Hiking with Annie
2009
October - December
Trailhead: N47 51 57.1 W119 04 57.1 (NAD83) Elevation: 1810 ft Distance: 7.1 miles Elevation gain: 470 ft Hike time: N/A Total time: N/A Permit required: Discover Pass
Destination: N47 53 16.0 W119 02 27.1 Elevation: 2280 ft Total Ascent: N/A
Driving directions: On State Highway 155 between Coulee City and Grand Coulee, turn east on a gravel road 3.3 miles north of the entrance to Steamboat Rock State Park marked as Northrup Canyon.
Hike description: From the parking area walk down the road past the gate. A short distance away a trail branches off to the right - this is the Old Wagon trail. Before automobiles came along this used to be the road that linked Almira and Bridgeport. Because eagles winter in the trees along this side of the canyon, it is closed from mid November to mid March. Back where you took this trail, follow the road down into the trees at the bottom of the ravine. On hot days, this can be a nice place to cool off. Eventually the road comes right up beside the canyon wall. About 1.7 miles from the parking lot is the old Northrup Homestead. John Northrup started the areas first orchard here in 1874. To the left of the abandoned house, near the chicken coup, is the trail to Northrup Lake. This trail winds through the canyon for about 1.25 miles to the lake. For a little more adventure, follow the trail around the lake up onto the canyon rim for a nice view down the canyon and down on the lake.
Oct 04 - Northrup Lake
Trailhead: N47 25.486 W121 35.007 (NAD83) Elevation: 2180 ft Distance: 6.8 miles Elevation gain: 2020 ft Hike time: N/A Total time: N/A Permit required: Northwest Forest Pass
Destination: N47 25 30.0 W121 33 11.2 Elevation: 4200 ft Total Ascent: N/A
Driving directions: From I-90, take exit 45, between North Bend and Snoqualmie Pass, and turn north onto FR9030. At about 3/4 mile the road splits. Veer to the left onto FR9031 and continue for 3 miles to the trailhead.
Hike description: The trail roughly parallels I-90 for the first 2 miles before it cuts back and starts heading up the flank of Bandera Mtn. About .5 mile farther you walk out of the trees onto a huge scree slope. Someone has done some impressive trail work here, building stairs into the mountainside. Another .25 mile is the intersection with the Bandera Mtn trail. Stay left to proceed to Mason Lake. The trail follows the hillside, slowly climbing until it crests the ridge. This is the Alpine Lakes Wilderness boundary. The trail then heads down the other side of the ridge. Just before reaching the lake, at the bottom of the ridge, is a boulder field that looks like it could be part of the same scree that is on the other side of the ridge. This side however, doesn't get the sun that the other side does and is therefor covered in moss. A short distance from here is the lake. For those that want to stay longer than a day, there are several campsites here.
Oct 19 - Mason Lake
Parking: N47 23.800 W121 22.765 (NAD83) Elevation: 2510 ft Distance: 6.5 miles Elevation gain: 290 ft Hike time: N/A Total time: N/A Permit required: Northwest Forest Pass
Destination: N47 25 53.0 W121 21 04.9 Elevation: 2800 ft Total Ascent: N/A
Driving directions: From I-90, take exit 54, on Snoqualmie Pass, and turn north at the end of the exit ramp. Turn right, just past the eastbound exit ramp onto NF4832 and follow for about 1 mile. Turn left onto gravel road Huckleberry Peak Rd and follow for about 1/2 mile to the parking lot for Gold Creek Pond, just on the left.
Hike description: The trail roughly follows Gold Creek, weaving into the forest and back to the creek again several times. Until sometime around 2011, the trail was blocked roughly 2 miles from the trailhead with avalanche debris. That was the place we turned around this time also.
Nov 02 - Gold Creek
Parking: N47 09 36.4 W119 58 50.0 (NAD83) Elevation: 1020 ft Distance: 5.5 miles Elevation gain: 0 ft Hike time: N/A Total time: N/A Permit required: Discover Pass
Destination: N47 09 06.0 W119 56 34.6 Elevation: 840 ft Total Ascent: N/A
Driving directions: From Highway 28, turn south at the rest stop about 3-1/2 miles west of Quincy, but instead of turning into the rest area continue on the road around it. In a little over 1/2 mile, take a left onto Road V and about a mile to the stop sign. Turn right onto Road 9 and continue about 5 miles to the end of the road and the parking area for the trailhead.
Hike description: Ancient Lake is actually a number of potholes in the Potholes Coulee. The coulee was carved out during the massive floods from ancient Lake Missoula. During those times Ancient Lake comprised all these small potholes. Today Ancient Lake is made up of 3 large potholes and 1 or 2 small intermittent potholes. They are fed by irrigation runoff. The trail mostly follows along the north wall of the coulee until it nears the lake, where it splits. Either way takes you down to the water and there are several other trails to explore. There is even a waterfall coming into the northernmost pothole.
Nov 27 - Ancient Lake
Trailhead: N47 30 34.0 W121 50 37.3 (NAD83) Elevation: 1060 ft Distance: 8 miles Elevation gain: 2025 ft Hike time: N/A Total time: N/A Permit required: Discover Pass
Destination: N47 28 17.9 W121 49 15.4 Elevation: 3085 ft Total Ascent: N/A
Driving directions: Eastbound I-90 - Take exit 27 off I-90 just west of North Bend. At the end of the exit ramp, turn right and follow the road up the hill. The parking area and trailhead is to the right at the top of the hill. Westbound I-90 - Take exit 31 off I-90 at North Bend and take a right, at the end of the ramp, onto Bendigo Blvd S. Follow Bendigo for .6 miles and take a left onto W North Bend Way. Follow North Bend Way for 3.3 miles, then follow the road under the freeway and up the hill to the parking area.
Hike description: The basics of this hike are covered on the page of 2009 April - June hikes. On this day we hiked after a light snowfall the night before. It was pretty much overcast for most of the day (pretty much normal around here) but the sun came out occasionally and lit up the surrounding foothills. At least the clouds were all high clouds and didn't interfere with any views.
Dec 14 - Rattlesnake Mountain: Grand Prospect
Trailhead: N47 23 34.0 W121 28 27.7 (NAD83) Elevation: 1940 ft Distance: 6 miles Elevation gain: 1685 ft Hike time: N/A Total time: N/A Permit required: Northwest Forest Pass
Destination: N47 21 37.4 W121 28 29.9 Elevation: 3625 ft Total Ascent: N/A
Driving directions: Take exit 47 off I-90 and turn south toward the river. Just past the river, at the "T", turn left onto NF5590. Follow for .4 mile to the end of the road and the trailhead parking lot.
Hike description: The trail travels along the Humpback Creek valley for about 1.5 miles then climbs 300 feet or more up the flank of Silver Peak before dropping down in the Annette Lake basin. There are several nice campsites at the lake and since it is not in the Alpine Lakes Wilderness area, campfires are legal.
Dec 28 - Annette Lake
A note about the Google maps: Because of the way the Google maps work, the marker for the parking lot or trailhead is not always in the right position on the map. However, there is a way to find the exact position. First copy the GPS coordinates from the description below the map. Then click on the word Google in the lower left corner of the map. This opens another window with a full sized map of the area. Paste the coordinates into the search box and hit enter. A red marker appears at the exact coordinates of the parking lot or trailhead. You can also get directions to it by clicking the word "Directions" - just under the box you pasted the coordinates into - and then entering a starting location.