[RichP]

Puzzlr, Snowdog, Izzy and I had a great day in the eastern Teanaway checking out a section of trail none of us had ever hiked on. All of us had been to some if not all of these peaks on other occasions but decided that with the great weather the area was worth a revisit. Instead of starting at the Iron Bear Trailhead, we took FR 113 off of the Iron Ck Rd and drove to the trailhead of The County Line Trail at 4300.' These are better directions to get there from The Old Blewett Pass Highway which we used on the way out. http://www.fs.usda.gov/recarea/okawen/recarea/?recid=57451 You will most definitely need a high clearance vehicle to get to this trailhead as it's badly rutted in places. Snowdog drove expertly and got us there without issues.

We parked a few hundred yards from the actual trailhead due to encroaching brush on the final part of the road.

Hiking the few hundred yards to the trailhead along overgrown road.

Trailhead.

The trail drops to a logging road for a short distance.

Views from County Line Trail.

On Joker 5420.'

Iron Bear and Jester.

Miller. Most of the snow was gone by the time we hiked out.

Approaching junction of Teanaway Ridge and County Line Trails.

Junction of Teanaway Ridge and County Line Trails.

Puzzlr on Iron bear 5489.'

On the way to Miller Peak.

Traversing slopes below Miller.

Miller summit view 6402.'

Mission Ridge in the distance.

Instead of taking the trail we dropped off the east ridge.

3 labels

Jester and Iron Bear.

Back on the County Line Trail.

Headed to Jester.

We were so close to another peak, "Roughhouse Mtn," that we decided to make the short trip over and climb it before driving home. The roughest part of Roughhouse is the road to the gate where we began the quick 1/2 mile walk to the summit which is topped by a communication tower.

Roughhouse Mtn.

A short hike leads to the summit 4760.'

[fourteen410]

Those larches are still hanging on

[neek]

bummed I couldn't make it, looks like a fantastic fall hike

[mbravenboer]

Surprisingly yellow larches and I expected more snow! Lyman Lake is indicating 30 inches of snow: http://www.nwrfc.noaa.gov/snow/snowplot.cgi?LYLW1 . I don't see a whole lot of snow in trip reports though ...

[RichP]

[capbiker]

Nice trip and photos. Have often wondered about the condition of FR 113 but never wandered up there. Now I know I need to!

[Get Out and Go]

It's been too long since I've been up in there. Looks really nice with Fall colors and light.

[Snowdog]

The drive to the TH was the *crux* of the trip. The road/dirt was wet in spots and therefore slicker than it could have been. The Expedition has new, good tires though, so we felt secure. Accessing this TH form the Old Blewett Hwy would be better.

[Snowday]

I tried for the County Line Trail week before last and was not so successful as RichP and company (due to lack of time and physical fitness). I drove in from the south up the twisty paved Old Blewett Highway and parked at the pass. This is a great drive if you have someone who can not go hiking. Larches were out. I wish I had taken my Mom up here before she passed (she remembered when this was the Highway 97 back in the early 1950s). Road 200 from the pass is a bit too much for my Subaru Impreza. The first steep part has deep ruts -- high clearance advised. So I parked, and rode (sometimes walked) my mountain bike into the trail head. There is a sign at the junction with Road 113.