Monday, August 31, 2009

Davis Mountain



I've driven by this trailhead a hundred times during the last 20 years, but have been scared off by tales of the trail's infamous 88 switchbacks, by its total lack of water and just by the fact that it has a dead-south exposure and is an extremely warm hike during the summer months.

But finally, the pure challenge of 4500' of vertical gain offering outstanding views at the top overcame my objections and I decided to give it a try. About 1.6 miles past the Salmon la Sac campground (and the end of paved road), take a left and head west down a rather rough road. As you approach the river, you'll find the upper parking lot, but continue another couple hundred yards to the trailhead, just south of which you'll find a rough area to park. The trail loses a hundred feet of elevation to an attractive bridge, where the trail proper starts. Shortly thereafter, the trail diverges--take the fork to the right and continue through sub-alpine forest for a couple miles, at which point the view opens up and the trail opens wanders through an area where a forest fire consumed the entire ridge a number of years ago. You can count switchbacks if you like, but trust me, there's a lot of up here and this trail is best-suited for the well-conditioned hiker with a lot of water.

Between 4 and 6000 feet, enjoy more switchbacks and occasional valley views to the south, including Lake Cle Elum. Otherwise, there's nothing spectacular, just the thrill of working your quads and knowing you'll soon be entering into a lovely alpine environment. At 6000', the ridgetop is gained and the trail veers north and heads into a thin pine forest and toward the great traverse of Davis Peak. Near this divergence is a sidetrail with excellent rock scrambling, of which I heartily partook. While I didn't quite make it to the summit, I can easily imagine the views from the lookout to be stupendous. Those planning to go to the top and back should plan on at least 8-10 hours total hiking time and should probably bring a minimum of 3 quarts of water.

On a scale of 1-10, I'd rate this a 6.5. If you have the time and motivation to make it to the lookout which sits atop Davis Mountain, the hike could easily rate an 8 or 9, but it's a lot of elevation gain and kind of longish for a day-hike, especially when you throw in a roundtrip distance of almost 12 miles, IMHO. But getting above the tree-line is always good, the marmots were out and there is an excellent pool near the bridge at the end of the hike for a refreshing swim.

Saturday, August 08, 2009

Huckleberry Mountain

Didn't See A Single Huckleberry

Any hike with "Mountain" in it has sounded very appealing to me the last couple summers. When you add in "Huckleberry" and late summer, well, it's almost too much to pass up.

So the timing being right, and the name being right, and I was on my way to Huckleberry Mountain, a modest sort of mountain at a little under 5700', but just perfect for this coolish Saturday morning.

To get there, head out past Lake Cle Elum and at Salmon La Sac, where the paved road ends, veer right and head north for approximately 5.1 miles, turning right onto an unmarked side road. At less than .5 mile, find the a place to park just before the sign that says 4WD and just pass the turnoff to the Boulder-DeRoux trailhead.

I started the hike up the old jeep road (totally impassable for passenger vehicles), and immediately went past an old log cabin, well-maintained but vacant. Here the switchbacks began in earnest, looking like a snake on the map, as the rugged road works its way up the north side of Huckleberry Mountain, mostly through shady forest, with only occasional views southward down the Cle Elum River valley. The elevation gain is steady, if not spectacular and one wonders how even a super-Jeep could possibly get through, but fresh tire tracks show they they can.

At 3 miles is a wonderful spring with a mini-waterfall right next to the road. You can fill up your canteen here--this is the only water on this hike. In another quarter mile, the road forks with the main leg heading rightish, and the left switchback continuing up the mountain. Another half mile and the road ends and there's just a steep scramble to the top, not more than a quarter-mile. Work your way to the west and north side of the summit for smashing views. Hiking time to the top is about 2.5 hours, hiking time back down about 1.5 hours. Elevation gain 2300+ feet.

This is a nice hike, with the spring and the views being the primary payoff. Judging from the tire tracks, one may expect to encounter off-road vehicles. the threat of which leaves one somewhat disconcerted. This day however, I say neither man nor machine. Unfortunately, I also didn't see the mountain's namesake, which was a great disappointment.