Boundary Trail.....Horsehoe Basin-Okanogan National Forest

15 Miles round trip....The paved road you take up out of Loomis, Washington is rough....tire eating potholes.....from there you take a very rough dirt road....it is suggested high clearance vehicles only, trailers not recommended......not a maintained road...there was several low clearance rigs at the trailhead...brave souls....it is a very rough slow going road even in a high clearance vehicle....The weather was a mix of bright blue sky's....dark rain clouds moving around...thunder rumbling in the distances....one of those days your were glad you packed your rain jacket and kept it handy...lots of water on the trail....some spots were pretty soggy with nice deep mud that was impossible to avoid....after you reach the first meadow before heading up Sunny camp the flowers are blooming like crazy.......the pika's were busy making noise through the burn area.....crossing over Sunny Pass the view of Horseshoe Basin is spectacular.....we spotted a very large black bear down in the meadows while we sat for lunch before we continued on to Louden Lake....the rain started and it came down for about 10 minutes and soaked us pretty good....made our trail even muddier...by then we stopped trying to reroute around the worst of the water and mud in the trails...made for a nice and dirty hike....stopped and rested at Louden Lake.....changed socks and soaked up the sun.....long hike out......a huge area to explore....the long drive out pretty much shakes and rattles every bone in your body....spotted a moose with twin babies....pretty close to the road......sweet little babies....the hike is fairly easy.....very gradual elevation gain....follows a old road for a long ways in...before it becomes an actual trail.....the trail has had some serious damage from snow and water, makes for deep tracks in some places....a beautiful place to see lots of flowers and maybe see some wildlife...

Comments

Cutthroat Trail.......Snowshoeing North Cascades Highway

I have a confession to make, I have been having some winter blues. Not sure if they can be officially called winter blues due to we have had little to no winter. I have been very impatiently waiting for the snow to arrive, it comes, blows through, makes the ground white, then its gone. The last few days we have been sitting at temperatures in the 40's. What is up with winter. One thing I can say for sure is I am very thankful for the few trips we made up highway 20 before the silver star gate was closed. Our trip to Cutthroat Trail was back in November, when we had visions of winter coming to the valley very soon. The snow was nice and fluffy and deep. Pleasant day to get out and enjoy it, one of those days where your not sure if the clouds where going to allow the blue sky to show it self or not. We parked right off the highway with a couple of other cars and Snowshoed up the road to the trail head. Wasn't very long and more hikers, cross country skiers, and furry

The Places We Can Go

Life goes on, things change, storms of life come and go. One thing that always remains the same is the feeling and quiet peace I feel from being in the mountains. This was a spur of the moment overnight trip. It was so needed and such a beautiful time. Left the house around 2:30 PM, traffic was so slow heading up Hwy 20, lots of folks heading out of Mazama. Arrived at the trail head a few minutes before 4 PM, and we were off down the trail in a few minutes. Three quarters of a mile down the trail a bee or some kind of flying ant decided to bite my nieces eye lid, talk about hysteria for a moment. I was pretty sure our trip was over, but we were able to move on with a very cold creek soaked multipurpose face mask. The sun was sinking fast and the wind was howling by the time we reached the top. Made some quick decisions on the best place to park the tents, and we set up camp. It was truly an incredible evening, hiked around a bit and watched the sun slip behind the mountains.

Carlton Complex Wildfire, Pateros Washington

The last few weeks have been crazy busy. I spent last weekend moving my animals back home to a mostly burnt out barn yard. We had a small patch of trees and garden space that escaped the fire, which was where my dog pens were located. So they were able to return to a fairly normal life. The horse pen was kind of a hit and miss burnt area, since there wasn't a whole lot of vegetetaion in it the fences took most of the heat. The metal panels got a nice rusty color to them, with some serious scorch marks. Besides my horse having red smudge colored marks on his nose from the fencing he seems to be adjusting to his return home. We have found temporary living close by so it has made taking care of my animals easier, and a stress off of where we be this winter. The town is slowly getting the debris removed and homesteads cleaned up. Lots of piles of rubble and cut down trees piled up in the city lot areas. I understand that Okanogan County and the Confederated Tribes Of the Co

Lost In The Right Direction

Search This Blog