Western Washington Hikes
Anyone have any recommendations for some excellent weekend hikes in western Washington?
Washington is a big state. How far are you from the Enchanted Lakes area? Thats about a two hour drive out of Seattle and Everett out RT. 2 around Leavenworth.
I guess I am about 2 hours from there. I am on the east side on Seattle. I moved out here recently and I am still trying to get my bearings. I will look that up. Thanks for the suggestion.
There are several areas within a reasonable driving distance of seattle. I would go to REI and Look at books for the Alpine Lakes Wilderness and the Glacier Peak Wilderness. Look for the ones authored by Harvey Mann and Ira Spring. Here are some of my recommendations that I have liked:
Mount Pilchuck, Goat Lake, Lake Serene, Monte Christo, Boulder River, Lost Creek Ridge Trail, Mt Hinman
The two trips that I want to take are the PCT through the Glacie Peak Wilderness the original route, no detour. The other is Phelps creek to Spider Gap over the glacier to Lyman Lakes up Miners Ridge to Image Lake then back over Buck Pass.
I only know mid-Washington so my vote is to take the boat up Lake Chelan, get of at Lucern Dock, catch a bus ride up to Holden Village, supply up and hike over to Stehekin via Cloudy Pass. Go big and pack it in to two days.
Aw crap, that'll take 3 days.
Hiking is Washington
There are a lot of good places to hike in Washington, but one must usually ask about the snow level. Many of the good trails are still under snow.Originally Posted by nightcrawler
This time of the year is a great time to hike the trails along the Pacific Coast. Check out the Ozzette Loop Trail for a great two day hike. Camp on the shore of the Pacific Ocean. It is a great experience.
I frequently hike the trails on the east side of Olympic National Park. Most of them melt out by the first of June.
Some of the lower trails in Mt. Rainier National Park are melting out now. More will be available by the middle of June.
By August 1, the Pacific Crest Trail in the Goat Rocks Wilderness will have melted out.
Shutterbug
Thanks for all the suggestions. Having to worry about snow is very different from any mindset ever needed in Ohio. So happy to be around all these great places now.
You may also want to check out the North West Trails Poject. It covers a massive amount of trail data for GPS use.
East side of Seattle - you're in hiker paradise! Pick up some maps or books! WA is a BIG state with OODLES of hiking opps!
Where you will go depends on when you go!
If you like hiking and backpacking in the mountains, Western Washington is a great place to be from July through September. It's not a great place for high country mountain hiking or car camping or backpacking other times of the year, mostly due to snow at high/middle elevations and rainy, cloudy weather. Western WA has some unique issues for hikers that are not issues elsewhere in the US. Here's some info on outdoor recreation and the seasons in western WA that I wrote on a blog. There are photos for illustration.
Get in at http://www.nwhikers.net . The Washington Trails Association is the best group in WA for hikers.
There are tons of guidebooks with detailed advice on where to hike and they're worth the money. Green Trails maps are good to have too. If you're low on $$ check them out at the library or browse at a used bookstore. Harvey Manning's & Ira Spring's 100 Hikes guidebooks are the classics but there are many good, newer ones like the ones written by Craig Romano, Alan Bauer or Dan Nelson and others. All the books on where to hike are right here.
IMO, western WA is not a great place to live if you're a dry ground hiker. The rest of the western US is a better place to live if you can and hiking is your main thing. Western WA's mountains are too avalanche-prone, too many road washouts and lost trails, too rainy and cloudy for most of the year. Any good deserts or semi-deserts (eastern OR, UT, NV, ID) are too far away. A lot of people around here are into skiing/snowboarding, fishing/hunting, boating/paddling for much of the year.
I'd get out of here if I could find a job elsewhere. This place is way overrated as a place to live for hiking and backpacking because it's only a good place to be in summer.
My favorite place in the Cascades is the Glacier Peak Wilderness east of Darrington. Too bad so many access roads, trails and bridges are washed out. The North Cascades National Park is amazing too. Great craggy peaks and big wilderness but unfortunately most of the park into the cool areas like the Picket Range is trailless and requires tough bushwhacks. Some photos are here on my Flickr of the North Cascades and Glacier Peak area.
There's a trail that is out on the coast (Olympic peninsula) that is arguably the most scenic in the lower 48 (OK the John Muir trail would probably win this one but........)
It is a long drive but so worth it that I have done this trail 4 times.
Start at Rialto beach and head north for about 3 days to the Indian reservation.
You need a tide chart but will also go up rope ladders up steep cliffs to real rain forests.
I saw: Bald eagles, bear, whales, seals, deer, and lots of tidal marine life on this great trail.
Last time i was there, REI was shooting their catalog on this trail!
Another one is the hike up to Mt. Olympia base camp if you prefer mountains but the beach trail shouldn't be missed.
Don't let your fears stand in the way of your dreams
Olympic NP - sometimes referred to as 3 different parks in one because of 3 distinctly different type hiking areas.
Rialto Beach to Cape Alava or further to Shi Shi Beach. Very possibly THE BEST coastal hike in the lower 48!!!
Take ferry across to Olympic Peninsula, hitch to Port Republic(I believe there may a bus from specific ferry terminals to Port Republic on the peninsula though, I found it to be a simple 5 min hitch, first person I asked gave me a ride) and then catch a bus to Forks transit Center, pick up hiking permit in same building(or pick up permit and bear canister in Port Republic at the NP office there), take another bus out to near Rialto Beach. Easy hitch from the convenience store where the second bus lets you off to Rialto Beach. Need a bear canister. The NP rents them cheap.
Bear Canister
The National Park Service does require a bear canister, but not because of bears. The racoons have been a problem along that beach. I made my own canister out of a six inch plastic pipe. It works fine and is easier to carry than the NPS canisters.
Shutterbug
I lived in Western WA for 5+ years and hiked like a madwoman with my ex. We were out most weekends, including shoulder season which is can be a bear (raining on July 4th weekend and still postholing in snow at higher elevations).
You'll be fine - just start getting out and you'll find the places you like.
We actually did a ton of hiking in the southern Cascades to avoid the heavy crowds around the I-90 area. Check out things around Mt. Adams, White Pass (which has a really funky flat plateau area reminiscent of Maine - small ponds, etc.), things off the PCT around SR410 and SR123, etc. The So. Cascades may not be as spectacular as the northern craggy Cascades, but still worth it.
One very good book for the No. Cascades - "Don't waste your time in the No. Cascades."
Also did some stuff up into southern BC as well. If you want a real adventure - go do the Vancouver Island Trail. That's a trip complete with having to deal with tide tables, suspensions bridges and the like. Good fun for a week or so.
The weather/avalanche/season stuff is a lot more tedious out there - you do have to pay attention. And the high elevation hiking season is short. Get out every weekend you can from July until the snow flies.
For starting winter camping/hikes - try that area around White Pass - because it's flatish you'll be able to skip worrying about avalanches. However, be prepared for navigating/looking for trails. Snow gets deep! Even in the shoulder seasons you'll have to pay attention to trail "signs" when you loose it.
If you get into it - take some mountaineering classes. If they still run them, the person teaching at Bellevue Community College had some mountaineering classes. The person teaching (I'm blanking his name) taught me some great skillsets for general orienteering (like paying attention to time, landmarks, in addition to map and compass, etc.), clothing layering, making good decisions, why trips can end in failure, etc. These are skills I use today in general trail hiking.
Have fun! I miss hiking out there.
From Rialto beach To Shi Shi Beach I did get stopped twice, in rather remote locations, by backcountry NP Rangers who checked both my permit and that I had a bear canister.
Oh - and invest in a good rainhat. Which you probably already figured out.
The good old OR Seattle Sombrero is sort of the workhorse, but there may be other things you like better.
that sounds interesting. 6" diameter pvc?
I just did this trail over the weekend. It was awesome. Navigating the beach took longer than expected due to all the rocks and downed trees, but I really enjoyed it.
Glad you enjoyed it.
I am glad you enjoyed it. You picked a great weekend for it. I hope it is just the first of many great weekends for the Northwest.
Did you discover the Petroglyphs at Wedding Rocks? Most people don't seem them unless someone points them out. Wedding Rocks are about half way between Sand Point and Point Alava. There are about 25 petroglyphs on the rocks. Most of them can be seen only at low tide, but a few are above the high water mark.
Shutterbug
We were looking for them, but we didn't find them. We were going through at low tide too. We asked a couple people on the beach, but some didn't even know there was something called the wedding rocks.
The weather was amazing. Cleared up perfectly. When we picked up our permits they were telling everyone to get up to Hurricane Ridge because it was about as clear a day as you would ever get.
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