Forum Index > Trip Reports > Freedom Peak (aka Little Navaho) - 5.17.2012
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ragman and rodman
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Joined: 28 Apr 2005
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Location: http://rgervin.com/
ragman and rodman
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PostSat May 19, 2012 10:19 am 
BarbE, Denali Girl, Snowdog (aka Ama Sherpani), rodman and I headed over to the Teanaway Country where we found better weather than on the west side. I called the Cle Elum Ranger Station a week ago to get the Teanaway road conditions and they said that FS9703 was closed at the junction with the N. Fork Teanaway road... due to logging operations and a huge mud hole that stretched the length of the road, making it impassible for cars. This road closure was confirmed by Pef's Navaho Pass trip report two days later. Well... we weren't going to let any little ole road closure get in our way... so, from 29 Pines Campground, we drove the N. Fork road a tenth of a mile past the turnoff for FS9703 and found a parking spot (2760') that allowed plenty of passing room for other cars and trucks. We assembled our mountain bikes and made the 2.7 mile ride to the Stafford Creek trailhead (3100')... where we stashed our bikes in the woods and started booting up the trail. After two miles of hiking (~4000') we left the trail and headed uphill on steep terrain that led us to the SE ridge (6000') of Freedom Peak and an excellent lunch spot. After leaving our lunch spot we followed the easy ridge (several ups and downs) to the summit (6442')... a beautiful ridge walk with in-your-face views of Earl, Navaho, Three Brothers and most of the Stuart Range. The two stream crossings were interesting on the way in... but we were able to make them easier on the way out... mostly because we didn't care if we got wet at the end of the day. Denali Girl did not do any of the off-trail portion of the hike, but did volunteer two hours of trail maintenance on the two mile hike back to her bike. Roundtrip mileages... 5.4 mile bike ride, gaining 340 feet of elevation... 7.6 mile hike, gaining 3487 feet of elevation. When we got back to the trailhead, it is impossible for me to describe how nice it was to be able to get on a bike and coast the 2.7 miles back to the car!!! GPS route and photos of our bike and hike to Freedom Peak. ..

"Teanaway 70" Peaks List... a guide to hiking and scrambling in the Teanaway Area. ----------------
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Mikey
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Joined: 04 Sep 2003
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Location: SW Washington
Mikey
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PostSat May 19, 2012 9:57 pm 
Thanks for the great photos and trip report. We drove the Stafford Creek Road on Sunday May 8th and there were 3 vehicles parked along side the road near the gate at Standup Creek. There was no logging occurring nor logging trucks using the Stafford Creek road on May 8th. Should be OK to drive that Stafford Creek road on weekends. As I recall, it was a similar situation on the N Fork Teanaway Rd last Spring-Summer with no logging trucks using the road on the weekends.

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BarbE
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Joined: 28 Jul 2006
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BarbE
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PostSun May 20, 2012 12:48 pm 
An almost flat looking "easy" 2.7 mile bike ride to the trailhead, and yet it seemed harder than anticipated. The fact that the road is pretty torn up by logging trucks didn't help either. shakehead.gif The bike ride, some bushwhacking, several creek crossings, a steep climb, and finally the payoff: a wonderful ridge walk to the summit. up.gif A pleasant surprise came on the return bike ride. That's when I realized we had been gaining constant elevation on the way in and we ended up coasting all the way back to the car. chickenleg.gif
Little Navaho May 20
Little Navaho May 20
bushwhack/ creek crossing
bushwhack/ creek crossing
done with bushwhacking
done with bushwhacking
Ragman knows his peaks
Ragman knows his peaks
fun obstacle along the ridge
fun obstacle along the ridge
must catch snowballs
must catch snowballs
walk in the park
walk in the park
a fine ridge walk
a fine ridge walk
Rodman summits
Rodman summits
Izzy, the snowdog
Izzy, the snowdog
King of the Teanaway
King of the Teanaway
Freedom Peak summit shot
Freedom Peak summit shot
Little Annapurna close-up
Little Annapurna close-up
leaving the summit
leaving the summit
back over the last hump
back over the last hump
one more creek crossing
one more creek crossing
Elle coasting, Izzy running
Elle coasting, Izzy running

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Forum Index > Trip Reports > Freedom Peak (aka Little Navaho) - 5.17.2012
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