[Paul M]

Mike C and I squeezed in a quick trip this past Fri/Sat to check off a few Top 200 Prom peaks on the East side. We left Issaquah Friday afternoon and by 4pm were standing on the summit of Bear Mountain (3600ft, P1880; 3.73 miles RT and 735 ft elev gain) looking over sweeping views of Lake Chelan. The access road is heavily rutted for a short stretch about 2 miles before the gate but was still passable with my Tucson.

Lake Chelan from Bear Mountain

From there we turned north and drove to Winthrop where we had dinner and spent the night at his friend’s cabin. Saturday morning we climbed Fawn Peak (6577ft P1897; 4.77 miles RT and 2411 ft elev gain) from a saddle on FR300 at 4200ft below the long ridge trending south from our objective. This was a pleasant ramble in open forest which afforded great views to many T100 peaks.

The Gardners from Fawn Peak

Silver Star Mountain

Robinson Mountain from Fawn Peak

Fawn Peak from pt5986

Mike at the summit of Fawn Peak

Fawn Peak summit pano

We made it back through Winthrop on our way out just before the State Patrol closed HW 20 for the “49er Days” parade down Main Street. It looked like the entire town turned out for the show. We continued east and finished on Ruby Hill (4957 ft, P1957; 1.92 miles RT and 782 ft elevation gain). All I can say about the access road heading north from Buzzard Lake is GOOD LUCK! Forget about the prior reports describing the condition of the road on Peak Bagger. Once past the large clearing around 3800 ft the road becomes relentlessly steep and heavily rutted, with oil pan rocks thrown in for good measures. Trapped in this fun zone with no place to turn around I coaxed my poor little car to 4150ft before I could find a suitable spot to turn around. The descent on this road was worse than the drive up. After this fun we decided to give my vehicle a break and headed back to the west side satisfied with our efforts.

Ridge art

Burnt forest along Ruby Hill summit ridge

Ruby Hill summit BM

I always enjoy the peaks on the east side in the late spring when the days are long, the hills are still green, and the temps are not too hot. I also never tire of the drive along the Columbia north of Wenatchee.

[RichP]

Nice. Fawn Peak has been on my to do list for a while. I might head over there soon before it gets too hot.

[Stefan]

Nice to see Mike C on Fawn Peak again!

[wildernessed]

Good views from Fawn. Bear is all most inaccessible due to sprawl much like the West Ridge route to Chelan Butte.

[Redwic]

Fawn Peak is a very nice, easy, underrated peak with fantastic views. I visited Ruby Hill six years ago. For my trip, the road from the south had also been worse than previous reports, but I was still able to (barely) drive the road in my little Toyota Corolla... I miss my Corolla, as I took it virtually everywhere that now seems unimaginable. It sounds like the road from Buzzard Lake has worsened even more so and standard passenger vehicles are officially now a no-go. However, let me emphasize that during my trip, we thought following the road northward would be a better option... it wasn't. At that time, a few sections of road were disappearing above a large cliff called "China Wall" and I barely got through. Perhaps future visitors will find a different way to reach the peak, or just hike in via the heavily-rutted road.

[Mike Collins]

The road is absolutely a "no go" from Buzzard Lake. A Humvee might be up for the challenge. It was great to be out with Paul and I am thankful that he introduced another list into my life, the Top 200 Prominence list. Just the other day a I thought I needed another list to help me enrich my life.

[fourteen410]

You should have checked out the nearby historical relic when you were on Fawn

[Paul M]