Stormy Mountain by Baldy Mountain perches over Entiat River Valley. The northwest crest extends to Devils Backbone and Fourmile Ridge. Meanwhile, the 50.5-mile-long Lake Chelan flows below the northern ridges.
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Access: NF-5501
Round Trip: TBD
Elevation Range: 3360′-7198′
Gear: none
GPS Track: available
Dog-Friendly: yes
Entiat River Valley
We stayed east after yesterday’s trip to make the long drive worthwhile. After reviewing recent reports, we set off to Entiat River Valley for better weather. We slept in the car before the NF-55 junction to start early on Stormy Mountain.
The southwest ridge looked like the ideal place to start. I also remember reading about the route in an online report. So we drove up the long road to 3360′ and began by the bend rounding the ridge.
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Stormy Mountain Southwest Ridge
After gaining a couple of hundred feet through short shrubs, we came upon a faint path. So I decided to follow the trail as it looked to be going in the same direction. But I wondered how it got there.
It was interesting to see many unmapped old roads under the new growth. We went through several brushy areas along the ridge but found ways to avoid them. So we didn’t contend with thickets as much.
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Stormy Mountain Summit Plus Outro
We enjoyed the gradual altitude gain but dealt with a few steep spots before reaching the northwest ridge at 6600′. Glad I left my snowshoes in the car after finding firm snow at 6000′. I didn’t need to put on microspikes, either.
After a long break on top, we followed our tracks down the mountain back to the car. The mists stayed high while letting in decent views. But the peaks by Glacier Peak were less visible because of low clouds.
See more trip photos here.