THREE HIKING SISTERS, we love to hike together, but we don't all live in the same state. Sometimes it is only two of us, and sometimes we hike with others. This is a record of some of our hikes.
Showing posts with label Okanogan Wenatchee Nat Forest. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Okanogan Wenatchee Nat Forest. Show all posts
Tuesday, August 12, 2025
Thorp Mountain Lookout via Knox Creek
We drove up to the Knox Creek Trailhead off of FSR 1315.1 (which is off of French Cabin Road north of Cle Elum Lake) to hike up to Thorp Mountain Lookout, overall 4.5 miles round trip with 1,700 ft of gain. It was a beautiful sunny and hot day. Besides gorgeous views we saw some wildflowers and many ripe huckleberries. There is no longer a sign marking the start of the trail, it is across the road from the parking pull out. The first part of the trail was very brushy, with lots of cascade asters in bloom along with sitka mountain ash colored with orange berries.
Views from the other side of the ridge, continuing up towards the lookout
Above: zoom of Mt Rainier
Above: zoom of Mount Stuart and other Enchantment Peaks to the northeast. Below: Fire Lookout on Thorp Mountain
Above: Other Cascade Peaks to the north. Below: looking down on Thorp Lake to the east
Above: view of Kachess Lake and Mt Rainier to the southwest. Below: back in the flowered filled meadow as we descend down to the trailhead and one of the many butterflies we saw among the flowers today
some of the wildflowers and berries we saw along the trail today:
Sunday, August 3, 2025
Deer and Sand Lakes
We drove to the Pacific Crest Trail (PCT) North Trailhead by Leech Lake at White Pass this morning to hike north to Deer and Sand Lakes and then decided to continue on a short distance to a pond. 6 miles round trip with 960 ft of gain in a lovely forest. View of Leech Lake before we began hiking. 
Beautiful trail in the forest with lots of ripe huckleberries, some of the trees were covered with lichen in a herringbone pattern.
About a mile up the trail, we went by some meadows that had a few flowers in bloom, then the short spur trail to Deer Lake had lots of lupine and other blooms.
Above: Deer Lake Below: lots of wildflowers between Deer and Sand Lakes
Above: 2 photos of Sand Lake Below: the small pond a short distance further up the trail where we took a lunch break before we returned back to the trailhead
Some of the wildflowers and fungi seen along the trail today:
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)