[HitTheTrail]

The old original Chelan summit trail as established by the sheep drive people pretty much stayed on the summit from the city of Chelan to Purple Pass/Boulder Pass above Stehekin. The current summit trail got rebuilt in the 1960’s/1970’s to its current route. It is much more hiker friendly but has a lot of undulation. For example from Chipmunk Pass to the Prince Creek valley you drop almost 1500’ in around 3 miles just to re-gain it again in about the same distance. Steve and I need an excuse to see the end of larch season in the Sawtooth’s so we concocted a plan to hike some of the original summit trail and check out an old sheep camp in a seldom visited basin between the new trail and the old original. We set up a camp on the current summit trail at the mouth of Hoodoo basin and day hiked over the next day.

4 mile marker on Eagle Lakes trail.

Lower Eagle Lake.

Lower Eagle from Horsehead Pass.

Boiling Lake from Horsehead Pass.

The second day we hiked up the original summit trail and down into the old sheep camp meadow one valley over.

Our day hike loop the next day.

Hoodoo Pass

Part of the original summit trail going to the top of the ridge.

Old summit trail going up to point 8010.

Hoodoo Pass and Bigelow from the old summit trail.

Raven Ridge from point 8010.

Looking down on old sheep camp basin from point 8010.

Scree slope we came down into basin.

Point 8010 on right. We plunge booted this scree slope to get into the basin.

Steve coming down scree slope into the larch basin.

View from point 8010.

Down in the old sheep camp area.

Natural table.

Larch meadow in the basin.

We explored the basin and found some really old camps and evidence of early activity. After that we ate lunch and looped back to Hoodoo basin on the current summit trail via Chipmunk Pass.

Top of Chipmunk Pass.

Cub lake is really low with a bathtub ring.

We woke early the third day and hiked out for our last gasp of larches. When we arrived there were only 3 cars at the TH and we only saw one person during the first two days. The hike out on friday reminded us of going up the Stuart/Colchuck trail. There was a constant stream of hikers, Mt. bikers and dirt bikers. Not to mention the deer hunters. Trail head parking was totally full and going down the road. We were glad we ended with a mid-week hike.

[Get Out and Go]

I love the parkland feel of that basin on the backside of Hoodoo Pass. Looks like you had some great roaming.

[HitTheTrail]