Category: Backpacking
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20251003-09 High Cowlitz Grand Tour
Best laid plans and all… I had intended to enjoy a big hike along the Pacific Northwest National Trail for my vacation the first two weeks of October. I’ve been crazy busy at work, its been very stressful, and I was really, really looking forward to some time in the Olympics. I was not looking…
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20250726-28 Rattlesnake
I’m really getting into “Hammondland” as Nick Zentner @ CWU refers to it… that area north of Hwy 12 and south of Hwy 410. Old and new(-ish) volcanics dominate the landscape. Extreme erosion has revealed ancient North Cascades-related rock. The area is extremely rugged and isolated, and wildfires in the previous decade have all but…
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20250712-14 Coyote Ridge, GRW
Parked along the NF road above Packwood and hiked ‘sekrit’ trails into Packwood Lake, then up to Beaver Bill camp on Coyote Ridge trail. Enjoyed perfect weather, had a very enjoyable time, hiked out via Three Peaks trail, which is newly re-opened after the fire. Interestingly enough, the closed sign is still up alongside the…
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20250622-23 William O. Douglas Trail, Part 5
Finally! The high country is starting to melt out. This leg of my exploration of the William O. Douglas Trail finds me setting out from the Sand Ridge Trail head late in the morning and hiking 10 miles in to Apple Lake, high up on the Tumac Plateau. The trail head is located just off…
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20250530-0602 William O. Douglas Trail, Part 4
More William O. Douglas Trail, but this time, with a pack. And in the desert! I made my way to Naches, where I turned off the highway and drove along county roads toward the Snow Mountain Ranch. The ranch is now under conservancy, and the Cowiche Conservancy has an established parking lot off the Cowiche…
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20240810-12 PCT – Hwy 410 at Morse Creek to Arch Rock Spring
Finally, time for a big hike! Driving thru Skate Creek to reach Hwy 123, I continued over Chinook Pass to Morse Creek, parking a very short distance up the USFS 1700-462 Rd, parking in a dispersed camping area. (It was quite a nice campsite, I would totally go back!). I always get on the road…
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20240609 Encounters with Iris tenax, & a Hike to Packwood Lake, GPNF
Being eager for a backpacking trip, but not so eager to deal with the snow in the high country, I opted for a trip in to Packwood Lake, the long way. On my way in to the valley, I wanted to scope out a section of the “Packwood Trail” that connects Johnson Creek Rd (USFS…
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20231021 Klickitat Trail #7, GPNF
A last minute decision to spend the weekend hiking finds me heading for Packwood late Saturday morning. Turning off on USFS 20 Rd, I park at the Jackpot Lake trail head, enjoying the autumn colors on the way up the canyon. The road is in good shape, the potholes not so deep and numerous, large…
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20231003 Cispus to Panther Creek, GPNF
Time for another Big Ass Hike, version 2023. This adventure takes me from the the Cispus River to Panther Creek, all in the Gifford Pinchot National Forest, climbing into the Mt. Adams Wilderness, then following the Pacific Crest Trail southbound thru the Indian Heaven Wilderness, exiting above the Wind River Road at Panther Creek Campground,…
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20230916 Lost Hat Lake, GPNF
I’ve long wanted to get up into this high country above Packwood, along the very top of the Coal Creek Mountain. I tried once before, but got turned back by snow. And the entire area has been closed d/t the wildfire last summer, until just this past week. So, up I go! I start out…