Easton Ridge

I drove out near Easton off of I-90 to hike up Easton Ridge this morning, 6.3 miles round trip with 2,200 ft of elevation gain.  I had the trail to myself until I was about halfway back down the trail, then met about 24 hikers on their way up.

We had a rough winter and there were quite a few trees down on the trail. These were right before the bridge crossing Silver Creek near the start of the trail.

Waterfall on Silver Creek

The trail is mostly in the woods, with some views along the way, looking to the northwest, Kachess Ridge (I think).

There were many wildflowers scattered throughout the trail, hers some type of asters and lupine.

squirrel

early morning view of Kachess Lake to the west

parsley and phlox up on the ridge

trillium and violets lined a portion of the trail

paintbrush and penny cress in an open field

glacier lilies on top of the ridge

This wall of rocks on Easton Ridge marked my turn around spot today.

view to the north: Cle Elum Lake below and Mount Stuart in the far distance

zoom of the Stuart Range

zoom of Mount Stuart

view to the southwest: Lake Easton below

a couple of views of Kachess Lake on the hike back down the trail

some of the wildflowers and fungi seen along the trail this morning