I've read a few things about Ice Lakes and it sounded like a gorgeous area. After some researching, we decided to approach the lakes from the Leroy Basin trail, spend a night at the lakes, and then head back via the Carne High Route, spending an additional night along the way. I knew that Tanya was out for the weekend so I asked Brian if he and wonder-dog Kimi cared to join us. And so the adventure began with me, Teri, Brian and Kimi packing all of our wares into the little Yaris and heading out of Spokane towards Phelps Creek TH on a Friday afternoon.
We spent Friday night at 19 Mile Campground. Very little sleep was had due to the noisy neighbors slamming their truck door every few minutes, making sure to lock it as well (honk, honk). This went on till the early hours of the morning. We woke early, packed the gear and drove the last few miles to the trailhead at Phelps Creek. The parking area was packed full but we still managed to snag a spot right next to the kiosk.
The Phelps Creek trail starts out very wide and flat. Within a few minutes we passed by the trail to Carne Mountain (our return route for this loop) then Box Creek at one mile and Chipmunk Creek in just less than 2 miles. At about 3.5 miles and roughly 700 feet of elevation gain, we reached Leroy Creek. The trail was washed out at this point but it was an easy hop across the creek. On the north bank we found the path that led up steeply to the east, following the creek towards Leroy Basin. We left Phelps Creek trail and began the slog upwards. The steepness was unrelenting until just shy of the basin, 1.5 miles and 2200 feet from the Phelps Creek/Leroy Creek junction.
We threw our packs down at the basin and enjoyed some water and snacks below Maude and Seven Finger Jack. Another group was camped in the basin and we chatted a bit about the route. He told us the large trench from the west of Maude was trivial and only five feet deep. We had expected that the slide was much worse.
After our brief rest, we followed the path upward on the right side of the basin then through the trees, traversing south towards a saddle that separates point 6888 from the south ridge of Mount Maude. The path came and went but the destination remained in sight. We reached "The Maude Trench" in short order. It was 15 feet wide and 15 feet deep. The walls were nearly vertical. We didn't have to look long to find a bit of a weakness. There was some slipping and some sliding but we all made it across and popped up right next to a cairn. Once at the saddle, the path descended slightly down the south side then turned sharply east towards the south ridge of Mount Maude. We followed cairns (though the foot path was obvious) upwards to the low spot in the ridge where upper Ice Lake came into view. It was cold but the panorama to the east was awesome so we settled in for some views before the slog down to the lakes.
The wind at the upper lake was howling so we descended down to a bench near its outlet and found a semi-sheltered spot to set up tents. It was difficult to keep things from blowing away but we soon had some tarps up to help protect the site and the Tarptent was safe in its little nook.
After dinner we took a stroll down to the lower lake. The ground was a solid field of small pumice pebbles. Small granite boulders were scattered about a looked totally out of place amidst the tan landscape. Larch trees dotted the area. It was one of the most interesting areas I've been to. The pictures don't do it justice.
With the wind still whipping, we decided to retire early. The temperature plummeted overnight and even though the wind was calmer by morning, a layer of frost covered the landscape and the inside of the tent was like a freezer in need of defrosting. Our beds were slightly wet but would last another night. We ate a good breakfast and waited for the sun to dry the gear before packing up and heading out.
Our initial route took us directly up the right side of the upper lake's outlet stream. Here we found excellent camp spots next to a small waterfall, fully protected from any wind (note for next time). Unfortunately, there was no way to get back to Maude's south ridge from there so we had to descend back down to the original bench then up to the west end of the lake and upwards to the ridge. From Maude's south ridge, we followed cairns south to the saddle between point 7425 and 8017. The traverse was on a whisper of a path and through steep terrain. We were careful with our footing but in the end it really wasn't that bad. The rest of the Carne High Route lay before us even though the path had disappeared. It wasn't totally obvious which way to go from there. We maintained our elevation as we contoured SE on the talus slope south of the saddle. The slope steepened after a few hundred yards and we decided to plunge-step down to the bottom of the slope. As luck would have it, a couple of hikers appeared from the trees below. We chattered for a few minutes and located a cairn that took us once again to a path. For the most part, the path was consistent from here all the way to Carne Mountain. In areas where it faded out, we could easily spot where it picked up again - usual several hundred feet away or on a nearby ridge. There was little in the way of scree slogging or talus hopping as the trail meandered above and through larch-filled meadows, eventually arriving at the saddle NE of Carne Mountain. We continue on a good trail as it circled clockwise around Carne to it south ridge where we dropped packs and took the easy path to the summit for some photos.
From Carne Mountain, we continued on the trail SW as it dropped 700 feet to Carne Basin. We set up camp in the basin, built a respectable fire and enjoyed the warmth until the wood was gone and the stars came out. By then, the meadow and our tents were already covered in frost and we knew it would be another cold night….and it was…brrrr.
Sun reached the meadow much earlier than we expected so we didn't shiver too long on Monday morning. We hit the trail about 8:40 and were back at the trailhead in two hours.
This was an excellent trip. |
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