Distance: 24.4 mi.
Elevation Gain: 7500 ft.

We were hoping to avoid crowds and rain over 4th of July weekend, so we headed east! Grade Creek Rd to the trailhead was quite slow and bumpy but we managed in the Honda Fit, a 5 hour drive from Seattle. We followed the Summer Blossom Trail until we reached the south ridge of North Navarre and then we climbed up to the ridge. The ridge was brushy and annoying but we eventually made it to the summit and then climbed directly down the steep scree on the west side of the summit until we reached the trail again. From here the trail descended through pretty fields of wildflowers and became quite faint in some areas. This is one trail that would benefit from heavier traffic!

The trail took us along some PUDs (pointless up and downs) before we reached a faint climber’s trail to the right (northeast) to the southwest pass above Sunrise Lake. We dropped our packs at the pass and turned right again (southeast) to scramble the west ridge of Sunrise Peak. This ridge was covered in brush and talus without much of a boot track to speak of. I asked Craig how in the world we found ourselves on this dumb particular peak and he said it was one of the top 200 tallest mountains in Washington, which explained everything 😋.

After summiting Sunrise Peak and enjoying the views of surrounding peaks toward dusk, we returned to our packs and headed down the north side of the pass. The trail here was partially covered in steep snow but there was soft scree to downclimb beside the snow patches. We curved around the west side of the lake to the established campsites on the north end. There were a couple other parties camped there already but we found a nice spot out of the snow.

The next morning we climbed back up to the pass, which was a bit of a two-steps-forward-one-step back endeavor but the actual trail should be melted out soon. We downclimbed from the pass to the main trail again and then turned right to head west on the trail. We continued north on the Summit Trail 1259 until we were basically due east of Old Maid Mountain at the pass and turned left to traverse fields full of wildflowers toward pt. 7820. We continued a climbing traverse on the south side of the east ridge of Old Maid.

There were a few game trails or boot tracks to follow but we did head upslope too early a couple of times before being forced back downslope again through brush because of the steep, discontinuous ridge. The final climb to the summit was a fun scramble on nice sticky talus, and the views from the top were beautiful. We were the fourth summit register entry since 2015.

We retraced our steps back to the Summit Trail on a slightly more direct route and turned right to head back toward the lake until we reached the well-marked trail crossing with Trail 417 Angel Staircase toward Switchback Mountain. We encountered some mountain bikers heading down while we climbed the dusty switchbacks toward the ridge above. When we reached the south ridge of Switchback we were met with views and a sudden slew of other hikers. We passed the hikers and then turned left (north) off trail to climb north on the left (west) side of the south ridge of Switchback. This was a quick and fun scramble. From the summit we dropped directly south on soft scree toward Merchants Basin. The basin itself was very green and pretty. We walked south along Foggy Dew Creek until we split off to the right onto the Sunrise Lake Trail (417B) and began climbing a forested slope back toward our campsite on the north end of the lake. This forest was filled with larches and would be an amazing sight in the late fall.

The two other parties who were camping at the lake had headed out to celebrate the 4th of July so we moved camp to one of the primo spots right on the lake with deluxe log seating around a campfire. Craig slung another bear line and then spent some time fishing while I read a book. We eventually built a campfire to enjoy while eating dinner and having a beer. The next morning, Craig actually caught some pretty nice trout that we fried up for breakfrast! This was a pretty ideal way to spend a holiday!

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Recommended brew: Hop Valley Mango and Stash IPA

Gear Used:

• Aluminum ice axe (not used)
• Backpacking tent
• Fishing pole
• GPS
• Helmet
• Microspikes (not used)
• Overnight pack
• Sleeping pad
• Stove
• Trad gear
• Trail runners
• Trekking poles
• Water filter
• Winter sleeping bag

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