Judi's Peak

Overview

Judi's Peak is the unofficial name for the high peak anchoring the southwest border of Bean Creek Basin in the Wenatchee Mountains of Washington. The name of this peak comes from Judi Maxwell, who was well-known for instructing many different classes of Mountaineers students on the slopes below this mountain.

Judi's is a fun scramble which can be approached from a variety of directions and combined with other peaks such as Bills Peak, Bean Peak, and Mary's Peak. The gentle nature of its slopes, the ridges which connect it to these other peaks, and the myriad number of trails mean that you can easily climb Judi's Peak one way and come out another. It is therefore a "loop-trip" dream peak.

Judi's is climbed very often, as it lies in a very popular scrambling area, and is also climbed by all field trips of the Mountaineers who conduct their final snow instructional field trip here in the beginning of June. For solitude, come in May or the fall. Otherwise, be prepared to share the peak.

Getting There

Drive I-90 East from Seattle to Exit 85, turning right onto SR-970. Go 5 miles, turning left onto the Teanaway River Road. Follow "North Fork Teanaway" signs 13.5 miles to a major junction at 29 Pines Campground. Take the right fork, going 3 more miles to the junction with the Beverly Creek Road #112. Turn right onto this road, and follow it 1.5 miles to the road end and trailhead for Beverly Creek Trail #1391 (Elevation 3700 feet).

From the trailhead, cross Beverly Creek on a bridge and hike 1/2 mile to a ford of Bean Creek and the junction with the Bean Creek Trail #1391.1. From this point on, a number of different routes can lead you to the summit of Judi's Peak. For the most direct route, continue over Bean Creek via a ford which is easy in summer, but in spring may be quite challenging as the water can be very high. Follow the Beverly Creek trail a couple of hundred yards after crossing Bean Creek, and find the South Ridge of Judi's Peak directly on your right. Leave the trail and travel off-country up through open pine forest about 1 mile and 2500 feet of elevation gain to reach the summit of Judi's Peak (est. 6600 feet). It is quite easy to continue on this high ridge north another 1/4 mile to reach the summit of Mary's Peak (est. elevation 6700 feet).

To make this a fun loop trip, drop down the Northwest Ridge of Mary's Peak 1 mile to Fourth Pass below Bill's Peak and pick up trail #1226. Follow this trail 1/2 mile south to intersect the Beverly Creek Trail #1391 and follow 2.7 miles until to arrive back at the trailhead. Trip Stats: About 6 miles roundtrip. Elevation gain: 3000 feet. Difficulty: Class 2.

Other Options

Judi's Peak can be easily climbed from Bean Creek Basin. Instead of climbing the South Ridge of Judys Peak, follow the Bean Creek Trail up into Bean Creek Basin and find any number of routes from the southeast that will reach the summit. Be aware that in early season if the weather is hot and there is a lot of melting snow, crossing Bean Creek on the Bean Creek trail can be very challenging if not dangerous. In this case, the above-described approach will be best.

Once on top of Judi's Peak, you can traverse its high north ridge over to the summit of Mary's Peak, onto Bean Peak, and then continue from there down the Southeast Ridge of Bean Peak to Earl Peak (7036 feet). The ridge connecting Judys and Mary's Peak is Class 2 and easy. If continuing onto Bean Peak, you will encounter some Class 5 on the ridge near Bean Peak. To keep it a scramble, once near Bean Peak, descend about 400 feet to Bean Creek basin, then scramble up solid Class 3 rock to the summit of Bean Peak.

The number of connecting ridges to easy peaks, combined with the very good network of trails, can lead to any combination of peaks/loop trips. This trip can be easily customized to your liking. The scramble of Judi's Peak can easily be combined with Bills Peak, Mary's Peak, Bean Peak, Volcanic Neck, Devils Head, and Earl Peak, although obviously not all of them in one day.

Red Tape & Camping

A Northwest Trail Parking Pass ($5/daily, $30/annually) is required to park at the trailhead to Beverly Creek. You can also obtain an Interagency Pass ($80/annually) which is good at all US Forest Service trailheads and also for entry into any US national park. If going beyond Judi's Peak and into the Ingalls Creek drainage, you will be entering the Alpine Lakes Wilderness. Self-service permits are required and available at the trailhead.

Camping is excellent in both Bean Creek Basin and Beverly Creek Basin. Established campsites are numerous in both locations.

External Links

The closest year-round Forest Service ranger station is in Cle Elum, about 30 miles from Snoqualmie Pass. Contact information:

Cle Elum Ranger District
West 2nd Street
Cle Elum, WA 98922
(509) 674-4411

Snow conditions are available from the Summit at Snoqualmie Ski Areas (of which Alpental is one) at the following website:

Summit at Snoqualmie Snow Conditions

Also, webcams are available from the Washington State Department of Transportation at: Snoqualmie Pass Web Cam

Images

View Judi's Peak Image Gallery - 37 Images