Exposed Trail

nOTE THE PEAK NUMBER IS MISTYPED IN THE TITLE - It is Peak 9460.

This is a near drive-up in a carefully driven Prius, or perhaps a full-on drive-up in a vehicle with some ground clearance.

5774 Entiat Ridge Peak (W7W/CH-197) is a short, steep hike from a trailhead reached out of the Leavenworth area. The summit has expansive views of the area.  A high clearance vehicle should be used.

The summit is on the Entiat Ridge that also includes Sugarloaf Peak (W7W/CH-195), 5221 Twin Lead Mtn (W7W/CH-206), and Chumstick Mountain (W7W/CH-196).  All four summits can be done in one long day.  Two of the three summits (Sugarloaf and Chumstick) are drive-ups, Twin Lead is a drive-up or short hike, and Entiat Ridge Peak is a short hike.  

DISCLAIMER: This summit should not be attempted without knowledge of rope systems, crevasse rescue and snow travel. It is a serious climb that should not be taken lightly.

Little Tahoma Peak is a sister summit of Mt Rainier. At 11,138' it is the 3rd tallest peak in Washington State. It is far less popular than Rainier due to the fact that the final few hundred feet is some of the loosest rock in the state.

We have been planning this climb for over 18 months. Our entire family was going to do the adventure in June of 2020, but COVID closed the park. Really I began planning before that. Shortly after I started SOTA, I began refining my kit and learning CW with the intent of one day being prepared for this mountain.

Our group:

Brundage Mountain is short, but punchy. Don't let the distance to summit fool you. It goes from a road to a double track that fades into the brush. We mostly followed the gps track from K7MK. His track yields a good spot to cross the creek and keeps you out of the thickest brush. Where we deviated was on dealing with the block below the summit. We opted for climbers right on the ascent and climbers left on the descent. The right side is more rocky and feels like a stairmaster. The left side is more dirt, so more slipping. Pick your poison I suppose, both are steep. 

Cuddy Mountain, W7I/SR-055, is ALMOST a drive up summit, if your vehicle can handle it. The road to Cuddy and Summers requires careful driving, high clearance, and 4WD certainly helps. I was glad we gave an extra day for the snow to melt out because there were a couple spots that would've been more difficult to get through in the Explorer if it had been deeper. A couple mud pits looked suspect, but be made it through okay. The roads up here are frequented by off road enthusists and you'll likely see some UTVs, ATVs, and dirt bikers.

Trailhead: Goose Lake TH, Google maps will guide you there. 2WD is probably fine for this road. 

Today I dragged my Dad, my kids and their cousins up to Gracie Point summit.

I had read about the southern approach, from James WA7JNJ, which was listed as 5 or so miles one way and a rather steep hike.  I figured that was a bit much for my crew so we went around back to the northern approach.  Starting on N Wenas Rd turning north onto Sheep Company Road.  

NOTE: A Washington DNR Discovery Pass is required. These can be ordered online the same day, if you forgot yours.

2023 Update:

See latest update from Guy N7UN about DNR altering some roads in this area!

http://www.pnwsota.org/blog/n7un/2023-october-22/new-access-information-mt-mitchell 

2021 Trip Report: