Seattle Outdoor Adventurers (SOA)

Gardner Range Grand Traverse

Gardner → North Gardner → Lamont → South Mirror Image

🥾 Total Distance: ~32–38 miles

⬆️ Total Elevation Gain: ~9,000–11,000 ft

⏱️ Time: 3 days

🏔️ Difficulty: Advanced Wilderness Traverse

🌲 Commitment: High

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🚙 Day 1: Seattle → Wolf Creek Trailhead → Gardner Meadows

Early Morning Departure

📍 Green Lake P&R (or your chosen Seattle meetup)

Departure: 4:00–5:00 AM

Drive

Seattle → Winthrop → Eightmile Road → Wolf Creek Trailhead

🚗 Distance: ~240–260 miles

⏱️ Driving Time: ~5–5.5 hours

Allow additional time for:

• Fuel
• Breakfast
• Final gear organization
• Forest road travel

Realistically, we’ll likely start hiking around 10:00–11:00 AM.

Wolf Creek Trailhead → Gardner Meadows

🥾 Distance: ~10 miles

⬆️ Gain: ~2,100–2,500 ft net, but with significant cumulative gain from the rolling trail

⏱️ Time: 5–7 hours

🏕️ Camp: Gardner Meadows

This becomes a true backpacking approach day rather than a short hike. The Wolf Creek Trail is notorious for constant ups and downs rather than a steady climb, which makes it feel longer than the mileage suggests.

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Day 2

Gardner Mountain → North Gardner → Lamont Mountain

🥾 Distance: ~8–11 miles

⬆️ Gain: ~4,500–5,500 ft

⏱️ Time: 8–12 hours

This is the expedition crux.

A strong party could climb Gardner and North Gardner and return to camp, but extending all the way to Lamont turns it into a major alpine day.

🏕️ Camp options:

• Lamont Basin (best traverse style)
• Upper Gardner Basin
• Return to Gardner Meadows (less ideal)

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Day 3

South Mirror Image → Exit

🥾 Distance: ~13–17 miles

⬆️ Gain: ~1,500–2,500 ft

⬇️ Descent: ~5,000+ ft

⏱️ Time: 7–10 hours

Expect:

• Talus hopping
• Boulder fields
• Ridge walking
• Minor scrambling around rock ribs

The difficulty is not technical.

The challenge is that you’re already deep into the traverse when you get there.

⚠️ The Real Crux

People looking at maps often assume Gardner or North Gardner are the hard parts.

Physically, the hardest section is often:

North Gardner → Lamont → South Mirror Image

Why?

Because:

• No trail
• Constant talus
• Multiple false summits
• Endless side-hilling
• Route-finding decisions

By the time you leave Lamont, you’re operating in true off-trail terrain.

This is where efficient route selection saves huge amounts of energy.

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⛰️ Summit Character

South Mirror Image isn’t a dramatic spire.

Think:

• Broad alpine summit
• Large talus blocks
• Open ridgelines
• Expansive views

The reward is the perspective.

Few climbers ever stand there.

The long hike out from Gardner Meadows is the real sting in the tail.

⸻

What Makes This Traverse Significant?

Among Washington peakbaggers, the achievement is actually less about technical scrambling and more about completing nearly the entire high crest of the Gardner Range in one push.

Notable accomplishments include:

• Two Bulgers:
• North Gardner Mountain
• Gardner Mountain
• Okanogan County High Point:
• North Gardner Mountain
• Remote Methow alpine traverse
• One of the more isolated summit-linking traverses in eastern North Cascades terrain

With a low-snow year, your biggest challenges are likely to be:

• Heat exposure (the Cedar Creek burn left much of the approach exposed)
• Water management above Gardner Meadows
• Loose talus between North Gardner and Lamont
• Route-finding around South Mirror Image

The snow itself will probably be a minor factor by mid-summer.

The 10-mile approach each way adds a level of commitment that many Washington Bulger climbs don’t have.

Gear Assessment

Definitely Bring

✅ Helmet
✅ GPS + offline maps
✅ Water filter
✅ Satellite communicator
✅ Sun protection
✅ Lightweight shelter
✅ Puffy jacket
✅ Headlamp
✅ Trekking poles
✅ Ice Axe
✅ Crampons

This is NOT a guided trip, you are responsible for yourself when you sign up

All skill levels welcome!

Come join our climbing group every Sunday at alternating Seattle Bouldering Project locations (Poplar, Fremont, U District). Whether you are a skilled climber, looking to meet other climbers, or a first-timer looking to learn how to boulder, our group is for you.

Notice that not everyone in the group signs up on MeetUp anymore due to regular attendance. We tend to have about 3-6 people on average even if the meetup group shows only me (the organizer).

We show up early every Sunday to avoid crowds, and you may stay as long as you like. There are beginner climbs as well as advanced climbs, gym equipment, lockers, and changing rooms. (You need to bring your own lock or borrow one). There usually will be other climbers around to give advice, or you may work to solve problems yourself, all styles are welcome.

Keep in mind that you will need to pay for entry at SBP unless you have a membership, and you may need to sign waivers.

We are an all-inclusive group and discrimination of any kind is not tolerated.