Tiptop by Serpentine Hill stands atop Mission-Naneum Ridge in the vast Wenatchee Mountains. It’s the tallest structure north of Tronsen Ridge between Peshastin Creek (Highway 97) and Mission Creek. Plus, the nearest higher peak sits over four miles away.
See more trip photos here.
Tiptop at a Glance
Access: NF-7204 (Ruby Creek)
Round Trip: TBD
Elevation Range: 2280′-4760′
Gear: snowshoes
GPS Track: available
Dog-Friendly: yes
Road 7204
Another rainy weekend meant another outing out east. The forecast over Blewett Pass wasn’t too terrible. So we came to Wenatchee Mountains after a trip up Blag Mountain last week. It was our first time in the Ruby Creek area as well.
Many roads strewed this place had visible logging activities. There was sunshine when we started from the pullout half a mile up the creek. Then we went north in the trees on steep slopes to 3000′, west of Tiptop’s north ridge.
See more trip photos here.
Road 7201
We continued on the ridgeline and crossed several logging roads en route. Then we took a break on Point 4038 with decent views. But the weather in Teanaway west of here looked gloomy and worsened by the minute.
At 4000′, we reached Road 7201 and found snow. Then we walked east for a while before veering south by Point 4135. The road later made its way up to the radio towers from the south. But we left the path on the north saddle and scrambled.
See more trip photos here.
Tiptop Summit Plus Outro
Later, clouds moved in from Teanaway as we reached the top and rained for 20 minutes. Shortly after the rain stopped, dark mists dissipated to make way for some blue sky. So we were able to enjoy the sunshine.
I opted not to go back the same way to avoid the road walk. So from the top, we went straight down the west ridge and later came upon an old roadway at 3400′. So we went north for a quarter of a mile and crossed a stream to the road’s end.
See more trip photos here.
Last Bit of Road Walk
From the end of the path, we went down the ridge to 2800′. Then we moved north through the forest on heather slopes and dropped down to 2500′. Before long, we were down on Road 7204 with only half a mile road walk back to the car.