Hiking with Annie
October - December
2011
Trailhead: N47 51 57.1 W119 04 57.1 (NAD83) Elevation: 1810 ft Distance: 2.6 miles Elevation gain: 360 ft Hike time: 11:45 am to 2:26 pm Total time: 2 hrs 19 minutes Permit required: Discover Pass
Destination: N47 52 05.5 W119 03 53.7 Elevation: 2170 ft Total Ascent: 735 ft
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: The side trail that was at one time the road between Almira and Bridgeport is only about 400 feet from the gated parking lot. Because Bald Eagles overwinter here, this trail is closed from Nov. 30 thru March. The trail is only about a mile long so after about 3/4 mile we headed off the trail and explored the south side of the canyon wall.
Oct 08 - Northrup Canyon: Old Wagon Road
Parking: N47 26 30.2 W121 40 19.5 (NAD83) Elevation: 1250 ft Distance: 8.9 miles Elevation gain: 2570 ft Hike time: 9:50 am to 3:45 pm Total time: 5 hrs 55 minutes Permit required: Discover Pass
Destination: N47 25 54.6 W121 40 43.3 Elevation: 3820 ft Total Ascent: 3280 ft
Driving directions: Eastbound I-90 - Take exit 38 off I-90 east of North Bend. At the end of the exit ramp, turn right onto Homestead Valley road. In .1 mile, after crossing the river, turn right onto a gravel road leading to the parking lot .2 mile away. Westbound I-90 - Take exit 38 off I-90 and, at the end of the exit ramp, turn left onto Homestead Valley road. Follow for 1.9 miles and, just before crossing the river, turn left onto a gravel road leading to the parking lot.
Hike description: We headed up the Mt Washington trail for about 2-1/4 miles then turned off onto the Great Wall trail. After following this trail for nearly 1-1/2 miles, we turned onto the Change Creek trail near Change Peak. The trail drops down into the Change Creek valley, passing Change Creek Pond, then climbs up the ridge of MidMountain. At 4 miles the trail drops down onto the Iron Horse trail, which we followed back to the car.
Oct 17 - Change Creek Loop
Trailhead: N47 24.799 W121 35.308 (NAD83) Elevation: 1510 f t Distance: 8.8 miles Elevation gain: 3235 ft Hike time: 9:42 am to 3:05 pm Total time: 5 hrs 23 minutes Permit required: Northwest Forest Pass
Destination: N47 23 56.7 W121 37 37.0 Elevation: 4745 ft Total Ascent: 3490 ft
Driving directions: From I-90, take exit 42, just east of North Bend, and turn west onto Tinkham Rd. The parking lot is on the right, just past the DOT office driveway less than 1/4 mile from the freeway.
Oct 24 - McClellan Butte (attempt)
Parking: N47 25 52.2 W121 37 56.2 (NAD83) Elevation: 1320 ft Distance: 8.0 miles Elevation gain: 3335 ft Hike time: 9:48 am to 3:58 pm Total time: 6 hrs 10 minutes Permit required: Discover Pass
Destination: N47 27 04.9 W121 37 18.0 Elevation: 4655 ft Total Ascent: 3400 ft
Driving directions: Eastbound I-90 - Take exit 38 off I-90 east of North Bend. At the end of the exit ramp, turn right onto Homestead Valley road and follow for 2 miles to the parking area. Westbound I-90 - Take exit 38 off I-90 and, at the end of the exit ramp, turn right. The parking area is only about 300 feet, just around the bend near the power lines. Don't drive through the gate to park or your vehicle may get locked in.
Nov 06 - Dirty Harry's Peak
Trailhead: N47 30 34.0 W121 50 37.3 (NAD83) Elevation: 1060 ft Distance: 11.8 miles Elevation gain: 2450 ft Hike time: 9:35 am to 4:26 pm Total time: 6 hrs 51 minutes Permit required: Discover Pass
Destination: N47 27 04.6 W121 48 13.2 Elevation: 3510 ft Total Ascent: 3510 ft
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.
Dec 05 - Rattlesnake Mountain: East Peak
Parking: N47 26 30.2 W121 40 19.5 (NAD83) Elevation: 1250 ft Distance: 8.4 miles Elevation gain: 3170 ft
Hike time: 10:07 am to 3:32 pm Total time: 5 hrs 25 minutes Permit required: Discover Pass
Destination: N47 25 34.4 W121 42 00.8 Elevation: 4420 ft Total Ascent: 3260 ft
Driving directions: Eastbound I-90 - Take exit 38 off I-90 east of North Bend. At the end of the exit ramp, turn right onto Homestead Valley road. In .1 mile, after crossing the river, turn right onto a gravel road leading to the parking lot .2 mile away. Westbound I-90 - Take exit 38 off I-90 and, at the end of the exit ramp, turn left onto Homestead Valley road. Follow for 1.9 miles and, just before crossing the river, turn left onto a gravel road leading to the parking lot.
Dec 12 - Mount Washington
Parking: N47 26 30.2 W121 40 19.5 (NAD83) Elevation: 1250 ft Distance: 9.8 miles Elevation gain: 3100 ft
Hike time: 9:31 am to 4:53 pm Total time: 7 hrs 22 minutes Permit required: Discover Pass
Destination: N47 25 40.1 W121 41 00.2 Elevation: 4350 ft Total Ascent: 3855 ft
Driving directions: Eastbound I-90 - Take exit 38 off I-90 east of North Bend. At the end of the exit ramp, turn right onto Homestead Valley road. In .1 mile, after crossing the river, turn right onto a gravel road leading to the parking lot .2 mile away. Westbound I-90 - Take exit 38 off I-90 and, at the end of the exit ramp, turn left onto Homestead Valley road. Follow for 1.9 miles and, just before crossing the river, turn left onto a gravel road leading to the parking lot.
Dec 19 - Change Peak
Trailhead: N47 51 57.1 W119 04 57.1 (NAD83) Elevation: 1810 ft Distance: 6.0 miles Elevation gain: 330 ft Hike time: 12:45 pm to 4:30 pm Total time: 3 hrs 45 minutes Permit required: Discover Pass
Destination: N47 53 12.9 W119 02 33.4 Elevation: 2140 ft Total Ascent: 1120 ft
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.
Dec 26 - Northrup Lake
Trailhead: N47 28.187 W121 40.131 (NAD83) Elevation: 800 ft Distance: 9.6 miles Elevation gain: 2290 ft Hike time: 9:32 am to 3:04 pm Total time: 5 hrs 32 minutes Permit required: Discover Pass
Destination: N47 27 35.4 W121 36 44.1 Elevation: 3090 ft Total Ascent: 2400 ft
Driving directions: From I-90, take exit 34 at the east end of North Bend. Turn north onto 468th Ave SE and follow for about 1/2 mile. Make a sharp right onto Middle Fork Rd and follow for about .9 mile. At this point you can take either the left or right fork. The right fork - Follow Lake Dorothy Rd for about 1.9 miles to the trailhead on the righthand side of the road. At about 1.6 miles, Lake Dorothy Rd becomes FR56 about where the pavement ends. The left fork - Continue on Middle Fork Rd for about 1.2 miles to the stop sign. Turn left onto Lake Dorothy Rd and follow for .6 mile to the trailhead. Lake Dorothy Rd becomes FR56 between .3 and .4 mile.
Dec 31 - Granite Lakes
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.