Category: Hikes

North Fork of the Coeur d’Alene River Road Trip, Day Two.

Yesterday I drove over Fourth of July Pass to explore the North Fork of the Coeur d’Alene River. My primary goal was to combine a couple of bike rides on the public roadways that follow the river with maybe a short hike or two and an overnight stay at one of the National Forest Service campgrounds along the way. The first day, I rode the Old River Road from the Bumblebee Cutoff to The Coeur d’Alene River Road “Forest Road 9” and took a side trip to Shadow and Fern Falls. Todays plan was to ride another section of the river road here signed as Forest Road #208, this time from my campground to the end of the pavement and back and maybe check out an old fire lookout tower.

It was still very cool when I started the ride at 7:30 AM, so I had to wear a pull over. Without gloves my hands were numb the first few miles. Just north of Kit Price the roadway passes by some pretty cool overhanging rocks.

The road follows the river upstream towards a place called McGee. For much of the way the river is right next to the road. Early in the morning there was very little vehicle traffic to contend with.

The roadway crosses the river several times. At most of these crossings there were fly fishermen trying their luck. I was on the lookout for moose but didn’t come across any today. Across this bridge You can see a large area of the forest that burned down a few years ago. Stand replacement fires are a natural part of the environment in the Northern Rockies, however they have become much more common due to human caused fires in the past century. This one was human caused.

Sometimes the results of wildfires are the creation of meadows along the river.

Even the largest of trees aren’t immune from becoming ghostly skeletons due to fire. This one was particularly eye catching. Within a couple of more miles, I was no longer in an area that experienced a recent wildfire.

Along the way I rode past numerous back water channels off of the river. Places like this are prime moose habitat and believe me I was looking hard for one to snap a photo of. I see them so often that a friend of mine told me they must be my spirit animal. Not today however.

There are big views in this big country. As on my other ride, traffic was very manageable, however it did build a little towards the end of the ride as it being a Friday, lots of folks were heading out to the woods for the weekend. It might be a little busy for bike riding on summer weekends.

Towards the last few miles of my ride, this prominent feature dominated the landscape. I believe this might be Sion Kop Rock, a well known landmark.

At sixteen miles I called it good. I would liked to have made it to the end of the pavement, but I had a deadline on when I had to be back to the campground and didn’t want to push it. I turned around just short of the trailhead for the Coeur d’Alene River Recreational Trail, a place I visited years ago. It was a nice place to take an early fall hike. This picture is from that visit many years ago.

On the way back I detoured though the other two campgrounds to check them out. Big Hank and Devils Elbow both had sites that back up to the river, but I liked the one I got at Kit Price better. I ended up with a thirty two mile ride by the time I got back to my campsite and it was just an hour before check out time. Another party had the site reserved later that day.

If you can make it on a weekday or on a shoulder season weekend this is a great bicycle ride. Between riding the Old River Road and this one, I was in for sixty miles in two days on a hybrid trail bike. I would not recommend that anyone try to ride the ten miles or so on Forest Road 9 from the end to Old River Road to where traffic thins back out at around the Shoshone Work Camp. It’s just too busy and has higher speed traffic.

So I met my goal of two scenic bike rides and was still feeling energetic so I decided to try and drive to the Little Guard Lookout Tower. Apparently it is possible to reserve this facility for overnight camping The sign said it was a ten mile drive up the ridge on Forest Road 602. The first five miles or so were in excellent shape having been recently graded. Above that even though the Forest Service had just bladed the road, it got a little rough. My biggest concern on the upper four miles was the lack of pull outs to allow oncoming traffic to pass and I didn’t see much any place wide enough to turn my truck around if it got really bad.

At about nine miles in I finally came to a place with lots of room and coincidentally met a Forest Service employee on a side by side, the first vehicle I passed the whole way. He stopped me to let me know one more was heading down hill and I explained that I was planning to stop here and walk the rest of the way. He said that since I had stumbled right to the trailhead for the Shoshone Ridge Trail and that I liked hiking, I should take that much more scenic route instead.

Sometimes with free advice you get what you pay for but the man was right. The trailhead sits at about 5500 above sea level and the views are outstanding.

Most of the trail follows a high ridge with a very gentle incline and lots of open views of the surrounding mountains.

Looking back across the Coeur d’Alene River (the north fork) valley I could see a nearby snow capped mountain. My best guess is that it was Grizzly Mountain in the middle of the Coeur d’Alene National Forest.

Most of the trail was routed just below and to the west of a very pronounced ridge. Above it loomed large rock formations.

I was on the lookout for wildlife but only managed to scare up one whitetail and a momma grouse. I had the trail completely to myself and was surprised at how well it was maintained.

The trail headed towards Bennett Peak, a 6200 foot tall mountain on the ridge. The trail ended up skirting around this prominence as it gradually climbed up the ridge.

This is the view of Bennett Peak after you pass it on the way to Sentinel Peak. There was still snow in places, but none across the trail.

When you finally crest the ridge you can see the mountains towards the east and south. In the distance are the St. Joe and Bitterroot Mountains.

At the top of Sentinel Peak which sits at about 6100 feet, there is an incredible view of the Cabinet Mountains with little Sentinel in the foreground. I could clearly see A Peak and Snowshoe Peak in Montana as well Scotchman Mountain, the highest peak on the Idaho side all still covered in snow.

Here is where I turned back. As soon as I did, I noticed the first sign or marker of any kind on the entire trail. It let me know I had 3.3 miles to go to get back to the trailhead. Overall it was a very scenic trail with about a six hundred foot elevation gain and a very mild grade except for the last couple hundred yards.

I ended up completing a seven and a half mile hike after a thirty two mile bike ride. After some challenging driving back to the pavement, I still had well over an hour on the highways until I was back in what passes for me as my base camp in Coeur d’Alene. Not a bad way to wrap up a two day trip.

Qemilin Park Revisited, in to the Burn Zone.

I headed out to one of my go to local places to stretch my legs. I have posted about this gem of a hike recently and just wanted to visit again. When I got there, I discovered that all of the barricades and signs around the area that was effected by a wildfire last summer had been removed. I had to check out the “burn zone”.

Last summer a wildfire driven by extreme southwest winds exploded into a stand replacement event and expanded to about eighty acres in Qemilin Park before it was contained. The smoke plum dominated the sky on my way home from work that day to the point that I called one of my kids who lives south of the river to make sure it wasn’t close to her.

Heroic efforts by local wildland fire fighters contained the inferno almost completely within the boundaries of the Post Falls Community Forest saving numerous private residences located just outside.

That came at a cost. Resources had to be pulled from a major wildfire in the Hayden Creek and Chilco Mountains area where no one lives. That is why I can’t hike North Chilco Mountain this year. My hiking verses someone’s entire life is a small price to pay. Dozens if not over a hundred houses are just outside the “burn zone”.

This is what’s left of the Avatar Tree. This giant ponderosa pine has been on the ground as long as I have hiked Qemilin Park. It had it’s own tag on Google Maps. I measured it out to be over one hundred and twenty feet tall before it fell many years ago. The trail passed right by it and it was a place lots of folks snapped photos.

The grasses and forbs are already coming back. A few trees in the middle of the “burn zone” due to tiny variations in the topography survived. It will be interesting to see if some day they will grow in to forest giants due to the lack of competition.

I hiked up to the “hanging ponds” to see how they were effected. Obviously water bodies aren’t “killed” or burned down by wildfire, but the views have definitely changed.

The staff of the City of Post Falls has been very busy cutting down and bucking up hazard trees along the trail so that the public can safely access the site. Based on what I saw, they probably cut down over a hundred trees, mostly those directly over the trail. Thanks guys.

It started to rain on me while I was checking out the “hanging ponds”. I came across this place about fifteen years ago while hiking with my oldest daughter. At the time we were technically trespassing. I was delighted when years later my home town acquired the site and opened it up to the public.

These isolated wetlands/ponds sit at the top of a bluff over a hundred feet above the canyon right next to them. They are a true local hidden gem. The trail is just far enough away that most people walk right by them without ever knowing they’re there.

The view may have changed but it is still beautiful. I’ve always hated the term “the land was destroyed” when news outlets describe the results of a wildfire in the woods. The land has not been destroyed, only changed. Just because we don’t like the results doesn’t mean it is lost forever.

On my hike, I noticed that the City of Post Falls had very recently completed significant fuel reduction projects to mitigate the possibility of catastrophic wildfires in the future. This involves thinning the forest and getting rid of ladder fuels that that can turn a minor ground fire in to one that endangers people and property. This will pay dividends in the future.

Some plants benefit from the fire. In places there was an explosion of wildflowers.

It will be interesting to check in over the years to see how the “burn zone” recovers. This is a rock formation just outside of it that I have photographed before. Today I discovered that the granite column on the left had fractured and much of it had collapsed. Nothing, even granite last forever.

No matter what, Qemilin Park/the Post Falls Community Forest will always be a special place. It is an amazing place to explore and it’s only ten minutes from my house. God bless North Idaho and Post Falls.

Camas Prairie Road Trip, Day Two, Lawyer Creek, Cottonwood and Cold Spring Canyon.

I took a two day trip to explore the Camas Prairie and specifically the old route of the Camas Prairie Railroad. The Camas Prairie is south of Lewiston Idaho. Yesterday I hiked from Rubens to Lapawi Canyon.

The previous evening, I did a reconnaissance in search of a likely place to park so I could hike a section of the rail easement that had some of these tall trestles in vain. Most of the farm roads that crossed the rail line were one lane gravel roads with ditches on either side. However I did locate a number of impressive bridges. That narrowed my search down.

Finally the next morning I found a place. Visible enough from the main highway to check the probability of vandalism to my rig and far enough off the main road to make it look like I might be a farmer checking his fields all without blocking access for others. The only rails I saw on this hike were embedded in one of the few paved local roads in the area.

The hike started with open views of the Camas Prairie farmland while it slowly curved away from US-95. The highway for the most park stays within a mile to the east of the railroad easement making this section much less remote than yesterdays hike down Lapawi Canyon.

After a short walk, I came to my first trestle. Looked like an easy walk but looks can be deceiving.

This turned out to be the old trestle over Old US-95. It had to be one hundred feet high and much longer than it first appeared. There was no metal plating one this bridge and it looked like it had been abandoned much longer than those I crossed yesterday.

A lot of the wood was rotten, some of the ties loose or missing and the structure creaked and moaned under the weight of a full grown man. There’s no way it would support a train ever again. For the first, but not last time I was unnerved by the crossing. I was kind of surprised that it has not been removed as a safety hazard to the road below.

When I got to the other side I got a better view of the true size of the trestle. The good news was I made it across. The bad news was it wasn’t practical to bypass it on the way back so I was going to have to do it again.

Next I followed the rail easement through shallow cuts and small embankments with stunning views of wild flowers and farmland.

Further down the line, I came across a partially removed trestle. I guess it was the end of the line for me on this hike.

Well it turned out this trestle was bypassed years ago when the line was still active. The actual easement followed a newer embankment around the site.

Another cut through the rocks was next. The trail passes through open ponderosa pine forest here on the way to the next goal.

Here is the start of Lawyer Creek Canyon trestle. It doesn’t look like it from here but the bridge is 1500 feet long and almost 300 feet above the canyon.

Although this bridge looked to be in much better shape than the Old US-95 bridge, I opted to only walk out the first hundred feet or so to just before it opened up out of the forest. The bridge is highly visible from the highway and by now I was more worried about having to recross the first bridge.

I did manage to get under the south end of the bridge to admire the construction. The trestle continues in to the distance far outside of the forested area in the photograph.

I turned around and retraced my path to my rig. Crossing back over the Old US-95 trestle was a little scary but uneventful. Now it was time to explore the area.

I drove through Cottonwood and explored some of the back roads west of that town. I came across the St. Gertrude Monastery. This has to be one of the most unique buildings around. The view of the old monastery is partially blocked by over landscaping and ugly newer buildings but still worth a look.

The end of the pavement brought me to Kuetterville and this amazing chapel. Holy Cross Church was an unexpected sight out in the middle of farmland.

On the way back towards the town of Cottonwood, I was treated to this amazing view across the Camas Prairie towards the Seven Devils Mountains in the Hells Canyon Recreation Area. I last visited this area a couple of years ago and it’s about time for a return visit.

The Camas Prairie sits on a relatively high plateau (plus or minus 4000 feet) partially surrounded by the deep valleys of the Snake and Clearwater Rivers which are about 1000 feet above sea level. It feels like it’s own little world up here and kind of like stepping back in time half a century, and that’s in a good way.

I wasn’t done exploring the Camas Railroad so I drove back to Craigmont to try and find another quiet section of the easement to walk. About three miles northwest of town, I found a place to park off the road next to a crossing with the old easement.

Again I walked through small railroad cuts in the landscape bracket by rolling farmland. I figured I had about two more hours to kill before I drove back to Post Falls. I didn’t know what I’d find but hoped that whatever it was that it would be worth the effort.

Around the next corner was just about the prettiest view I could have imagined.

I even flushed out a couple of white tail deer.

Past another bend or two I found myself at the east side of the Cold Creek Canyon trestle. This bridge was much bigger than I expected and in similar condition to the Old US-95 bridge. I decided to cross it anyway.

It was definitely an adventure. I always wanted to check out some of these engineering marvels. After this trip I think I’m good now.

On the far-side I was able to get a better perspective on just how big this bridge really is. The timberwork is amazing. Parts of this old rail line were used in the Charles Bronson movie, Breakhart Pass.

I walked about another mile on the other side and found this old speed limit sign. I came to the only place in my trip that the old railroad easement was blocked a little further so I turned back and again crossed the Cold Creek Canyon trestle.

This time after I made it across, I descended a little way down the canyon to appreciate the timberwork from below.

Now it was time to return home. I made the nearly three hour drive back down Lapawi Canyon, through Lewiston Idaho, up the Lewiston Grade, through the Palouse Prairie and back to Coeur d’Alene. I’ve always been fascinated with abandoned railroads. After this trip I’m thinking maybe some bigger mountain hikes might be in order.

Camas Prairie Road Trip, Day One, Camas Railroad from Ruben to Lapawi Canyon and Winchester State Park.

I took a two day trip to explore the Camas Prairie and specifically the old route of the Camas Prairie Railroad. The Camas Prairie is south of Lewiston Idaho.

I originally planned to start my first hike at one of the two bridges that cross US-95 on the way up Lapawi Canyon but was unable to find a safe place to park off the side of the busy highway so I drove up to the small community of Rubens.

Rubens is a tiny collection of houses and a grain elevator about eight miles north of the highway. One my way in to “town” I came across this amazing piece of art. Sometimes the works of man and nature combine to create true beauty.

I parked off of a gravel road that crosses the old railroad easement near the grain elevator and started walking north.

Immediately I was walking through beautiful Idaho farmland. The Camas Prairie is some of the most productive grain growing land in the country.

Much of the old rail bed was covered in wild flowers. I imagine in the late summer that the growth would be thick enough to make walking the easement a challenge.

About a mile in the railroad bed turns towards the west and goes through a couple of low cuts in the landscape.

After emerging from one of the cuts I was treated to my first view of the side canyon that ends up joining Lapawi Canyon. Piles of old railroad ties were scattered along the route.

Soon, I came to the first of four tunnels I ended up passing through.

This tunnel was in very good shape considering that it has been twenty four years since the line was abandoned. This one also was curved so that you had to go in about halfway before you saw light from the other side.

Soon I came to the second tunnel. Here is where I saw my first Black Bear in several years. I was not able to get even a fleeting photo of he or she before the bear bailed down the slope. This tunnel was much shorter and as you can see nice and straight.

After the second tunnel, I came across the first of nine bridges I ended up walking across. The metal plates were intended to protect the bridge from fire caused by sparks from the trail wheels.

The third tunnel looked a little more worse for the wear. After getting past this obstruction I discovered the rest of the easement had not had the rails removed.

It was a long way down and each bridge seemed to have a different layout of the metal plates. The rails seemed to add strength to the bridges but were also tripping hazards for the unwary.

At some point I got too close to a nest so I was “attacked ” by a very angry grouse. I did almost step on one of the fleeing chicks so I guess I deserved it. A hasty retreat seemed to satisfy the mad fowl.

In places the rail bed was filled with lupines and other wild flowers. They added a lot of color to the walk. One more tunnel was around the corner.

After this curved tunnel, I was no longer following the side canyon. Now I was above Lapawi Canyon and the big views that came with it.

The old rail bed from here on alternated between rock cuts and trestle bridges. The line at one time had the nickname of the “railroad on stilts” because so much of it was elevated.

At the bottom of the canyon I could see the highway I had so recently drove up in my search for an access to the lower section of the easement. I think I got lucky. The views looked much better up here.

Some of the rock cuts turned out to be a challenge to negotiate. I guess after decades of exposure to the elements, it is to be expected that the line would slowly revert to nature.

The views from the bridges were outstanding. I was somewhat surprised at well the bridges had weathered the years of neglect. Later on my trip I would discover that this is not always the case.

Finally I came across this beauty, a bridge with an S curve and much bigger than any of the others. I thought about calling it good but just had to see what was on the other side.

Too bad I forgot to bring a lawn chair. Imagine sitting on this platform and soaking up the sun.

So this is the view from almost the other side. It looked like the easement was going to go through another tunnel next.

The entrance to the next tunnel was right around the corner. This was where I saw my first warning sign of any kind. The portal was almost blocked by rockfall. I figured if someone went to the trouble of warning me that I should heed the warning. I was already well over two hours out so this is where I turned around.

On the way back I enjoyed the view of the first railroad bridge from this post behind me. Again, I was glad I did the upper hike. I understand that the lower you go in the canyon, the better your chance of crossing paths with a rattlesnake.

I enjoyed the views on the way back as much as I did on the way in.

Now it was time to find my camping spot. I had reserved a site at Winchester State Park only a few miles back near the top of the grade up Lapawi Canyon and at the edge of the Camas Prairie.

Winchester State Park is a small state park with a primitive campground on a small manmade lake. There wasn’t much to do there but it was a place to stay. The ride back home was well over two hours and I wanted to explore the area more the next day.

They did have a nice foot bridge accessing the short trail system.

Before I called it an evening, I made a short side trip to check out my goal for the next day, the Lawyer Creek Canyon bridge. There is a pull out with interpretive signage on US-95 with a great view of the trestle, the only metal one on the line above Lapawi Canyon. This is the view from the other side on from a one lane gravel farm road.

My original plan was to hike up Lapawi Canyon from USD-95 the first day and then explore around the Lawyer Creek trestle the next day. I think modifying the hike to start in Rubens and work my way down turned out much better.

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.

Mt Spokane State Park, Quartz Mountain Lookout and the Vista House.

Yesterday, I visited Mt. Spokane State Park for the first time in over a decade. This state park located about an hour from my house and forty-five minutes from downtown Spokane has three peaks over five thousand feet the tallest of which is Mt. Spokane, the the highest point in the county at 5883 feet above sea level.

I started my hike at the Selkirk Lodge and headed away from Mt. Spokane towards Quartz Mountain, the third highest summit in the park. As I left the trailhead, there were nice views of Mt. Spokane behind me complete with communication towers and snow fields.

The trail was for the most part a service road to the fire look out with several parallel Nordic ski trails for those looking for more solitude. The climate up here is close to a temperate rain forest.

Being spring, there are plenty of wild flowers to appreciate along the way.

Near the summit you will pass by evidence that miners searched the mountain for gold. Gold is often found with quartz and there is a lot of quartz near the top. I don’t think they ever found gold through. I saw a couple of shafts and tunnels on a side trail.

At the top there is an old fire look out tower that is now rented by the state park for campers. The stairs were gated and locked. The view was a little disappointing as the trees east, north and west of the top were just tall enough to block it. It would have been nice to be able to climb the ten feet or so to the balcony.

The view towards the south however were very nice towards Newman and Hauser Lakes. The prominence in the center of the horizon is Mica Peak Idaho, AKA Signal Point close to where I hiked yesterday at Cable Creek.

The quartz boulders made for a pretty foreground with the Spokane Valley far in the distance.

A better view of Newman Lake with Mica Peak Washington in the background. Spokane County has large conservation holdings both on the north end of Newman Lake and on Mica Peak.

The trip was only about four and a half miles with maybe five hundred feet of elevation gain. Not quite enough to justify the hour long drive.

So I decided to walk to the top of Mount Spokane itself. The first mile or so was on a very nice single track through some old growth forest.

Parts were steep and the trail took me out to the main park road at a campground which was closed for the season. I continued up the main park road.

So a wise guy asked me why I would walk up the mountain when they have a perfectly good motor road to the top and ski lifts as well. Well it is spring time in the Inland Northwest so ski season is over and the road is still closed to vehicles, so that was my only option. It was kind of nice to focus on the views and not worry about driving a vehicle.

Turned out parts of the road were still covered in snow above 5500 feet. Above the tree line the views kept getting better and better.

Not enough snow to cover the ski runs though. Mount Spokane is a winter sports destination with Nordic skiing, downhill skiing and snowshoe trails. The season ended a couple of months ago. Summer season begins an a couple of weeks when they open the road.

Areas where the snow has melted revealed a rocky alpine landscape with stunted trees.

The views from the summit are impressive. That’s Spirit Lake below, a place I enjoy kayaking with the snow capped Montana Cabinet Mountains on the horizon.

In this view you can see a sliver Upper Twin Lake and Mount Rathdrum where I hiked a week ago. I ended up walking about twelve miles with something close to a two thousand foot elevation gain. Tomorrow, I think I might give my legs a break and break out the kayak instead.

At the very top of the mountain you will find the Vista House. This is a nice place to linger and enjoy the views.

When the snow finally melts this will be a much more crowded place.

You get to enjoy the same views on the way down as you did going up. Once again I used my Discover Pass which has now very much more than paid for it self. Between this hike and yesterdays at Cable Creek I ended up walking for over ten hours, half of that up hill. Definitely looking at kayaking the next couple of days.

Cable Creek Idaho

Todays hike was on a site owned and managed by the Idaho Department of Lands. IDL for short, manages thousands of acres of forest land primarily to make a profit and support public education in the state. Compatible outdoor recreation is allowed, but not the focus of this agency. Never the less, they provide public ownership of some very nice parcels of forest land which I use to my advantage.

This 640 acre parcel is located on the Washington State Line a few miles south of Interstate 90 and within fifteen minutes of my house. It has been one of my go to spots for hiking for many years. I call it Cable Creek because that is the name of the perennial stream that flows through it.

After crossing the name sake creek on what can only be described as a logging road, the trail continues up hill through a series of switch backs with views of Shasta Butte, AKA Big Rock. On todays visit I discovered a couple of new logging roads that added nothing to the experience.

Because this is a “working” forest, parts of the property have been clear cut with the pluses and minuses that come with that. Obviously the minus is no trees or shade in places. The pluses are that you do get open views across the valley. That is Rathdrum Mountain ten or so miles away. I hiked there last week.

Also full sunlight is beneficial for wild flowers including lupines.

And these guys.

Some folks hate walking on logging roads. I don’t mind them. The grade is more consistent and they’re wide enough so you can walk side by side if you have company. Obviously this is an older photo from last winter. The relatively low elevation makes for a longer hiking season.

Near the top of the property, there are nice views of nearby Liberty Lake and the Spokane Valley beyond. On a clear day you can see downtown Spokane about twenty miles away.

The ridge top trail is a single track near the high point of the property. IDL constantly battles with ATV’ers trying to close unofficial trails some of which are well sited and built. The Liberty Lake ORV Park is just across the invisible line between the properties and therefore a lot of dirt bikes find their way on to the Idaho side. I really don’t mind them. They’re always polite when they go by and I don’t mind sharing.

The high point of the hill is literally twenty feet past the property line and is well posted. I don’t generally condone trespassing, but give me a break. The view from here is amazing and you would have plenty of time to skedaddle if you hear ATV’s coming.

the high point is beautiful with views of Mica Peak Washington, Signal Point Idaho and Shasta Butte.

On the way down you are treated to more views of Liberty Lake. Spokane County has an amazing park on the south end of the lake with trails to waterfalls and Mica Peak Washington. Unfortunately they closed the park this summer for a complete overhaul. As soon as they are done, I will be returning to it.

Here is an interesting tree off of the trail. Looks like a two for one.

Due to logging operations the views are more extensive than you would expect. That is Newman Lake in the distance. Spokane County has another conservation area on the north side of the lake that I will probably post about before the summer is over.

Finally here is a photo I took last winter while hiking here. Again that is Shasta Butte, AKA Big Rock. I used to hike to the top of that prominence, but in recent years the new owners have decided to confront visitors. You would think they would be okay with sharing the views but whatever. Thankfully there’s still a lot of public property to explore.

My oldest daughter discovered this hidden gem over a decade ago and then dragged me out there for a hike. Since then I probably walked this site five or six times a year. It’s close by and the views are awesome. IDL has several other sites in the area some of which are well worth exploring as well.

Rathdrum Mountain

I hiked on Rathdrum Mountain last weekend. This local favorite is twenty minutes from my house and is one of the trifecta of awesome natural areas owed and managed by local cities in Kootenai County along with Coeur d’Alene’s Tubbs Hill and Post Fall’s Qemilin Park. Rathdrum Mountain Park is owned and maintained by the City of Rathdrum, Kootenai County’s fourth largest city.

The trailhead is surrounded by a lush cedar forest with some very large trees. A perennial creek flows through this forest.

There are several small creeks along the hike and in the spring time parts of the trail can be muddy.

The main trail is named Storm King Parkway. It is an old service road that winds through an impressive forest with many extremely large trees. This cedar is the largest I have found and it’s difficult to appreciate the size of it by taking a picture.

Further up the trail, more open ponderosa pine forest provide a drier contrast to the damp cedar woods usually found along the streams.

The more open forest has an abundance of wild flowers at different times of the year.

Most of the first three miles of the hike are heavily wooded, but occasionally openings in the canopy provide glimpses of the open slopes higher on the mountain.

On the way up there are a couple of views out over the town of Rathdrum and of the prairie beyond it.

After about an hour and a half, I made it to the open slopes on the east side of the mountain. This is where the views really open up.

In the far background, you can see part of Lake Coeur d’Alene. The tiny bump right in front of the lake is Tubbs Hill.

Across the valley is Mica Peak, a prominent mountain just past Post Falls. Qemilin Park is near the base of those distant mountains.

The rocky slopes are beyond the city owned property. Most of the land up here is owned either by the Idaho Department of Lands or timber companies like Inland Empire Paper. You can buy day use and seasonal passes to hike Inland Empire Paper lands from various vendors in the area or on line here.

This was my turnaround point after two and a half hours of hiking and pausing to admire the views and gaining about 1500 feet of elevation. You are still miles and a thousand feet short of the summit and through previous experience, I found there is no practical way to get to the top from this direction.

After five hours of walking it was good to be back down among the giant cedars near the trailhead.

No hike to the Rathdrum Mountain Park would be complete without saying goodbye to fellow that runs the place.

I love this hike. It’s long enough to really stretch your legs on and very easy to get to. On the way back, check out Westwood Brewing Company in the town of Rathdrum if you have a chance.