First time for me checking out the Chelan-Sawtooth Wilderness area and really seeing the dense larch groves less prevalent in the rest of the Cascades.

First larch views looking back towards Methow Valley. I’ve walked through larches before in other parts of the state, but I can’t remember being immersed quite like this.

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Prime!

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Star Lake

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Love me a big tree

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Man, people going to the usual larch spots near Ingalls or Maple Pass are missing out on the dense larch groves. Can’t blame them because it is a pain in the ass to drive here, but seeing all this was worth it.

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A victim of the Pioneer Fire just this year. I was told by another hiker how beautiful it was...

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A look at Star Peak from Courtney

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Loved seeing the rim of larches on the ridge as the sun was setting

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Notes

• This was ~21 miles and ~8500 feet of vertical gain in a little under 12 hours.
• Pretty straightforward getting up Star and Courtney. Oval is relatively further out than the previous two but following the undulating ridges was less discouraging than it initially seemed.
• The only steep bit this entire day was the downclimb from the final ridge to climb back up the south ridge of Oval. You descend a NW gully and then get on the ridge proper, but I went a little too far down east of the ridge, which came with some slab shenannigans.
• Getting down Oval to the lake next to Oval Peak Trail is pretty easy, though the lake itself was very muddy/marshy and did not have drinkable water. Then the bushwack from the lake back to get back on the West Fork Buttermilk Trail was annoying but workable. I really think it’s a choose your own adventure down.