Category: Eastern Washington

Peewee Falls, Z Canyon and Sullivan Lake Kayaking Trip

Thursday I headed to Boundary Dam near the Canadian border to check out a couple of places I always wanted to kayak, explore the area a little and spend the night camping.

My first stop was at the overlook for the Box Canyon Dam and old railroad bridge outside of Ione along the Pend Oreille River. This old rail line is now abandoned, but as recently as ten years ago they operated a tourist train along this stretch.

A little further along the scenic byway there’s a rest area from which a short walk brings you to Sweet Creek Falls. Two trails access the falls. This is the lower trail.

The upper falls trail provides a different perspective of the cascade.

Sweet Creek Falls is a gem and easily worth a thirty minute delay. They’re are even picnic tables along the trail, some with views of the falls.

After about three hours of driving with a couple of stops, I arrived at my destination for the day, a recreation area just above Boundary Dam. You can see the dam’s Vista House on the right side of the picture on top of the bluff but it was closed and they weren’t giving tours either. I wanted to take a photo of the face of the dam. This is the dam that was used as the set for Bridgetown in the Kevin Costner movie, The Postman. Tom Petty played the mayor of this fictional post apocalyptic settlement.

The dam wasn’t the main reason I came all this way, well sort of. It did create the reservoir I planned to kayak on so there’s that. Boundary Dam is over three hundred feet high and backs up the Pend Oreille River over seventeen miles to the town of Metaline Falls. Immediately above the dam is Forebay, a substansial body of water with a campground on it. All of this is managed by Seattle Power and Light.

After picking my campsite, I unloaded the kayak and headed around the bend to check out Peewee Falls. This amazing waterfall drops straight in to the lake at the end of a deep cove. It is not visible from the recreation area or the dam.

I lingered around the falls and took a few photos. The sun was heading down putting the waterfall in the shade and the wind was picking up so I headed to my next destination.

A narrow opening at the south end of Forebay lead me to Z Canyon. This spectacular canyon was flooded by the dam a century ago and is now very popular with boaters and kayakers despite it’s remote location.

All along the way upstream there are interesting rock walls and a new view around every bend. The wind was intermittently building up which made for a lot of work. The few boats that came by created much more turbulence than I expected because the steep rock walls of the canyon reflected the wakes and in places it was like being in a washing machine.

After a mile or so, I came to the end of Z Canyon and at this point there is an island separating the main channel from a more protected slough. the Everett Slough Campground is located here and here I was able to land and take a break.

While floating over shallow water I came across this sight. Apparently the level of the water fluctuates daily depending on the power generation needs the result being that flowers and weeds that grow on the wetlands are sometimes covered in water.

I captured this amazing image and thought it looked a lot like an impressionist painting. Drowned daisies.

On my way back down the canyon, I came across an upside down tree. It looked like this Western Red Cedar had been growing like this for many years.

After getting back to the campground I took a trip exploring the area in the couple of hours I had before sundown. I checked out Gardner Caves in Crawford State Park and saw a hole in the ground surrounded by a fence. They have a very limited tour schedule and I missed the last one so I took a little hike and came across a sign that let me know I should turn around.

I drove across the river and towards Canada to find the Vista House and that’s when I found out it was closed. At least I got this view of Hooknose Mountain from a scenic overlook.

The next morning the lake was like glass and with the light coming from the east I decided to take the same trip again looking for a more relaxing and photogenic experience.

I got one. The waterfall was in full light creating a rainbow effect and the skies were perfectly clear and blue and the moon made a cameo.

It was early and I had the place to myself.

At least until the first boat showed up. Now it was time to explore Z Canyon again only this time wind and boat free.

It was much more relaxing this time.

There are a few small caves in the cliff sides along the canyon. I’m not sure how far they go in and wasn’t interested in the tricky landing and steep scramble up the bank to find out. After all there might be a grizzly inside.

Z Canyon is an amazing place and I would be happy to kayak it again. From the boat launch to Peewee Falls and then up the canyon and back only took three hours.

On the way back since the lake was still glass flat, I took the longer way across and was treated to this view of the falls with Hooknose Mountain in the background. It was still early so I packed up and headed to my next adventure.

Sullivan Lake was about a forty minute drive through Metaline Falls and east another few miles.

On the way I stopped at the Old Mill Pond Historic Site as was recommended by a friend of mine. This is the view of Sullivan Creek downstream from the old dam site. The creek drains Sullivan Lake and ends up emptying in to the Pend Oreille River in Metaline Fall.

I don’t know how long ago my buddy was here but it turned out they removed the dam seven years ago draining the 64 acre lake to restore the place to a riverain habitat. The dam hadn’t been used for power generation in over fifty years but they kept it in place as people liked to use the lake for recreating. There was a bunch of interpretive signage explaining the reasons and benefits of removing the dam.

So it was back to Sullivan Lake. I launched at the day use area for the west campground. A grass airstrip separates the east and west campgrounds. This bluff was just east of the east campground.

Sullivan Lake is over three hundred feet deep. It is a natural lake that was raised twenty-five feet by a small dam at the outlet. The west side of the lake is bordered by a scenic road and the east side is basically uninhabited, just steep slopes down to the shore.

The shoreline was to be honest kind of boring. The main draw for this body of water is the incredible water quality. Kayaking, you could see the bottom in thirty feet of water. I didn’t swim at Boundary Dam because, well because it is downstream from Missoula and Butte Montana, Sandpoint Idaho, Newport Washington and lots of other smaller town. The water looked okay but I knew where it came from. Sullivan was a much better place to take a swim.

So I found the only place on the eastern shore with a small beach and did just that. There was not one other boat or kayak on the lake in the middle of a warm clear summer Friday.

So I started the two and a half hour drive back to Post Falls and took the less traveled county road on the east side of the Pend Oreille River when I discovered a pull out for Manresa Grotto. They had a vault toilet so I decided to stop.

I’m glad I did. It was a fascinating place with small caves and historical significance.

It was a great place to stretch my legs for a few minutes. I was surprised that I had never heard of it. Another hidden gem in the Pacific Northwest.

The only downside was that the place seemed to be popular with vandals and was heavily graffitied. The biggest cave smelled like they sacrificed skunks in there over the years.

So I finished my tour of the Pend Oreille Scenic Byway and drove the rest of the way home. Three decent kayak trips in two days was the highlight. All of my short on foot walks weren’t long enough to call hikes but did add a little variety. I liked Peewee Falls and Z Canyon so much I paddled them twice and would be happy to do so again.

Spokane River Centennial Trail, Riverside State Park.

Today I rode the twelve miles of the Spokane River Centennial Trail inside of Riverside State Park, out and back. It was the first time in at least a decade.

I tried to access the trail at the T J Meenach bridge at the base of Doomsday Hill, but a crazed meth-head was yelling at me and anyone else driving down the road so I opted to start at the Fort George Wright Military Cemetery Trailhead instead.

This is the warning sign I was greeted with. I really never see these in Idaho. There were several other cars already parked so I decided to take my chances.

The old military post cemetery was well kept by the staff of nearby Fairchild Airforce Base. This area used to be an army post named after George Wright, a man who had a controversial past as it related to his treatment of native Americans. Apparently as part of the recent movement to rewrite history, the old post and the nearby major roadway were renamed. The only reference to the original name is the cemetery.

Immediately after the cemetery, the trail descends on a screaming grade down towards the river. This is by far the steepest grade I’ve ever encountered on a bike trail. I smoked by brakes to keep from gaining to much speed to control my bike. The photo doesn’t do it justice but we’re talking about maybe a 10% grade for a half a mile. I had to walk my bike back up the hill. There was no way I could have pedaled it.

Additionally, the first two miles of the trail had just about the worst surface I’ve ever encountered on a bike trail. The bumps were big enough to throw you off the bike and the weird gaps in the trail (expansion joints?) could easily catch and pretzel a bike wheel. I thought about giving up for a minute.

So it was with great trepidation when I saw the sign that told me the bikeway was ending and that the next part was going to be on share the roads. Surprisingly the grades were milder and the pavement in far better shape.

The old park scenic drive had been segmented many years ago so that the sections that still supported automobile traffic were by and large dead ends to trailheads used by hikers and bicyclist. There was next to no traffic on them and they were well maintained.

Soon I came across an old scenic overlook. This is looking back to the east up the river towards downtown Spokane.

Looking the other way there was a commanding view of the Bowl and Pitcher rock formations. These are the most popular places in Riverside State Park, but are usually accessed from the other side of the river.

Using the zoom on my basic phone camera revealed a nice view of downtown Spokane maybe five miles to the southeast. The highlands behind it are Dishman Hills, a popular in close to town place to hike.

Looking down the river from the bluff the view was of a flood plain pine forest between dry grassland slopes.

The old park scenic road was largely built during the Great Depression by the Civilian Conservation Corps. At the trailhead, the roadway was blocked to vehicles and was truly a bikeway again, only this time with a much better surface. As it was made for cars, some of the hills were fairly challenging for a bicycle.

A little further was the site of the camp for the CCC (Civilian Conservation Corps). The only reminder of this camp that supported a couple of hundred young men working on park improvements is the old fireplace from the recreation building.

At the McLellan Trailhead there was a nice map to show you where you’ve been and how far you have to go.

The trail continued along the old park road, some of which was open to vehicle traffic and most closed to it. For much of the ride, the Spokane River was near the trail with pretty views.

This one was one of the nicest. I thought it looked a little what I imagine Ireland looks like with the emerald green and peaceful water.

There are some nice rock (basalt) formations along the way. Most of the canyon carved by the Spokane River in the park is basalt.

A steep grade brought me to a place I recognized and yes, I had to walk my bike back up this one too. My brakes got a work out.

Around the bend was the bridge over Deep Creek, a place I hiked and posted about last spring. A lot of people land here in kayaks to swim and hang out.

Deep Creek here is a backwater of the Spokane River. There is no flow at all this time of year. The hike up the canyon is scenic but with it being in the mid-nineties today I rather be on a bike. It was a little on the toasty side.

In addition to the “bikeway” and sections of the old scenic park road, two short sections of the trail were share the road on public streets with generous shoulders. These parts of the trail were lightly traveled mostly by the few folks that live off of them and in really good shape. It was an easy way to get from point A to point B.

A couple of miles before the trail ends it passes by Nine Mile Falls and the dam of the same name. This hydroelectric plant is well over a hundred years old and still in use.

The last time I rode this trail this is were it ended. Since then they added a couple of miles starting behind this elementary school and continuing through pine flat woods.

The two miles of brand new pavement winds through an open ponderosa pine forest on the way to it’s final destination.

Just before the end of the trail, it descends towards the river on a series of well made switchbacks.

The trail ended at a recreation area with a boat ramp and a swim beach. It wasn’t anyplace special, but it was a place to end the trail While standing on the dock, I got one last pleasant surprise.

A low flying B-52 out of Fairchild Airforce Base orbited the lake. I used to see those regularly in Florida back when Orlando International Airport was McCoy Airforce Base. They are an impressive sight. Hard to believe a few are still in service after sixty years.

Combined with the Spokane Valley section and the urban section of the Spokane River Centennial Trail, the twelve miles or so of the Riverside State Park section makes for a forty mile long bike way from the Idaho State line to the Nine Mile Campground and Boat Launch. The North Idaho Centennial Trail continues east to Higgins Point for another twenty four miles. This twelve miles of the trail is by far the most challenging.

Mica Peak Conservation Area

For My Fourth of July, I hiked the Mica Peak Conservation Area outside of Spokane Washington. This 1700 acre preserve is owned and managed by Spokane County and was acquired as part of their conservation futures program.

Mica Peak at 5200 feet is a prominent landmark in the area made more distinctive because of the large radar dome at the summit which is visible throughout the region. The Federal Aviation Administration owns the site and for that reason the top of the mountain is off limits to hikers.

The trailhead for the property is located at the end of Belmont Road out of the small community of Mica which is about six miles south of Interstate 90 on State Road 27.

The first part of the hike travels on an old service road through about one mile of private property with open ponderosa pine forests on both sides. The climb is surprisingly steep and you can clearly see the mountain you’ll be walking up ahead.

The open forest with mostly a grass understory is typical of drier, hotter and often south and west facing slopes.

As you gain elevation the views open up. In this photo you can see three other hiking spots in the same frame. The high peak in the background is Mt. Spokane, a Washington State Park I visited earlier this year. The bare hills in the foreground are in Spokane County’s Saltese Uplands Preserve and the ridge to the left and in front of Mt. Spokane is Antione Peak which I recently visited and wrote about.

The variety of wildflowers along the trail was impressive.

As you gain elevation, the habitat becomes thicker with more fir trees and dense shrubs limiting views in sections. The main trail (service road) up the mountain is called Moonshine for some reason. I used the California Creek Trail, a single track, to make the nine mile loop.

This trail uses several switchbacks to climb the mountain. As usual the trails on Spokane County Conservation Areas are extremely well built and well marked. You’d have to try to get lost.

Near the high point of the California Creek Trail you hit open slopes with some outstanding views. The habitat also changes to something resembling an alpine landscape. It really isn’t one but it does look a little bit like it.

You are rewarded with big views of the Spokane Valley. Not everything out there is urbanized yet. There’s still some pretty farmland between the mountain and the city.

You can also see out to the southwest and part of the Palouse Prairie on the other side of the mountain.

This is about as close as the trail gets to the summit and the radar dome. It’s still a good half mile and two hundred feet of elevation away. A short descent from the trails high point brings you back to the Moonshine Trail and the long trip back down.

Fitting colors of some wildflowers for the day of the hike.

On the way down you pass by a couple more open ridges. Sometimes it’s nice to pause and appreciate small views too.

After this open ridge, the trail rapidly descends back through much thicker vegetation.

One more view out to the Palouse Prairie earned a look of that geological oddity, Steptoe Butte another place I have visited recently.

After four hours, nine steep miles and more wildflowers, I was back at the trailhead.

There’s considerably more trails that can be explored on this site. One trail connects to Liberty Lake Regional Park. Liberty Lake Park is a great place to hike, but I will have to wait until an extensive improvement project that is currently underway is completed.

The Fish Lake Trail

The Fish Lake Trail is a nine mile former railroad line that was acquired and converted in to a bike trail by the City of Spokane. It ends about one mile before Fish Lake, but the trail starts again at this point. However it is called the Columbia Plateau Trail from that point on. Are you confused yet? Good, we wouldn’t want that.

The trail starts just west of downtown Spokane at a trailhead off of Government Way under a couple of impressive railroad bridges in a really sketchy neighborhood. I’ve never had a problem here, but let’s just say I’m relieved every time I return to my intact vehicle.

Apparently that is Latah Junction above the trail, the place were the mainlines to Pasco and Wenatchee split.

Immediately after leaving the trailhead, you cross a bridge over Interstate 90 with an stunning view of downtown Spokane.

The first mile of the trail is between busy highway US-195 and an area experiencing rapid construction of much needed residential developments. For the most part they look like nice neighborhoods. Fortunately much of the trail through this stretch is located in a deep cut, screening riders from both.

The basalt rock formations and thick vegetation make the place seem more remote than it is.

Just over one mile in, the urban landscape ends and the trail takes on a more rural flavor. It’s hard to believe that this is only three miles from downtown. The traffic noise fades as the trail slowly curves away from US-195.

This is one of the very few road crossings on the trail. There’s not a lot of traffic to worry about on the ride.

The trail slowly curves towards the west. At this point it passes through an area that was effected by a recent wildfire. Wildfires suddenly seem to be a reocuring theme in many of my recent posts.

Since the prevailing summer winds here are out of the southwest, in addition to a headwind you are climbing a one percent grade. The good news is that you’re paying it forward. The return trip is all downhill and usually with a tailwind.

At a place called Marshall, the trail crosses under this impressive bridge. Two active railroad lines also pass under the bridge. For much of the length of the trail, it is sandwiched between two active railroad lines.

One of the other railroad lines passes over the trail here. One good thing about the Fish lake Trail is there is a lot of railroad infrastructure to admire.

And you get to see trains! Hey, that might be my brother grinding it up the high side heading towards Pasco.

The further you get from Spokane, the emptier the countryside gets. Towards the end of the trail it passes through this little valley.

The trail is just over nine miles long and the last mile and a half of that is a dead end. It is possible to back track to the last road crossing and ride on very bikable roads the three miles of so to the beginning of the Columbia Plateau Trail the first four miles or so of which is paved.

So here is the end. Two active lines cross each other just past this point making a safe passage impossible. Spokane would like to extend the trail, but bridging this gap would be prohibitively expensive.

It has been a couple of years since I rode this trail. The good is how easy it is to access, the true scenic beauty of the trail and for the most part a good surface. The bad is that its only nine miles long and the trailhead is in a bad part of town. When I get a chance, I’ll ride the gap from the end to the Columbia Plateau Trail and create an updated post with added material.

Spokane River Centennial Trail update. New Pavement!

A couple of months ago I wrote a post about the Spokane River Centennial Trail, specifically the first fourteen miles and how it was going to be closed for the summer for a much needed rebuilding. Well they finished the project much sooner than originally scheduled so I checked out the results.

I rode the entire section out and back plus three and a half miles each way on the North Idaho Centennial Trail so I could get to the new pavement from my house. Here’s the trail at the Harvard Road bridge.

It was really nice pedaling on a smooth surface after all of these years. Hopefully it will stay that way for a while.

I did notice about a dozen Lime Scooters abandoned along the trail. I’m not sure why these things are even allowed on the trail. I’m not a fan of E-bikes either. They are consistently misused by many of the knuckleheads that drive them.

Since I started riding on this trail seventeen years ago many improvements have been made to it.

It’s always a thrill to watch trains pass over the trail.

Now if we can get the first four miles of the trail on the Idaho side of the state-line rebuilt. Actually I heard that this might be in the works as the local managing agencies are working with the North Idaho Centennial Trail Foundation to secure a grant for this project. Let’s hope this happens.

Antione Peak Conservation Area, the Emerald Necklace and Summit.

The Antione Peak Conservation Area is an over one thousand acre preserve owned and managed by Spokane County. It is located on the north side of Spokane Valley and has three easily accessible trailheads. Today I hiked the entire length of the Emerald Necklace Trail with a side trip to the summit.

I started my hike at the West Trailhead off of Brevier Road. From the parking lot there is a clear view across the Peone Prairie of Mt. Spokane, the highest point in the county.

As soon as you leave the trailhead, you find your self in the “tall grass”. It appears that this part of the preserve was pasture or farmland in the not too distant past.

The trail system is very easy to follow and well maintained. At this point you’re less than a mile from the edge of suburbia but it feels like another world.

The old fields were carpeted with wildflowers.

As I gained elevation, the views opened up. To the south is the urban area of Spokane and to the west and south are views of the rural areas outside of town.

After less than a mile, the trail enters a more forested area dominated by open Ponderosa Pine habitat. This one appears to have grown out of a rock.

This part of the trail skirts to the south of the ridge line and summit. The south side of the ridges are also the sunny side.

A view looking up the hill on a clear cool sunny day.

Signage along the trail is very good. If you come to a fork with an unmarked trail it is not part of the trail system. After a little more than two miles, the Emerald Necklace Trail intersects the Summit Trail east of the peak. If you take the Summit Trail downhill, it leads to another trailhead.

A couple of weeks ago, I walked the loop from the Canfield Gulch Trail and came across this small pond.

On that trip I also came across a small moose. It is surprising how often I cross paths with these animals. I even see them swimming in the lakes when I’m paddling my kayak.

On the backside or in this case the north side of the ridge the habitat is dominated by fir trees and thicker shrubs limiting the views. In this opening there is a nice view of nearby Rathdrum Mountain in Idaho.

This little guy didn’t seem fazed by me walking past his stump.

Another opening along the trail revealed a nice view of the Peone Prairie. This area of farmland is on the way to Green Bluff, a local agri-tourist area.

The Emerald Necklace eventually reconnects to the Summit Trail and a short hike uphill gets you to the high point. Of course there’s a communication tower or more like three of them at the top.

The summit is partially forested and you have to walk around to see the views. This one is looking across the valley towards Mica Peak Idaho, AKA Signal Point.

On the way back to the trailhead I got to enjoy the meadows covered in wildflowers again. It was a very enjoyable and relatively easy hike. I estimate I got in about six miles with maybe seven hundred feet of elevation gain. It was a nice way to spend the last day of my first month of retirement.

After completing my hike, I headed over to a friends house to watch the Stanley Cup Finals. As the sunset, I noticed they have a nice view of Antione Peak from their backyard.

Spokane County has several very nice conservation areas, many of which I have hiked. Unlike state owned sites, Spokane County does not require a pass or permit. I plan on visiting some of these places this summer and hope to share my experiences hiking on them.

Bonnie Lake Washington

Today I returned to Bonnie Lake for the third time ever. This fascinating lake is located on the edge of the Palouse Prairie and the Channel Scablands about an hour south of Spokane between Rosalia and Cheney. It’s pretty much in the middle of nowhere.

I drove from Rosalia through Malden and Pine City to most aptly named Hole in the Ground Road. This is the ‘Hole in the Ground’. The gravel road lead me to a basalt canyon that as is typical in the region, runs from the northeast to southwest as is generally accepted did the flood waters when the ice dams broke creating the Channel Scablands.

Bonnie Lake shares this canyon with it’s much larger sibling, Rock lake. I posted photos of Rock Lake when I hiked a section of the Palouse Cascade Trail a couple on months ago. Unlike Rock Lake, Bonnie Lake is a destination for kayakers as well as fishermen.

The only access to Bonnie Lake is from a primitive boat launch suitable for kayaks and very small fishing boats where Hole in the Ground Road crosses the small creek that flows out of Bonnie Lake towards Rock Lake.

The winding and in places very narrow water way passes through active cattle ranches. It’s kind of fun to watch the cattle watching you.

In places the water way is a glorified ditch. In addition to cattle, the bird life is amazing, especially Red Wing Blackbirds. I tried to get a good photo of them, but paddling the narrow channel took all of my concentration.

While zig zagging up the stream, I was treated to views of the basalt canyon rim including a fairly impressive arch.

Here’s a better view. maybe someday the proto arch on the right will break through too. A double arch would be very cool.

As you approach the lake the stream widens a little. I watched turtles bail off logs and rocks and marmots ‘rock chucks’ scramble through the basalt boulders at the base of the cliffs.

The ride through the channel is one of the highlights of this paddle. It’s maybe a little over a mile from the bridge to open water and in my opinion the most enjoyable part of the trip.

When you get to the lake itself you are are surrounded by impressive basalt cliffs.

After entering the lake if you stay to the left or west side, you pass a long section of undercut cliffs that are the home to a huge population of swallows. They make their nests in the crevasses of the basalt walls. There must have been close to a thousand nests on this short stretch.

The lake opens up and after a while I was exposed to the prevailing winds. I was looking for a safe harbor.

Around one more point there is a granite island in the middle of a basalt canyon. This place is owned by the State of Washington and is the only public property on the lake. The rest of the shoreline is owned by cattle ranches and is posted.

This is a great place to land and stretch your legs. I’m guessing the island is less than ten acres, but because of the topography and complex shoreline it can take a while to explore.

The channel between the island and the west side of the canyon usually has some of the flattest water on the lake, a welcomed respite from the waves.

There are lots of informal trails on the island and several places that people have used to camp. Unfortunately since my last visit a few years ago, someone managed to burn down most of the trees on the island. Since there’s no evidence of wildfires around the canyon I can only assume that the island fire was started by people either camping or picknicing on the island.

My original plan was to kayak all the way to the north end of the lake and then up the creek that feeds it as far as I could make it, unfortunately the weather had other ideas. As soon as I left the island the winds picked up and created white caps on the lake. Such is life in the Channel Scablands. I called it good and fought the wind back to the bridge.

I didn’t get any photos of the white caps because I was too busy trying to paddle back. I did snap one just before I returned to the ramp with my rig in the back ground.

On the way back, I checked out Steptoe Butte. It seems like a joke to have a small mountain in the middle of a thousand square miles of farmland, but that’s pretty much what it is.

I used my Discover Pass which was probably a wash with the extra fuel I used for this detour. It does give you a perspective on how amazing the Palouse Prairie is when it comes to farming. The sign at the county line proudly informs you that Withman County is the nations leading wheat growing county.

At least I can see the mountains close to my house from here.

Bonnie Lake is a completely different experience from my usual kayaking on our lakes in North Idaho. It is much more remote and the scenery is unique. It is in the same canyon as Rock Lake. The drive each way from my base in Post Falls is about ninety minutes.

Grand Coulee Road Trip, Day Two, Umatilla Rock, Deep Lake, Lenore Caves and a waterfall.


The Grand Coulee is an impressive gorge carved out by ice age floods. It is divided into an upper and lower canyon by dry falls at about the mid point. All of the coulee was dry until the creation of the Grand Coulee Dam. The upper part of the canyon was flooded to create an elaborate irrigation system in the 1930’s. The by product of this is Banks Lake. Day two was in and around the lower canyon which is much drier and is truly a desert.

I got an early start on the day and headed south through the coulee to the Dry Falls Vista roadside to get the lay of the land. Below is Sun Lakes State Park with remnant pothole lakes and interesting rock formations.

In this view you can see Perch Lake and in the middle of the coulee and Umatilla Rock, my next hiking destination just down the road in Sun Lakes State Park.

A long scenic park road brings you to the trailhead for Umatilla Rock right at the south end of that formation. A loop trail starts here.

Umatilla Rock is a maybe two mile basalt wall dividing the floor of the lower Grand Coulee in two. All you would need is a saguaro cactus or two to make you think you’re in Arizona.

The loop takes you by both Perch Lake and Dry Falls Lake.

The trail is beautiful. One of the best I’ve found. It really feels like a desert hike.

The trail winds through basalt rock formations that look like they belong on the moon. I was on the lookout but came across no snakes on the entire hike.

Definitely an interesting geology.

There were a lot of wild flowers along the hike that provided beauty on a smaller and more close up scale.

Here are a couple of photos of them.

It was a nice hike.

The only wildlife I saw was this skinny deer. Oh and the hawk that tried to attack me. If he came back for a third go at me, I think I could have got a great photo.

The loop goes through that notch in the wall. I skipped that part so ended up doing two out and back hikes.

This is that same notch from the other side.

One of the better short hikes I’ve been on in a long time. I imagine it gets awfully hot in the summer.

Another long park road brought me to a bonus surprise. At the end was the access for Deep Lake, the nicest lake in the park. At the small boat ramp after crossing a footbridge and a grove of cottonwoods, a trail follows the shore of a beautiful lake.

This lake seems to be a popular place to kayak. If I get the chance I would love to do so, but it’s almost a three hour haul from my house.

The water was crystal clear and the colors amazing.

It looked like there was a trail on the other side that really climbed above the lake. Maybe a challenge for another day.

My last stop in the Grand Coulee was at the Lake Lenore Caves site. Here is the view across the lake from the trailhead.

The trail up the cliff side featured some elaborate steps.

The “caves” are really just rock overhands carved in to the basalt by ancient flood waters.

Here is the view from inside the largest one I found. The trail continues but it was time to head home.

Instead of wild flowers here, I had to settle for colorful lichens.

So on the return trip I took a new route along State Road 28 through farm country. A side trip brought me to one last surprise.

A waterfall in the middle of nowhere. No one else was here and they had a nice little park on the lake too.

The lake the falls drops into looked amazing with clear cool water. Numerous signs prohibited entering the water that looked so inviting.

An explanation could be found in one of the most sobering memorials I’ve seen. In 1978 I was a seventeen year old boy.

It was a beautiful place. Summer Falls as it is called, is part of the path used to move water from the Grand Coulee Dam to Moses Lake and all of the irrigated farmland around it. I imagine the site originally had a small seasonal water fall before it was incorporated in to the project.

The morning started with sunrise at Steamboat Rock at 5:00 AM. Twelve hours after leaving Summer Falls a drive through more farmland ended when I returned to metro Spokane. The Grand Coulee is an amazing place to explore and a great place for my first of hopefully many post retirement trips.

Grand Coulee Road Trip, Day One, Giant Arch Cave, a return to Northrup Canyon and camping at Steamboat Rock State Park.

The Grand Coulee is an impressive gorge carved out by ice age floods. It is divided into an upper and lower canyon by dry falls at about the mid point. All of the coulee was dry until the creation of the Grand Coulee Dam. The upper part of the canyon was flooded to create an elaborate irrigation system in the 1930’s. The by product of this is Banks Lake. Day one was in and around the upper canyon.

It’s a two hour drive east from my house to Grand Coulee mostly through what looks a lot like midwestern farm land. A lot of this farmland is made possible because of the Grand Coulee Dam and the irrigation system it feeds.

When I arrived to the town of Grand Coulee and the site of the dam of the same name, I drove up the opposite side and continued west for about eight miles until I turned south on Barker Canyon Road. The road is a steep gravel that descends into the Grand Coulee on what turns into a winding dirt road.

At this point you’re across Banks Lake from Steamboat Rock State Park. This area is managed by the State Park and a Discover Pass is required.

Ahead I caught my first glimpse of my destination, Giant Arch Cave. Arches like these are common on the side walls of the Grand Coulee but this is maybe the largest one. You can see it across the lake from Steamboat Rock and I always wanted a closer look.

A dirt double tracked trail leads towards the arch. I drove my truck as far as I dared to shorten the walk. It was a very rough trail and I don’t want to beat up my ride too much. I ended up walking the last mile and a half.

The last few hundred feet to the cave involved scrambling over basalt boulders and was extremely steep. Even though the walk was short, the last part of it was difficult enough to make it quite the workout.

Here’s the view I came for. There’s no real cave at the back of the arch, just an enormous overhang.

On the way back I came across several snakes including these two intertwined on the road. None of them had rattles on the ends of their tails. Numerous signs are posted through out the area warning of the danger of rattlesnakes. Glad I didn’t come across any of them.

So I retraced my trip to the dam and then headed south on State Road 155 towards my next destination. By now the wind had really kicked up and I was glad I left my kayak at home. The drive along this road is one of the most scenic ones in Washington with lots of pull outs at view points. This one is at Northrup Point.

After checking in to my site at the campground at the base of Steamboat Rock I returned to Northrup Canyon across the highway from Northrup Point to do an expanded version of a hike I posted about from last March. First on the list was the Old Wagon Road Trail that I skipped last time. It branches off from the main train just past the parking area.

This trail quickly gains elevation while climbing the south rim of the canyon and the views across to the north rim are impressive.

Although it gains a lot of elevation, the grade is very consistent and not too strenuous. Behind you are views back to Banks Lake. Steamboat Rock is the closer formation. The Giant Arch Cave would be all the way across the lake.

After a mile or so you are high above the canyon floor.

Below you can see the farmstead that is the destination of many hikers.

At the point where you finally get near the top of the canyon, the trail turns south in a draw and kind of just fades out. After awhile it looked more like a game trail so I called it good and headed back down.

Its much drier at the top with pretty much only sage brush and wild flowers covering most of the ground. It would have been nice to have the trail end at a more defined spot like one last scenic overlook.

This place will have to make do as my end point. At least it was all down hill back to the trailhead.

A two hour round trip got me back to the starting point. The views on the way down were just as nice as those on the way up. Now it was time to repeat my hike from last March to the farmstead and then push on further.

If you want to see more photos from this part of the hike, they can be found here on my post from early spring. The three mile round trip to the farmstead is very scenic, easy and family friendly.

The trail continues another mile and a half past the old chicken coop at the farmstead.

This continuation was much steeper than the rest of the trail system. In fact it gains the same elevation three and four times which is frustrating for the hiker. The trail does not seem to even try to follow a contour line.

After a steep climb leading away from the old farm, you get to go down steep grades and then get to climb them again.

At the bottom of a couple of these grades are small wetlands which aren’t that common in what is technically a desert. There is a small lake at the end of the trail down another really steep grade. I was tired of reclimbing all of these descents so I skipped the last few hundred feet.

Up high there were a couple of nice flat sections of trail through open ponderosa pine forest. I called it good and retraced my steps back to the trailhead.

On the way back past the farm and beyond I was entertained by about the thickest population of rock chucks (marmots) that I’ve ever came across.

As the day ended, I returned to the campground at Steamboat Rock and enjoyed the view of the setting sun lighting up the east wall of the Grand Coulee. This time I skipped hiking to the top of the rock. I had enough for one day.

And so ended the first day of the road trip.

The Palouse Cascade Trail, part 1 Pine Creek and Rock Lake.

Today I hiked a short but scenic stretch of the Palouse Cascade Trail from Hole in the Ground Road outside of the small community of Pine City to the high bridge on Rock Lake that has been closed by the State of Washington.

On the way I stopped outside of Rosalia to snap a picture of this amazing viaduct. The Milwaukee Road was once one of the five transcontinental railroads but was abandoned decades ago. Most of he old railroad right of way was acquired by the State of Washington and is managed as the Palouse Cascade State Park.

At the place were Hole in the Ground Road crosses the trail there is a wide shoulder that you can park on. There is signage both directions and it was nice to know how far I was going to be walking.

About half a mile in you come to Pine Creek Bridge #7. At this location a couple of rail cars derailed and are still here to this day.

The old railroad bed follows Pine Creek.

Pine Creek is a scenic little stream.

After the railroad bridge, the trail passes through cuts in the basalt rock.

As you continue, the rock walls become more impressive.

As the creek drops, the railroad bed stays level and after awhile you are far above it and the views get even better.

It wouldn’t be an abandoned railroad without a tunnel or two. A deep cut in the rocks leads you to the entrance.

The tunnel is curved and you cannot see light from the other side when you first enter it. If you persevere and walk in as far as you can see, you will come to a point where you can see light from the other end.

On the other side there are stunning views of basalt cliffs framing the Pine Creek Valley. The bottom of the valley is farmland. These over sized canyons were formed by ice age floods as the tiny creeks in them could never produce the power to carve out the gorges.

Soon you will catch a glimpse of the north end of Rock Lake. This three and a half mile walk is on the boundary of the Palouse Prairie, a rich wheat farming area with rolling hills and the Channeled Scablands, the place where ancient flood waters scoured the land down to bedrock.

The views of Rock lake open up. This is a fascinating body of water. The largest natural lake in eastern Washington it is over four hundred feet deep and almost surrounded by steep cliffs making access very limited.

Opposite from the lake the cliffs seem to get even bigger.

Rock Lake has a vibe. There is even a legend about a lake monster and stories of derailed railcars on the bottom. Due to it being orientated with the prevailing summer wind, the lack for sheltered bays, limited places you can even land a boat and submerged basalt pinnacles boaters are strongly cautioned and kayaking discouraged.

It is hard to relate just how big these cliffs are and how big the waves can get when the scabland winds blow over miles of lake water.

This is an epic landscape. It is amazing they built a railroad through here a hundred and twenty years ago. The Milwaukee Road failed largely due to it being routed through such remote country. The railroad through Montana, Idaho and Washington was abandoned in 1980.

Near the end of the passable part of the trail impressive cliffs with basalt arches dominate the far shore.

This bridge is fenced off and posted by the State of Washington. I crossed it about seven years ago and it was sketchy back then. A second tunnel is just beyond and another mile or so down the line a section of the railroad easement reverted to private ownership and it is blocked at that point. I raised my camera above the chain-link fence to get a decent shot of the bridge.

So I turned around and walked the three and a half miles back to my car. That’s when I read the sign. The sign on the other side of the road mentioned that the trail was closed that direction due to the decks of four bridges being destroyed during a devastating wild fire a few years ago. It would be nice to get those rebuilt along with the deck of the bridge I had to stop at.

The Palouse Cascade Trail spans the entire state of Washington and ends just a few miles from the Trail of the Coeur d’Alene’s which almost spans the Idaho panhandle. The Hiawatha Trail is also an abandoned section of the Milwaukee Road. I hope to check other sections of the Palouse Cascade Trail in the near future. The section I walked today is one of the most beautiful and interesting trails I have ever explored.