I made the two and a half hour drive , a large part of which was on gravel roads to one of the most remote places in Eastern Washington. The Escure Ranch is in the Channeled Scablands about thirteen miles south of the town of Sprague.
On the way to the trailhead, I passed by this grain elevator in the middle of nowhere. The trail next to it is the old railbed for the Milwaukee Railroad which is now managed by the state of Washington as the Palouse Cascade Trail, I trail I explored last year. There is a trailhead just east of the lonely grain elevator but it is for the Palouse Cascade Trail, not Escure Ranch. You still need to drive a few more miles , mostly on rough potholed roads.
I crossed over Rock Creek on a small bridge. Rock Creek is the out flow for Rock Lake and Bonnie Lake to the northeast and empties into the Palouse River to the south. This time of year it has a substantial flow. By late summer this waterway will dwindle to a trickle.
These signs, the only ones on the way in, let me know I only had another mile and a half to get to the real trailhead. Allow for half an hour for this final part of the drive as you dodge potholes and slow roll over gullies.
Just past the trailhead and parking area a bridge over Rock Creek provides access to the old ranch buildings. Another trail continues on the far side of the complex to Wall Lake and Breeden Falls but that’s not where I was heading today. I did spend a few minutes checking out the old buildings.
The trail followed the creek downstream through basalt rock formations and grasslands. The few small trees on the site were confined to the stream banks. The area is a semi-desert.
The Channeled Scablands presents a stark landscape. Here you can truly be alone.
My car was the only vehicle in the parking lot when I started my hike. Four hours later when I returned it was still the only vehicle. The Escure Ranch is 14,000 acres and I was the only human on it that day.
I was far enough out there that I was out of sight of anything manmade other than the trail and out of hearing distance from anything other than the sound of the wind and the coyotes howling.
The trail veered away from the creek and followed a small canyon flanked by impressive basalt cliffs. A group of ravens perched on the rim watched me mostly in silence. Odd behavior for normally very vocal birds. I guess I was far enough below them that they weren’t particularly concerned.
After passing the high bluffs, I came to a place with a view towards the south. The creek was back within sight and through the gap in the coulee I had a fleeting glimpse of the Blue Mountains in the distance.
After about three and a half miles I made it to the waterfall. Not the most impressive fall I’ve seen this week, but it was still a nice place to stop for a while.
The hike itself was very easy. There were only a couple of small hills to climb and then descend along the way.
Hiking in this empty landscape might not be for everyone but I love the change from the forested mountains closer to my home. Late winter and early spring is the time to explore the scablands as it gets awfully hot with no shade in the summer, the few streams are flowing and the snakes aren’t as active. Anyway the mountains are still mostly covered in snow this early in the season.
Rock Creek was a welcomed sight on the way back. At one point at least three groups of coyotes were yelping behind, beside and in front of my path. It was fun to listen to them for a few minutes.
I spent about four hours covering approximately seven miles. This hike was more about the journey than the destination. The solitude is overwhelming and gives one a chance to reflect on a lot things.
Other than the very long drive to get here, I highly recommend this hike. Next time I might explore some of the other trails on the ranch.
