Acumen wrote:Great! Thank you for the information.
Yeah I am from NY so we don't really close roads here, even in the Adirondacks. I was not even thinking about that. We are trying to be light and fast, cover a lot of ground, so we want to leave the snowshoes and crampons at home. Sounds like the Copper trail is out.
I've been looking at the trails you recommend and they sound great. I am trying to get them mapped out. Will they all be on the Alpine Lake map (825) here?:
http://www.natgeomaps.com/ti_washingtonDo you know how good the Trails Illustrated map is out there? I have a dozen of them from all over and have always been very happy with the series. Any other map recommendations? Should I pick up any of the other Trails Illustrated maps besides Alpine Lakes and Olympic Park (as in, will we be able to hike more northern areas without snowshoes)?
From what I see about the Alpine Lakes, we will be there before permits are needed. Are there any areas we would need permits for?
Yes, the Teanaway is in the Alpine Lakes Wilderness, and it should be on that map. There are arguably more spectacular areas in the Washington Cascades (like the North Cascades), but you would need to come back in summer for what you want to do. The scale on the Trails Illustrated is pretty small, so you might want more detail with some mapping software, or
Green Trails Maps. Be aware that even this area will still be under snow well into May and into June as well, so following trails usually means following boot prints even here, but the east slope does have the advantage of being drier and warmer, and melts out earlier than the west slopes. Your first choice, the Hannegan Pass trail, would be under five feet of snow well into early July of an average snow year. This year is also an average snow year, and there will be some good melting this week, but who knows about in two weeks. If I were you I'd focus on Ingalls Pass, Longs Pass, Navaho Pass, Beverly Creek Basin, Bean Creak Basin, and Esmeralda Basin areas. You'll still be on snow, but it should be pretty well consolidated and you can walk on it without snowshoes or skis. Check out
this page on the Teanaway. It's got a great list of peaks and links for research.
Permits for the Alpine Lakes Wilderness are mostly on a self-serve basis at the trailhead, and are a non-issue. That is, unless you want to go to the Enchantments (which will be under lots and lots of snow) and is an overnight trip anyway.