Gilbert Mountain

Gilbert Mountain resides at the end of the Twisp River Road in a sector that was well explored during the heyday of the Gilbert and North Lake mining boom. A prospector-built trail once reached claims high on the south and west flanks. The uppermost ridge on Gilbert forms a stony cirque around the head of North Creek, making a connection with the south end of Kangaroo Ridge. Of Gilbert’s two high points, the south peak is the true summit. This apex can be fairly easily approached from any direction, but the most straightforward route is the ascent via North Lake. The zone near the summit embraces some of the most exalted wandering in all the North Cascades. Draw near this region through picturesque pines and larches. For even larger views ascend on granite knobs, comely ledges, slabs, and buttresses. The open forests are aromatic, but scrambling on the steep heather meadows and rockslides that lead to Kangaroo Ridge is intoxicating. At the very top of Gilbert, revel in the spectacle east to Abernathy Peak, south to the Chelan Crest and pyramid-shaped Reynolds Peak, and north to Silver Star Mountain. Look closer and see if you can distinguish Big Snagtooth, Willow Tooth, Cedar Tooth, Dog Tooth, and of course, the debris on Decayed Tooth, which together comprise the crumbling smile of Snagtooth Ridge.