1 day
The Carne Mountain High Route is a long single-day alpine tour of one of the principle alpine areas of the Entiat range, north of Leavenworth, Washington.
startpoint Phelps Creek Trailhead, near Trinity
endpoint Phelps Creek Trailhead, near Trinity
Fred Beckey introduces the Carne Mountain High Route under Leroy Creek-Carne Mountain Trail No. 1512 in his Approaches section of the Cascade Alpine Guide, volume 2, where he identifies it as "an old sheep driveway". That might be, but today the Carne Mountain High Route offers a great single-day alpine ramble, especially late in the season when the Larches have turned gold.
The Carne Route links the popular summit of Carne Mountain, a steep but easy hike that gives a nice introduction to the Entiat Range, with the also popular Leroy Basin, famous for both wildflowers and as a basecamp for climbers attempting to climb Mounts Maude and Seven Fingered Jack. You can hike the Carne Route any time of year and in both directions, as access to Phelps Creek is easy with a snow machine in winter, and during the shoulder seasons and the summer months, the approaches to the route are generally snow free at the lower elevations. Hiking from Carne Mountain along the divide North enables you to gain most of your elevation initially, and ends in a pleasant stroll down into Leroy Basin in the afternoon or evening, while hiking from Leroy Basin South enables you to finish with the summit of Carne Mountain, which overlooks a majority of the route.
At both its ends, the Carne Mountain route is easily recognized by established trails, however these slowly fade and are absent or difficult to follow for the middle part of the traverse. As such, a topographical map and compass are very handy while hiking this route. There are two options for the middle part: a low route that skirts a very steep cliffband, or a higher route that involves more elevation gain and loss, and is often under snow (see map). It is possible to thrash down most of the drainages along the way and exit the traverse prematurely should weather threaten or you simply get lost.
Standard hiking fare will get you through this traverse, there are no slopes steep enough to warrant crampons or ice axe. Sturdy boots and gaiters are a plus especially if not hiking this route during high summer. Bring a map and compass, and the trails are non-extant at times and you will be doing some short streaches of fairly real cross country travel.