Forum Index > Trip Reports > Navaho Peak, Three Brothers, County Line Trail, ~Earl Peak - 2021-05-29
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mbravenboer
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mbravenboer
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PostSun May 30, 2021 9:08 pm 
Navaho Pass and Peak Snow starts at about 4300ft on the Stafford Creek trail. The snow stays intermittent all the way to the end due to steeper slopes having melted out already, but flat areas in the forest are still 100% snow covered. There are many wildflowers at low elevation (lots of trillium, glacier lilies, paintbrush, calypso orchid and more). At higher elevation there are some glacier lilies and phlox but otherwise it still a bit early in the year. The trail is in great condition with only one tiny tree across the trail. Where you need traction really depends on the time of the day. There is nothing particularly steep, but I was at the pass at 7am and at Navaho Peak at 8am and it was an ice sheet on this day. The snow staid icy until about 9am (so about 4 hours after sunrise). if you start at a normal hour then you're probably fine without traction. There are no steep or tricky snow fields to cross for Navaho Pass nor Navaho Peak. If tracks have melted out, then some route finding skills may be needed. I lost the actual trail a few times closer to the pass, but it mostly doesn't matter if you're roughly familiar with where you're going.
Stafford Creek trailhead at 4:30am
Stafford Creek trailhead at 4:30am
Earl Peak from the ridge to Navaho Peak
Earl Peak from the ridge to Navaho Peak
Mt Adams from the ridge to Navaho Peak
Mt Adams from the ridge to Navaho Peak
Mt Stuart from just above Navaho Pass
Mt Stuart from just above Navaho Pass
Twisted tree on the route to Navaho Peak
Twisted tree on the route to Navaho Peak
The Teanaway from Navaho Peak
The Teanaway from Navaho Peak
Three Brothers from Navaho Peak.
Three Brothers from Navaho Peak.
Crystal Creek drainage between Little Annapurna and McClellan
Crystal Creek drainage between Little Annapurna and McClellan
Stuart Range from Navaho Peak
Stuart Range from Navaho Peak
Much of the Alpine Lakes Wilderness is visible from Navaho Peak
Much of the Alpine Lakes Wilderness is visible from Navaho Peak
Mt Stuart from Navaho Peak
Mt Stuart from Navaho Peak
Ingalls Peak to the left in the foreground. Mt Daniel in the background
Ingalls Peak to the left in the foreground. Mt Daniel in the background
I-90 area in the foreground and Mt Adams in the distance (from Navaho Peak)
I-90 area in the foreground and Mt Adams in the distance (from Navaho Peak)
Mt Rainier from Navaho Peak
Mt Rainier from Navaho Peak
SW ridge of McClellan Peak
SW ridge of McClellan Peak
The Teanaway from Navaho Peak
The Teanaway from Navaho Peak
Ladybugs at the Navaho Peak summit
Ladybugs at the Navaho Peak summit
Glacier Lilies
Glacier Lilies
Navaho Peak to Three Brothers On the ridge down from Navaho Peak towards Three Brothers there are still a few cornices, but you can easily see them ahead and plan a route down that is not exposed to cornice failure. The west ridge up Three Brothers is mostly melted out except for a few snow patches that can probably even be avoided. It's very loose gravel higher up. It wasn't the most fun nor aesthetic experience ever. The summit area is quite nice and has a lot of space. I could not find a summit register, but I didn't search very hard no was I prepared for where it is supposed to be. It took me 2 hours from Navaho Peak to Three Brothers. I briefly checked what the route to the lower, middle summit is like but it seemed pretty steep and I wasn't interested in risking that for a lower summit.
SE ridge of Navaho Peak
SE ridge of Navaho Peak
Cornice failure on the SE ridge of Navaho Peak
Cornice failure on the SE ridge of Navaho Peak
Three Brothers from Etienne Creek pass
Three Brothers from Etienne Creek pass
Looking back at Navaho Peak from the Etienne Creek pass
Looking back at Navaho Peak from the Etienne Creek pass
The other brothers from the west summit of Three Brothers
The other brothers from the west summit of Three Brothers
Navaho Peak from Three Brothers
Navaho Peak from Three Brothers
Zoom of the Lemah - Summit Chief area
Zoom of the Lemah - Summit Chief area
Mt Adams from Navaho Peak
Mt Adams from Navaho Peak
Mt Rainier from Navaho Peak
Mt Rainier from Navaho Peak
Ingalls Creek drainage from Navaho Peak
Ingalls Creek drainage from Navaho Peak
Navaho Pass to SW ridge of Wrong Turn Peak I was planning for a second side-trip to Volcanic Neck and Devil's Head. I followed the bootpath (Old County Line Trail up towards Wrong Turn Peak) and then tried to follow the rough route of the County Line Trail to the SW ridge. There were some cornices on that ridge but there were enough safe routes up. The ridge itself is clear of snow and broad, with a great view of the Stuart Ridge. When I arrived at the SW ridge of Wrong Turn Peak I saw that the ridge between Earl and Bean still had too many cornices to be safe and there was even a fresh failure that sweeped across the route. I decided to turn towards Earl Peak.
Cornices on the north side of the ridge between Bean and Earl
Cornices on the north side of the ridge between Bean and Earl
Volcanic Neck (Bills in the background)
Volcanic Neck (Bills in the background)
Devils Head (Pt 6666) with Ingalls Peak and Fortune in the background
Devils Head (Pt 6666) with Ingalls Peak and Fortune in the background
Stuart Range from SW ridge of Wrong Turn Peak
Stuart Range from SW ridge of Wrong Turn Peak
Navaho Peak from SW ridge of Wrong Turn Peak
Navaho Peak from SW ridge of Wrong Turn Peak
Huge avalanche path below Devils Head
Huge avalanche path below Devils Head
Stuart Range from the pass SW of Wrong Turn Peak
Stuart Range from the pass SW of Wrong Turn Peak
SW ridge of Wrong Turn Peak towards Earl Peak The traverse towards Earl was mostly straightforward and snow covered, but there were some tricky sections across boulder fields where I could potentially sink very deeply, so I had to cross those very carefully scanning for holes with my ice axe. Up Earl Peak went wonderfully initially and eventually I was among the highest elevation larch trees there. Unfortunately I really didn't have a clear view of the ridge there and what I could see was also heavily corniced. I gave up on the last 300ft or so and traversed towards the Standup Creek Trail. The track on Flickr shows where I turned around. Without cornices this would probably be a decent route.
At the last larch trees below Earl Peak (at about 6700ft). I didn't have good visibility of where the remaining cornices were so I turned back here.
At the last larch trees below Earl Peak (at about 6700ft). I didn't have good visibility of where the remaining cornices were so I turned back here.
Cornices on the NE ridge of Earl Peak
Cornices on the NE ridge of Earl Peak
Cornices on the SE ridge of Earl Peak
Cornices on the SE ridge of Earl Peak
Larch tree in spring
Larch tree in spring
Navaho Peak and Three Brothers with some larch trees in the foreground
Navaho Peak and Three Brothers with some larch trees in the foreground
Stuart Range across the ridge from Earl Peak to Wrong Turn Peak
Stuart Range across the ridge from Earl Peak to Wrong Turn Peak
Freedom Peak
Freedom Peak
Standup Creek Trail down back to Stafford Creek Trail The Standup Creek trail to the pass (I didn't go all the way there, see the track) is still entirely snow covered and it's a bit harder to find the route there if you don't have GPS. There is quite a bit of dense forest on that side of the drainage. The crossing of Stafford Creek was a bit rough but not dangerous.
Area of the trail to the Standup Creep drainage
Area of the trail to the Standup Creep drainage
Rock formations in the Stafford Creek drainage
Rock formations in the Stafford Creek drainage
Rock formations from the trail to the Standup Creek drainage
Rock formations from the trail to the Standup Creek drainage
Track (blue) of Navaho Peak, Three Brothers, Earl Peak attempt (20 miles, 8600ft gain)
Track (blue) of Navaho Peak, Three Brothers, Earl Peak attempt (20 miles, 8600ft gain)
All photos: https://www.flickr.com/photos/bravenboer/albums/72157719305689784/

Cyclopath, Randito, RichP
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JimK
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JimK
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PostMon May 31, 2021 7:47 am 
That was an ambitious day! Lots of beautiful views and photos. Thanks for the conditions report.

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olderthanIusedtobe
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olderthanIusedtobe
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PostMon May 31, 2021 10:16 am 
up.gif Love the Teanaway! Been too long since I've been over. Looks like a great day.

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awilsondc
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awilsondc
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PostMon May 31, 2021 5:36 pm 
Awesome trip and great photos! It's great seeing your trip reports again, and thanks for conditions updates too! up.gif up.gif

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rubywrangler
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rubywrangler
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PostMon May 31, 2021 9:20 pm 
ditto.gif

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zephyr
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zephyr
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PostMon May 31, 2021 10:10 pm 
That's a heck of a lonnng walk. Great to see so many views of conditions all around the Teanaway. Well done. ~z

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Nancyann
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Nancyann
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PostMon May 31, 2021 10:48 pm 
Beautiful pictures, Martin, good to see your trip reports again! I have ridden the Standup/Stanford loop on my horse, and it was quite an unforgettable adventure...

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pimaCanyon
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pimaCanyon
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PostTue Jun 01, 2021 6:36 pm 
excellent route for a very long day. beautiful pix!! thanks for posting.

It's never too late to have a happy childhood
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RichP
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PostTue Jun 01, 2021 8:35 pm 
I see those long legs are still serving you well. biggrin.gif Nice to see your report.

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mbravenboer
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mbravenboer
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PostTue Jun 22, 2021 8:59 am 
Thanks for the kind words everybody smile.gif

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puzzlr
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puzzlr
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PostWed Jun 30, 2021 2:01 pm 
Great trip report and photos. You appear to still have unbounded energy! I hadn't seen the name "Wrong Turn Peak" before. It looks like it was added to OSM last September but isn't on peakbagger or LOJ yet. Has a nice ring to it.

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Forum Index > Trip Reports > Navaho Peak, Three Brothers, County Line Trail, ~Earl Peak - 2021-05-29
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