Kachess Ridge Trail

Hike Route: Kachess Ridge Trail (1315) => Beacon Ridge Trail (1315.3)

This is a nice hike for those looking for something slightly beyond the traditional I-90 hikes. The six mile moderate level hike has some steep elevation gains in the beginning-- gaining over 2200 feet overall. But the views on a clear day are great and well worth it. Beware - the directions in some guide books are a bit too basic, see below for current signage/directions to the trailhead.

Getting to this hike is slightly tricky since the directions in most books, including one of my favorites, are not current. There are a couple missing signs now, making the route a bit tricky, but not too hard to find.

From Seattle take I-90 over Snoqualmie Pass to Exit 70, Turn left over the freeway and left again on the Frontage Road. Take the third Right on to Kachess Dam Rd (there was no helpful signs here other than the street name)-- if you pass a pond/lake on the right, you have gone too far.

At about 1.0 mile look for the turn to the right (see below). Currently there is only a small red paper sign indicating this as the road to the trailhead for trails 1212 and 1315.

The road to the trailhead can be narrow at times, full size SUVs might want to take it slow to avoid getting brush scrapes on the side. This trailhead has enough room for about 5-6 cars, its really just a large dirt turn around area at the end of the road. A Northwest Forest Pass is required to park here.

The trail from the trailhead leads to a junction of the Kachess Ridge trail (1315) and the Easton Ridge Trail (1212). In addition, you can reach Mount Baldy via the Easton Ridge trail to the Domerie Divide trail and Domerie Peak Trail (1308). Note - most of these trails are open to hikers, horses and mountain bikers -- although I didnt see anyone all day on my hike

The first mile of the hike is basically uphill with few breaks. The tree coverage is pretty good, so its almost all shade up the steep incline. The trail is fairly narrow, but in pretty good shape with newly created drain ditches built into the trail.

Soon you will reach some vista points with views of the surrounding mountains including Mt Baldy, Domerie Peak and Easton Ridge.

At about 1.0 mile you will reach a clearing with a branched off trail leading left. Stay to the right on the main trail. (The trail to the left takes you on a very exposed, steep scramble up to the beacon). After passing some more vista points, you will reach the Silver Creek area. The trail follows the Silver Creek for some distance. This area is fairly cool and protected from the sun -- even on sunny days. Once past some falls, the trail is mostly flat with slight uphills/downhills as it meanders along the creek.

At 1.9 miles (it seems longer) and 3800 feet elevation, you reach the currently well marked Beacon Ridge trail junction. Take this trail to the left. Note - this trail itself is not maintained very well, there are a number of downed trees and overgrowth on the trail. Its somewhat easy to follow, but be sure to look ahead to make sure you are on the trail. After a couple switchbacks, this trail basically climbs uphill to the beacon for almost a mile. The trail is in the shade until you reach the peak of the ridge.

At 4615 feet the Beacon Ridge trail suddenly opens up indicating you have reached the ridge top. At the top on a clearing is an old Air Traffic Control Beacon. I was lucky to enjoy a nice sunny clear day. The views can be fantastic at the top.

Views include Kachess Lake and even Mt Rainier (if you travel down the scramble route a bit). 

Return to the trailhead the way you came up. At over 6 miles, this hike might feel longer due to the consistent uphill at the beginning hike and the uphill portion of the Beacon Ridge trail.

Note - my GPS route below shows from the Beacon back down to the trailhead.

 Kachess Ridge Trail at EveryTrail


Plan your trips with EveryTrail Mobile Travel Guides

Basics:
Area - Okanogan-Wenatchee National Forest
Trails - Kachess Ridge Trail (1315), Beacon Ridge Trail (1315.3)
Season - July - October
Map - Green Trails #208 (a bit outdated), National Geo. Alpine Lakes Wilderness (825)
Length - 6 mile roundtrip, 2200 feet elevation gain
Trail - Out and back dirt trail, narrow in parts. Almost all in the shade. Horses and Mountain Bikes are allowed on the Kachess Ridge trail.
View - Several along the way, but best view at the top of the Ridge at the Beacon
Getting There - From Seattle, take I-90 east to exit 70. Turn left and cross over the freeway. Turn Left on the Frontage Road. Right on Kachess DM road, after about a mile look for another right to the traihead.
Fee- Northwest Forest Pass required for Parking
Other Trails - Several other hikes from this trailhead including Easton Ridge

A Compact Hiking Camera with GPS

I am on probably my 7th digital camera so far and I think I have found the best one yet for hiking photos - the Sony DSC-HX5V

My cameras in the past have always seemed to lack some function here or there that makes them less than perfect. But the new Sony DSC-HX5V is as close to perfect as you can get for taking photos while hiking.

The main feature is a built-in GPS that codes each photo with location coordinates. No adapter, connecting to a GPS or manually adding GPS info -- its all automatic and in the camera. It even works flawlessly with iphoto!

Benefits:

GPS (yes really!) - Oddly this isnt really mentioned much in reviews, but this camera has a BUILT IN GPS. Your photos are geo-tagged automatically so they are super easy to add to maps. The GPS info works with iphoto -- no need to use any Sony Software or converter to get at the GPS coordinates. Just plug the camera into your Mac and it downloads the photos and GPS data automatically.

SD Card - This Sony is one of the first to offer the ability to use regular or HC SD Cards in the camera. You are no longer required to use Sony's MemorySticks (unless you want to).


Flash Off Default - One issue about Canon cameras I had in the past, was that you couldnt turn off the auto flash by default. Each time you powered up the camera you had to turn off the Auto Flash. This was annoying for me on Day Hikes as their is usually plenty of light, but the canon's flash wanted to brighten things up anwyay. The Sony has a default setting where you can turn the autoflash off. The setting stays that way even when you power on/off the camera.

Sunny Shots - Shooting into the sun is never a good idea, but on some hikes you can't always get a shady view. This Sony seems to handle the full sun shots better, with less "rays" or spots showing up on the photos -- its not perfect on this issue but at least much better than Sony DSC-WX1/B and Canon S800IS.

Size and Heft - The Camera is compact, but big enough to feel sturdy and secure. My previous Sony DSC-WX1 is almost too small for hiking and has "too easy to touch" power button.

Only a couple cons with this camera -- the camera requires a Sony propriety cable (due to the Video connectors), having a basic USB cable would be better. The battery life is not as long as in the Sony DSC-WX1/B and Canon S800IS -- probably due to the GPS functions. But I would gladly take GPS data over slightly shorter battery life.

I bought my DSC-HX5V at Best Buy -- but only after having the Best Buy employee look in every nook and cranny to find it. Apparently these cameras are VERY popular and the one we found was stashed away for some reason -- maybe saved for a employee. Currently it shows as the #2 Sony Camera on Amazon.

Oallie Lake (via Pratt Trail)

Hike Route: Pratt Lake Trail (FS Trail 1007) => Olallie Lake Trail, Optional hike continuing on Pratt Trail to viewpoint of Olallie Lake

Most folks (esp. those with kids) will use the Talapus Lake Trailhead to reach Talapus and Olallie lakes, since its only few miles and 800 feet elevation gain, as mentioned on page 194 in this book.

The hike below is a HARDER route and provides a "off the beaten path" hike. The downside is there isnt much to see along the way - except for some strong creeks and waterfalls.  There are no huge open vistas (except for one, which requires a mile-long sidetrip and an addtional 500 foot elevation gain).  If you want huge views, check out Granite Mountain or nearby Bandera Mountain and Annette Lake.

By no means is this a disappointing hike -- its well shaded for hot summer days, easily accessible from I-90, has a cool waterfall, and pays off with a nice Alpine Lake. Its basically a "nice" solid hike.

This hike starts from the Pratt Lake Trailhead. The medium sized parking lot can fill up fast on weekends as most folks use this trailhead to do the Granite Mountain hike. Additionally, a large sign points out at least 10 different destinations from this point including Pratt Lake, Island Lake, Melakwa Lake and other popular destinations.

There is a pit toilet but no running water at the trailhead -- so be prepared to pack liquids for your journey.

The trail is well packed and well maintained, there are few intersections so its easy to find your way up the mountain. This hike is almost all (99.9%) in the shade, so its a good choice on hot sunny days. The downside is there are very few viewpoints. As mentioned, if you want to look at the mountain views around you I would look else where -- Bandera or Melakwa offer great Vista viewpoints.

At 0.6 miles (and 2500 feet elevation), you reach the intersection with Granite Mountain trail (FS Trail 1016). This is a popular hike and most folks will turn here to make the journey up to the 5,629 foot summit of Granite Mountain. Continue forward on the Pratt Lake trail.

While not a very popular route to reach the Talapus or Olallie Lakes, this way offers some nice creeks and waterfalls along the hike. Plus this route is much steeper (compared to starting from the Talapus Lake Trailhead), so you will encounter less casual hikers.  At 1.5 miles you reach a very nice step-rock waterfall.

Further up and around Granite Mountain you will encounter an fairly extensive boardwalk section which is in decent shape and keeps your boots dry from the streams feeding Talapus Creek down below.

At 3,700 feet (2.5 miles) there is a lonely junction with a sign reading "Talapus Lake" -- take this trail to the left to reach the Olallie Lake Trail. (At first I was confused by the sign, but its the correct way and really the only intersection on the Pratt Lake Trail for a mile in either direction)

After a short jog downhill and creek crossing, you will run into the Olallie Lake trail -- turn to the right.

Before you know it, you will reach a large open area at the Lake. The morning I was there it was THICK with Mosquitoes, almost so thick you could chew on them -- but the sun was still not over the surrounding mountains yet, so it was prime time for bugs, and the jumping fish in the lake!  

The lake offers a number of spots to stop and enjoy the water and scenery. To return back to the trailhead, simply head back the way you came to the Lake Pratt Trailhead as mentioned in this book on page 216.

On this morning, I wanted to view the lake from higher up on the Pratt Lake Trail (and away from the bugs). Upon reaching the Pratt Lake Trail, simply turn LEFT to head higher around the lake to a nice view point looking south.

After a mile of an uphill climb you will reach an open rockslide view point for the lake below. This has the best views on the hike (like I mentioned, this is NOT the hike for seeing vistas).

Some hikers will continue past this viewpoint to reach the intersection with the Mount Defiance Trail (FS trail 1009) which leads to Island Lake, Rainbow Lake, and of course Mount Defiance.  The Pratt Lake trail heads downhill at that intersection to reach Pratt Lake in 1.8 more miles.

As for me, I was running low on water and decided a nice 8 mile hike was enough so I headed back to the trailhead from this viewpoint. The total trip took about 4.5 hours -- including the sidetrip up to the viewpoint.


Map: 


View Pratt Lake Trailhead in a larger map




EveryTrail GPS Trip:

Oallie Lake via Pratt Lake Trail at EveryTrail


Plan your trips with EveryTrail iPhone Travel Guides

Basics:
Area - Mt Baker/Snoqualmie National Forest/Alpine Lakes Wilderness
Trails - Pratt Lake Trail - Map: Green Trails #206 Bandera and #207 Snoqualmie Pass
Length - 6 mile roundtrip, additional 2 miles for viewpoint
Trail - Out and back dirt trail, narrow in parts. Almost all in the shade.
Bikes - Not allowed on this hike
View - Almost none, except for optional viewpoint and at the lake
Getting There - From Seattle, take I-90 east to exit 47. Turn left and cross over the freeway. Turn Left on the Forest Road toward Pratt Lake traihead.
Fee- Northwest Forest Pass required for Parking, free wilderness pass at Trailhead
Other Trails - A couple connecting to other Alpine Lakes Wilderness destinations, plus Granite Mountain hike.

Fort Ebey Bluff Loop

Hike Route: Pacific Northwest Trail (PNT) => Kettle => Granpa Tree => Kettle => Raider Creek => Campground => Forest Run => Kettle => Hokey-Dodo => Bluff

This is one of those "BEST of" hikes mentioned in most local Seattle hiking books including this book. With the views from the Bluff trail, I can see why -- especially on a nice sunny day.

This is a somewhat easy 3.2 mile hike starting from one of the beach picnic parking lots. While the hike is often mentioned as "easy" - you do climb, decend and climb again a couple times during the hike, so small kids might get a bit tired.

You can spot the trailhead from the opposite of the sign at the Parking Lot. You may want to bring a Park Map or this book. There are a number of intersections and interconnecting trails within the park so it can be a bit confusing. 

The PNT quickly leaves the beach area and heads right into the forest toward Lake Pondilla.

Be sure to turn right at the first intersection you encounter. The PNT sign is high on a tree, just look for the wooden marshwalk way.

The PNT is a fine trail, a bit narrow, but very enjoyable.

Along the way, I encountered some Indian Paintbrush in bloom, a nice bit of color along a mostly brown and green scenery during the first half of this hike.

After passing high above Lake Pondilla, the PNT meets an old roadway, turn to the right, then look for the Kyle Kettle's trail off the to left.

The Kettles trail heads uphill into a barren-looking landscape, but filled with trees.

At the top of this ridge, you have the OPTION of taking the Grampa Tree Trail.

If you have extra time, I guess the Granpa Tree trail is worth the time. The Granpa Tree trail runs parallel to (and ends up back on) the Kettle's trail, so if you want to just stay on the Kettles trail you can. I found the Granpa trail a bit overgrown and ran into more insects on this part of the hike.

You will soon spot the Granpa Tree (a Douglas Fir). After rounding under and back around this huge tree, you will soon climb back up and over the ridge to meet again with the Kettle's trail.

The Kettles trail meets up with the Campground roadway. Look to the right for the entrance to the Raider Creek Trail.

This section of the hike can be a bit confusing as you connect through a number of trails. From the Raider Creek trail, turn right on the Campground trail, then a quick LEFT on the Forest Run trail.

At a large triangle intersection, keep RIGHT on the Kettles trail. Then stay to the LEFT on the Hokey-Ka-Dodo trail.

Soon you will reach the Bluff trail -- and you will know it! At this point of the Bluff trail you are several hundred feet above the beach below, offering outstanding views of the Strait of Juan de Fuca. This section of the trail can be windy, but on the day I was there it was fairly calm and sunny.

The Bluff trail skits along the Bluff next to the main camping area (sometimes heard, but not seen). Soon you will reach a great open space -- a great place for kites.

The trail passes a picnic area as well the Battery 248 spot.

Along the final leg of the hike, the Bluff trail turns a bit away from the cliff -- although there are some spots to take in the view, but be careful of the edge.

There is one last intersection before the parking lot, just stay on the beach side trail.

Of course at the parking lot, take in the nice beach area with tons of driftwood to make the spot a very nice scene.

A nice hike for those staying a Fort Ebey State Park. The hike can be started from the campground area on the Bluff trail. Past Lake Pondilla the hike is a bit bland (but shaded in case its a hot summer day). I would recommend bringing a good map or this book: 60 Hikes Within 60 Miles: Seattle: Including Bellevue, Everett, and Tacoma with you, as I got on the wrong trail a couple times by not reading the route description closely enough. The Bluff trail makes this hike a "best of" for sure.

Map:

View Bluff Loop Trail in a larger map


Basics:
Area - Fort Ebey State Park (Whidbey Island - near Coupeville,Washington)
Trails - (Trail Map - not the best, but helpful)
Length - 3.2 mile loop - Two-hour easy hike (Elevation gain is 400, which you loss and make up a couple times)
Trail - Loop, dirt trail, narrow in parts. Bluff trail is mostly sunny, the other trails are covered by trees. Well marked and maintained.
Bikes - Not allowed on this hike
View - Extreme views on the Bluff trail
Getting There - From Seattle, take the ferry from Mukilteo to Clinton. Head north on highway 525 for 30 miles, turn Left on Libby Road -- follow the signs for the park "picnic" area. Turn RIGHT after passing the Ranger Station.  Look for parking on the beach side parking lot. The PNT trail is opposite from the beach side of the road. (Park Map) Note: the ferry is fairly frequent, but can get busy on Summer Fridays/Sundays. An alternate route is via Highway 20 through Deception Pass.
Fee- $5 for Day visitors (Car and walk-in camping available)
Other Trails - Over 20 mile of trail in this park and the nearby Kettles Country park.