teanaway getaway | johnson-medra-jungle traverse

11.5 miles . 3500 ft gain . 5510 ft high

Okanogan- Wenatchee National Forest

As we wait for summer trails to melt out, it’s the perfect time for a Teanaway getaway! Since it’s relatively lower elevation and on the east side of the Cascades, it is the first to melt out. Yes, there’s wildflower hikes out by Leavenworth but they’re mostly on hills. So if you’re looking for something more substantial beyond Mt Si and such, this is THE place to be. But you gotta start at the south side of the Teanaway since the deeper trails will end in snow still, the closer you get towards the Enchantments. Even spots like Bean Peak will persist with snow until June, but at least it gets dry quicker!

Anyhow, I found this trail super randomly. I literally scrolled on CalTopo to see what trails existed. I wasn’t feeling like much off trail, but a lesser-maintained trail, totally fine. Then I double checked with recent satellite images (Sentinel Hub/Copernicus Browser) and saw that it was largely snow-free. Go time! Except that I almost didn’t go because I saw the cloudy forecast with potential for snow.

But I’m so glad I did! We arrived at the Johnson-Medra Trailhead parking just beyond the Beverly dispersed campground. There’s another option of starting on the south side of Johnson, but I really liked the idea of the traverse. Some trip reports claimed that it was mentally taxing, so I was prepared for potentially tricky spots, but I honestly didn’t think it should be that hard since the ridge isn’t a knife edge. But it’s always good to note when others feel hesitation and not feel too lofty about your ability.

I followed what other people had done in the past — do the loop clockwise. I wasn’t really sure why until I realized that it would allow for a quicker ascent and an easier descent on the longer gentle northern valley trail. So we went up Jungle Creek. It was so pleasant!! This was one of the first major hikes of the summer season for me and it was great to start off gentle. There were a few creek crossings, but nothing unmanageable for us. They’re relatively small with good stepping stones or logs to cross on.

Soon we began our switchbacks up to the eastern ridge of Johnson. It went by so quickly, though the wind kept taunting us. That’s to be expected this season when there’s such a huge difference in temperatures between east and west side of Washington. At the ridge we turned right to the Way Creek Trail. The Jungle Creek actually continues down the ridge to a different trailhead, which later we ran into people who came that way.

The Way Creek Trail had plenty of snowy spots as it traveled on the northern aspect of Johnson Mountain. I should have known that possibility, since that is harder to see through satellite imagery. I knew snow persisted on western slopes but neglected to think about the northern slopes. But it was quite manageable fortunately. Although for the last section, we decided to go straight up instead of traversing steep snow. I’m not sure that it was the best idea since it was quite steep, but we still made it.

The wind was not being kind to us so we kept feeling like bailing on everything. But I still wanted to do the whole loop and tag at least one mountain, so Johnson it was. There was a brief 5 foot section that I wasn’t too pleased about because I’m very wary of marble-like terrain. The summit was quite wide and I was disappointed to find no summit register.

 

Since we had a late start, we didn’t linger too long. We continued down the ridge, and a little too far that we had to traverse across the slope. It seemed like other people (or game) had gone this way. The whole time we knew we were following plenty of goat footprints in the snow prior to Johnson, so this was no different. It was here that we met a group of 4 who seemed just as shocked to see us. They came from either the Way Creek or Jungle Creek Trail and had just summited Malcom and were on their way to Johnson. They mentioned it was snowy up Malcom and since we didn’t want to push time, we decided to skip it since it is a longer detour.

Along the ridge, it was quite fun to enjoy the ridge and navigate some of the snow. There was a little more than I thought plus another trail over marble ground, not my favorite. So I can see how people would find this difficult in some ways. But so it goes, life on a traverse. We were now following the Koppen Mountain Trail. I thought this trail would be much more faint but it was well defined in most areas when it wasn’t covered in snow. Eventually, we met back up to the Johnson-Medra Trail and were so excited to see it!

Apparently someone had come up recently, we saw their footprints. We had just one more snowy 200 ft to navigate before we could just saunter off down the valley. The grade was so good on our knees, sometimes I wonder why I don’t hike gentler trails more often. This was a much more pleasant trail than I realized some Teanaway trails could be. For example, many Salmon La Sac trails are super rugged with giant rocks as your trail, I suppose since they were originally built for vehicles instead of human travel.

All in all, this trail reminded me of how good it is to be outside even when you don’t feel like it waking up. The flowers, the mountains, the exploration, it’s so good for your soul! So get out there and enjoy it all!

Notes

• There’s about room for 5-10 vehicles at the Johnson-Medra Trailhead, depending on how people park themselves. If there isn’t room, try the Beverly campground. There are no toilets at this trailhead, but plenty nearby.
• Early season, there might be some creek crossings that aren’t too tricky especially if you have waterproof shoes or poles.
• I feel like I shouldn’t need to say this, but always remember your Leave No Trace principles and be a good steward of the land we get to recreate on!

Photos taken on Canon 5D Mark IV