[Tall Hiker Man]

Myself and 3 others started up Hook Creek mid-afternoon on Friday. The going was steep but easy via a trail climbers trail. 
We then left the trail around 3300 elevation and travesed to the right into the bottom of the drainage. It was quite rough going for a thousand vertical feet or so - lots of downed, burnt out trees from the Rat Creek fire. We continued up to camp at 5600 elevation in a basin 1,800 feet below the mesa. 
Next morning we continued up the col to the mesa. 
Edward Mesa is beautiful. It offers a different perspective of The Temple, Prusik Peak, Little Annapurna, Enchantment Peak, Cannon & Mt Cashmere than I had seen. The Mesa has a nice, sandy gound, but was mostly covered in snow 1-4 feet thick. 
We walked toward Mesa Lake, no snowshoes needed. 
Dropping from the Mesa to Mesa Lake was rather sketchy, but we made it.
From Mesa Lake we headed down to Toketie 
From Toketie we headed down to the Snow Lakes trail. There is a "trail" down from Toketie but we lost it quite a few times. Tough going down to Snow Lakes.

[wildernessed]

Awesome, we came by there today and talked about going up there via that route. One of the guys had done it that way and via Cannon.

[Dean]

great TR and pics.  The Mesa is one of the few places I haven't been to up there and your TR is pure motivation for a guy like me.   I've been down Toketie twice and it was nasty both times.  Once down to the bridge below Nada Lake and once right down the creek itself.  Nasty.  Congrats on a nice trip. 

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Dean - working in Utah for awhile and feeling like it is a 'paid' vacation.
http://www.summitpost.org/user_page.php?user_id=1160

[Tall Hiker Man]

We took the drainage just South (up snow creek) of Toketie Creek. My partner had been told to stay the heck away from the main creek drainage. I'm sitting in my office this morning in Leavenworth, looking up at the Toketie drainage - there is a good amount of new snow from last night. I just can't imagine trying to work my way down that nastyness with a fresh few inches of snow... I think I'd still be up there!

[Smarto]

Very nice! Thanks for the rare shots from the Mesa. Which drainage is Hook Creek? There are three drainages between Rat and Snow creeks. I've heard of people going up Rat and wonder about pros and cons of Rat v. Hook creeks. We came over Prusik Pass when we went up there a couple years ago and out Toketie. Would love to go again. Thanks for the shots.

[Tall Hiker Man]

Glad I could expose a new area - it was new to me as well. I had only been to Prusik Pass and looked into the area. I haven't been to Rat, but have heard it is rather nasty, especially on the way down as there are cliff bands that are easy enough to negotiate from the bottom, but tough from above.

Hook Creek is the next one east (toward Leavenworth) from Rat.

[LandNeedle206]

Again, digging through some old posts here. Smarto, hoping you are still around to hear this because I just wanted to give you a heads up that I had a horrible experience with Rat Creek this past fall. I'll be headed back out that way in a couple months because I love Hook Creek, hate Rat Creek. If that puts it in perspective for you 

I don't feel like limping home anymore...

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Quincy D.
Western Washington University Class of 2006
Resident Nurse - Zoom Ankle