crossed a steep small ridge before Big Jim.... then the trail.... no trace.  We were expecting this and consulted the GPS to pull up some waypoints that were set the night before.  Making our way across a meadow we found another tread that took us up and over Big Jim.  Again the views opened up on top.  Down again we marched past Lake Augusta. 

\

We mistakenly decided to put lunch off until we made it to Cabin Creek thinking it would be an easy hike down the valley.  Not so.  We were not expecting, nor happy, when the trail started leading left and eventually to the top of another ridge.  Once there it disappeared leaving us off trail and way above Cabin Creek.  The only mention in the guide book that helped was it said to stay on the ridge until reaching an elevation of 6200 ft., at that time break from the ridge and head down.  We did so and it took us down a precariously steep slope.  We split up a bit hoping to find some sort of trail to make the decent easier to the valley floor.  A faint trail was eventually found and after bushwhacking our way along it, we pulled into Cabin Creek.

At Cabin Creek we made some decisions.  We decided it would be best to eat a large meal now, rest for an hour or two, and begin a 2000ft. climb up to the top of the Icicle Ridge.  It would allow us only a 9 mile hike the next day to finish the trip and knew the view from up there would be worth it.  Our feet and bodies were protesting a bit, but surprisingly after an 1 1/2 hr. rest we felt ok.  The hike up to the ridge was steep and brutal.  We powered it out without stopping - It hit the point were I was seeing just how hard I could push myself.  The top of the ridge was worth it, fabulous it was.  We found a nice spot to bivy for the night, 50 ft. from a 4000 ft. drop to the valley floor.  The days totals pushed us to the limits.  12 miles with 6000 ft. elevation gain accumulated throughout the day.

Day 4

Icicle Ridge to Leavenworth

The sun rose over the smoke filled horizon that morning.  We were up early and explored the area nearby.

The view from camp looking across the valley to Mt. Stuart.  The Enchantments could also be seen and the craggy peaks were quite a sight.

Near our site there was a pinnacle of rock that was begging to be climbed.  We both took turns climbing it while the other snapped pics from the ridge.  The vertigo was almost overwhelming.  Looking around down the valley, there is so much space, size, distance, with nothing around you, the brain can't handle it to an extent.  Andy up top and a close up of Dan below.

  That day was spent hiking along the ridge.  In many places again we did not have a trail and did consult the maps and GPS to make sure we would not end up in the valley.  We knew that following the ridge eventually would take us  down to Leavenworth.

It was a 6000 ft. decent from camp down to town.  We came to a point where we could see Leavenworth.  I kid you not, it was like looking down on it from an airplane.  It was a steep switch backed trail those last few thousand feet.  Not making it any easier was the fact that we ran out of water a few miles from the end.  It was hot and by the time we made it to the car we were thirsty, hungry, and all around worn.  We stepped it up for sure.  It brings a whole new element to the table when you must cross difficult terrain without a trail for days on end.  Can't just put your head down and zone out like you can on a well traveled trail.  We constantly checked our location and made many judgment calls on the most practical heading.  These situations gave me the feeling of a true mountain man.  We were well warned as my guide book stated, "this trek ranks step for step as one of Washington's most demanding and rewarding trekking challenges.  Expect a trail that is never flat for more than a few strides."  What does that leave us with?  A damn fine few days in some beautiful remote backcountry.  Rewarding it was.

Extras

Icicle Divide Movie

                                                                  Go back to Homepage