[wildernessed]

Location : W of Twisp, Wa up Twisp River Rd. Maps : GTM - Stehekin, TOPO, NFS Sawtooth Wilderness Stats : 10 mi, 5700' r/t Dusted this customized trip off the shelf and "to do list" to explore off the beaten path. Looked good on paper. My daughter Hannah was going to be home over the 4th of July and wanted to do a hike, preferably a backpacking trip so I thought it would be an outstanding ramble in the woods with some nice terrain and solitude. I had been talking to Steve about this route for awhile and he thought it looked interesting so it was on. We were on the trail early and set a good pace, though we were helped by cool temps, moderate winds, and tree cover. We gained about 1500' / hr. then off trailed it through the woods which quickly turned into a wide meadow with a waterfall dropping a few hundred feet from the basin and lake above and beyond. We sat on a rock and looked at the potential routes around it and it appeared we could out flank the cliffs and hike into the drainage. Well, it worked out nicely and it was sweet entering multiple small basins with cascading streams coming down as we made our way to the lake which was shallow, but crystal clear. We setup our tents, rested, then followed the basin to a wide saddle above Gardner Meadows then arced up the steepish ridge to the summit of East Abernathy 8185'. The wind had been gusting quite fiercely at times, but once on the summit we had a period of calm with excellent views of mountains, drainage's, and lakes. After a period we made our way back down to camp with some nice scree to aid us. As the sun dropped behind the tall ridges it really cooled down and the wind maintained it's presence. Even with a small campfire and five layers I had to head for the tent and sleeping bag early, I fell asleep and woke at 0400 . Morning coffee was good, we were socked in with clouds and light grapple, then a misty rain, there was some ice in places so a cool one for sure. Everyone was still in there tents at that time so I let them rest and enjoyed the early hours. I took the stove over to Hannah's tent and she heated up her tea and cereal in the vestibule while still in the tent, and I told her to just pack up everything then get out and take down the tent as the rain was a little more constant but still lightly falling. So Steve was up and didn't seem to want to linger with coffee, so we packed up and headed down with the weather following us. We stopped near our junction with the trail and took a break then moved on until the TH. Quite a nice trip, better than expected, and so awesome to get out with my daughter for some outdoor therapy again.

The meadow below the lake out flow.

Multiple small basins with cascading streams.

East Abernathy Peak and Lake_5638_edited-1

Nice !

Hannah's House

Hannah layered up.

Layed back saddle.

Looking over at North Gardner.

Abernathy

On the East Ridge with Gardner Meadows to the left.

Bonanza

Reynolds

Louis Lake

Steve and Hannah on the summit.

Going up and enjoying the terrain and views.

East Abernathy summit shot with Hannah

0430 with five layers and warm coffee.

Leaving the high, cold, wet ground.

You can't see me can you ?

Abernathy to North Gardner

East Abernathy Lake

Louis Creek and South Fork of South Creek drainages

Louis Lake to McAlester Mountain

McAlester toCrescent Mountain

Name Those Peaks

Oval - Star - Courtney

Ravens Ridge to Motherlode

Looking down on Abernathy Lake

Lake from the East Ridge.

Topography can tell you a lot

[Distel32]

[wildernessed]

[GaliWalker]

[mtn.climber]

[mbravenboer]

Very nice views! Awesome way to spend time with your daughter!

[HitTheTrail]

It's always good to get out with one of the kids. Wished mine lived a little closer! Looks like some nice basins up there. I may have to give it a second look.

[puzzlr]

Looks like a lot of fun. Seems you've trained your offspring well.

[Brushbuffalo]

Beautiful trip! I love reading aTR involving family fun.

[wildernessed]

[natural_log]

Nice report. And that little bundin!

[Magellan]

So much awesome!