[asa]

The road is in excellent condition, looks like it was graded in the last week or two. We hiked up the Stafford Creek trail, and set up camp at the meadows below Navaho Peak (~5650'). I hiked up Navaho and then back down to camp as the rain set in. The next day the fun part began! Instead of hiking over Navaho, we took the trail that bypasses Navaho by traversing along the south side of Navaho at 6400'. The trail is thin, and hard to find, so an altimeter is helpful. Brief sections were steep and snow covered, but easy enough to cross without an axe. After reaching NE ridge of Navaho, we followed the ridge to Freedom, Miller, and all the unamed bumps in between. The first half of the ridgeline is open rock, followed by sparse woods. Almost no bushwhacking, perfect off trail travel. There's basically no snow on the ridgeline, except the remains of collapsed cornices on the east side of the ridge. After going up to Miller, we descending the Miller creek trail. After that, ~1mi road walk to back to the Stafford Creek trailhead to complete the loop. There was an incredible number of wild flowers along the whole route, I must have seen a couple dozen species in bloom. With the route clear of snow, mild temperatures, incredible wild flowers and great road conditions, it's a great time for this trip. If I did it again, I'd do it as a day trip - carrying the overnight weight wasn't worth it. The route is about 16 miles and 5000' of gain. Once the snow is gone, there is no reliable water source between Navaho meadows and Miller creek, so it does require carrying a significant amount of water. On Miller, looking back at the route from Navaho:

Flowers, flowers flowers:

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[Joey]

Nice report on a little-traveled part of the Teanaway. This is my favorite ridge hike in that area. Did you notice any traces of the County Line Trail? With a keen eye and a bit of luck this trail can be followed from the Miller Peak trail to the saddle at 6,000 just SE of the Little Navaho summit (aka Freedom Peak). I have only done this going in the opposite direction that you traveled so reversing the trip - as you did - would no doubt present its own trail finding challenges. To shorten the trip so it is accessible to more hikers, one can simply skip the Navaho and Miller Peak summits. And if you use the Little Navaho scramble route the trip becomes even more manageable as a day hike. For anyone contemplating this ridge hike and who has not yet visited Little Navaho, I suggest doing that summit as a scouting trip. The off-trail hiking involved is easiest if you are able to stay on the correct route between the Stafford Creek trail and the saddle between the two Navahos. Below is a map centered on Little Navaho. View larger size in new window

[asa]

There were signs of a trail in places. There were two well developed camp sites, including piles of firewood, so I assumed the trail was just a boot path worn in by campers. We did consider skipping Miller, since we were pretty exhausted at that point. I was glad we didn't - it was really rewarding to look back at our route from a high vantage point.

[puzzlr]

Ridge route from Freedom to Miller -- I'm glad to know that works without major rock outcrops. Thanks for the report. I should get out there to enjoy the flowers soon.