22.5 miles of hiking • 7500' elevation gain • 2 nights
There were about 50 cars at the Phelps Creek Trailhead, but all were headed to Spider Gap and we only saw a few groups on our 3 day trip. Easy side scramble up to Carne Mountain. We saw a fire blow up down on Wenatchee Ridge. Menacing. The smoke came in and out the next two days, but the majority of it was blown eastward and skies were mostly clear. We camped along the ridge near a burbling stream, and the bugs came out in the evening. They were still sleeping when we got up the next day.
On the second day, we summitted Mt Maude, and then decided to stay at Ice Lake instead of continuing on to Leroy Basin. That place is so beautiful. We were the only campers that evening. The bugs were not present here at all, yay! We took a dip in the lake, and enjoyed spotting marmots and ptarmigans. On the third day, we decided to skip 7 Fingered Jack and just noodle around the lakes instead, reluctant to leave. Spectacle Buttes looked really inviting for a future trip.
Bugs annoying at times, but not terrible.
