County Line trail - Miller Peak to Little Navaho

Transcription

1 County Line trail - Miller Peak to Little Navaho This hike features a portion of the County Line trail in the Teanaway that receives extremely little use despite offering a spectacular ridge-run thru flower meadows and past weathered snags. The views, of course, are non-stop. No doubt one reason that the County Line trail heading NE ly from Miller Peak toward Little Navaho is almost unknown amongst hikers is that it does not appear on the Enchantment Lakes 7.5 quad. Yet faint tread does exist for most (not all) of the way from the Miller Peak trail until shortly before the Little Navaho summit. Those who enjoy the challenge of following faint tread while watching for the occasional blaze or other trail sign, should consider adding this trip to their wanna-do list. Joseph Elfelt, Redmond WA. Please visit his Gmap4 site at

2 Tread of County Line trail. Distant peak on left with snow is Earl. Triangle peak near right side is Little Navaho. I produced the following map by combining GPS data from this recent hike along with data from a hike in Keep in mind that the tread disappears once it reaches the ridge

3 just prior to Little Navaho. It is an easy rock scramble along the ridge crest to the summit. Link to map CAUTION - Since much of the tread of this portion of the County Line trail is either extremely faint (and sometimes invisible), this hike should only be attempted by those experienced in off-trail travel and route finding. There is also a 1,200 descent (class 0.5 scramble) where there is no trail at all. We drove the Stafford Creek road (noticeably more/bigger/deeper potholes than last year) to the end and unloaded the gear at the Miller Peak TH. Chuck hung out while I drove back to the Stafford Creek TH and stashed the car. I warmed up for the real hike strolling back (0.9 miles) on the road. The stream crossings are easy to negotiate on rocks and chunks of wood. Since I started with minimal water to save weight, we stopped at the last real stream crossing (~ 4,100 ) where I pumped water. This crossing features a large log perfectly placed to sit on while pumping. First glimpse of the County Line trail route. L to R is Little Navaho, (Big) Navaho, The Brothers.

4 Miller Peak trail. Little Navaho and (Big) Navaho in background. At ~5,700 the County Line trail coming from the Blewett Pass area merges with the Miller Peak trail. Now, back up a few steps. Just before this trail junction the Miller Peak trail does a switchback to the right. Look past this switchback and you will see a particularly large snag on the ground and a spur trail. Take the spur trail around the snag to a small camp spot and rock outcrop. There is a wonderful view of the ridge running to Little Navaho from this spot.

5 Little Navaho and (Big) Navaho. Top of Stuart in background. County Line trail runs along the ridge from right to left. Continue up on the combined Miller Peak & County Line trail.

6 Miller Peak trail When you get to ~5,900 watch carefully for a narrow meadow on your left. If you see something traversing to the left that looks like maybe it is a trail but you are not sure, then give yourself a star since you have located a trail junction that most hikers no doubt blow right by without ever apprehending. Yes, that is the seldom seen portion of the County Line trail heading off into the woods. Note the blaze on the first tree.

7 Junction of Miller Peak trail and County Line trail heading northwest. Do not be alarmed that this part of the County Line trail descends a bit. In due course the trail arrives at a hunting camp on the ridge crest. From here the next part of the trail stays on or close to the top of the ridge. You will pass by several more spots where hunters

8 camp. Along the way you will approach a place where a spur of the ridge extends south. Be alert since there is a fork in the trail here and you should take the fork to the right. The hunters likely use the left fork to access the spur ridge. Eventually you will come to the last of the hunting campsites on the ridge crest. (I neglected to count but there are 3-4 of these camp spots.) You will likely have a hard time locating the ever-so-faint tread. Look left. The County Line trail descends gradually on the left side of the ridge, passes below a rock outcrop, descends some more and then passes over a rock rib. Keep in mind that this trail was likely located so it could be traveled by someone on a good mountain horse towing pack mules. Once across this rock rib, the trail does a long climb back to the ridge crest. At that point the tread disappears leaving you with an easy rock scramble to the summit of Little Navaho. Alas, we were unable to locate the summit register we signed in I seem to recall that it had been placed by Fay Pullen. It is another easy scramble down to the saddle between the Navahos. I know these posts with concrete piers have been mentioned in prior threads. Anyone ever find out the story behind these things? Note the sequential numbering. This pile is at the saddle just back in the woods a bit.

9 These are stashed in the saddle between Little Navaho and (Big) Navaho. There are various piles and collections. Note the serial numbers. Que es? Trail markers? County boundary war? When you are at the saddle study the slope leading up toward (Big) Navaho. You will again see the faint tread of the County Line trail and one of these white marker posts. Were the other marker posts never set? Or were they set and then collected? Surely someone knows their story. From the saddle descend 1,200 to the Stafford Creek trail. As you hike down be careful to keep the main ravine close on your right. Do not stray off too far into the woods on your left. If you follow this instruction then you will hit the Stafford Creek trail where it crosses the stream in this ravine. This is a great spot to rest and pump water. From here it is about 3.5 miles to the Stafford Creek TH. The total stats for this hike are 11 miles and 3,900 of elevation gain. Finally, one last word about the trail tread. Did I mention that it s faint? In some sections we spotted the tread because game had used the trail and stirred up the dirt. If you attempt this hike right after a rain, then you may have a harder time locating portions of the trail since that navigational aid might not be present.

10 Tread of County Line trail. Little Navaho on skyline to left.

11 Along the County Line trail. Main peak in background is (Big) Navaho.

12 View uphill from County Line trail.

13 Rainier

14 Looking back toward Miller Peak. Yes, that is the faint tread of the County Line trail in the lower center of the pic.

15 View uphill from County Line trail

16 Standing in County Line trail (see the tread in lower right?) and looking back along the way we just hiked.

17 Rainier

18 Little Navaho and (Big) Navaho.

19 Enchantments and saddle between (Big) Navaho and The Brothers

20 Little Navaho is a bit to right of center.

21 Looking back toward the last hunters' camp on the ridge.

22 Little Navaho. The trail does a climbing traverse of this slope until it fades away a bit short of the ridge crest and summit.

23 County Line trail passes a bit below the red bump. See the tread?

24 Look close to see Chuck on the County Line trail approaching Little Navaho.

25 Enchantments as seen thru the pass between (Big) Navaho on left and The Brothers on the right.

26 Looking back. Miller Peak on left.

27 Looking back. See the trail? It's in the upper left of the pic.

28 Looking back. Miller Peak embraced by snag.

29 Looking back. Miller Peak on left.

30 Looking back. The trail crosses near the base of the rock rib (middle right of pic) and then does a climbing traverse of this slope.

31 (Big) Navaho from the summit of Little Navaho.

32 The Brothers (on the right) from summit of Little Navaho.

33 Chuck descending from Little Navaho summit to saddle

34 Saddle between Little Navaho and (Big) Navaho looks like a moonscape.

35 Maiden in the woods?