8 miles of hiking • 3500' elevation gain •
New Summit - 4 of 20 for the Year 2013
Set out early this morning with Keetann and Mindy. It was the first climb of the year for all 3 of us as a group. It felt great to spend some time out in the wilderness with them again. The forecast for western Washington looked grey and damp, so we looked east and found some sunshine in Teanaway. After a rainy drive over Snoqualmie Pass we were treated to bluebird skies and a clear look at Stuart and the Enchantments. Today was going to be a great day and boy it didn't disappoint.
We made quick work of the approach and began scrambling up scree and random patches of snow. At the rate we were going I thought we might be able to squeeze in a 2-fer or even a trifecta. But after reaching the summit and taking in the views we both decided the other 2 peaks were walk-ups and weren't worth the effort today. The snow has been melting fast up there and it would have been a lot more scree walking. We did however spot a nice patch of snow down from Navaho Pass and wondered if we could glissade down into the valley. After some plunge stepping and traversing... we found our patch and off we went. We were down in the Stafford Creek Basin in no time.
I will have to make a return trip for the 3 Brothers and Navaho when there is more snow. Overall a great area with an easy approach.
