Forum Index > Trip Reports > NorthCentral WA Part 1: Indian Dan & Chilliwist Wildlife Are
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yew
non-technical



Joined: 12 Dec 2005
Posts: 1173 | TRs | Pics
Location: Bellingham
yew
non-technical
PostTue May 30, 2006 8:44 pm 
The weather wasn’t so great for this carcamp-dayhike/kayak-fish/scout-for-hunting trip to north central Washington which began Fri. May 26 - 29. On Hwy 20, east of Concrete, after seeing how we were going deliberately camping in the rain, I thought about joining the Self Kicking Club (First in Washington).
The gas station is on the turnoff to Darrington. Next time I do something really stupid (not long) I'll drive back out there and bend over that stile and kick myself. Friday, it was 50%/50% rain driving over most of North Cascades Hwy. It was even rainy in Winthrop and again east of Twisp. The Methow River was high, brown and raging. It’s a long drive over to Indian Dan Wildlife Area from Bellingham about 215 miles or so.
Saw signs about sharp-tailed grouse leks. Put in the kayak and paddled the small lake.
Caught a few sunfish, saw many waterfowl. We would’ve stayed, camped in the vicinity and wandered the ridges the next day but it started raining so we pushed on to near Malott. The store in Malott had good prices and friendly service. We checked out Leader Lake as weather improved but it was crowded with fisherpeople and no campsites were open. We camped off the North Cook Mtn road on some DNR land in a forest of ponderosa pine, Douglas-fir and Western larch some of which is being logged (a caretaker in a trailer with an undying generator) with what looks to me like a shelterwood cut. Neighboring campers kept riding ATVs back and forth. Mosquitoes came out. Rained hard that night. Saturday, drove down to Chilliwist Wildlife Area managed by Washington Dept of Fish & Wildlife. Saw signs about sharp-tailed grouse leks. Drove to the end of the road for normal cars where it becomes a jeep track. Heard and saw a covered ATV coming down the jeep track. Hiked cross-country towards Chilliwist Butte.
A brown grouse flushed up and out of a thickly-vegetated gully. My first sharp-tailed grouse sighting? Many wildflowers too numerous to list.
2 quail flushed. Aspen, chokecherry, sagebrush, scattered ponderosas, all beautiful …Bump into the jeep track and hike to its end. Continue cross-country up the ridge, northerly, towards Smith Lake.
Dark blue storm clouds in every direction but partly cloudy around us, very lucky! Make it to the top of a ridge with views
and soak up the sun. Smith Lake is way down in a canyon below. On the way back a bad storm overhead with thunder, lighting, and heavy, sometimes-painful hail. Soaked and back to Malott to pound beers, eat greasy bar food and dry out. Part II, BLM areas of Chopaka Mtn and Palmer Mtn coming later.

"I aint jokin woman, I got to ramble...We gonna go walkin through the park every day." - Led Zeppelin
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Quark
Niece of Alvy Moore



Joined: 15 May 2003
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Quark
Niece of Alvy Moore
PostWed May 31, 2006 11:52 am 
Post directions to the place! Nice photos, great writeup.

"...Other than that, the post was more or less accurate." Bernardo, NW Hikers' Bureau Chief of Reporting
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salish
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Joined: 17 Dec 2001
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Location: Seattle
salish
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PostWed May 31, 2006 7:10 pm 
Wow, great report and photos, YB! I used to do a lot of quail hunting in the Wells WA, including Indian Dan, and above Pateros in the Watson Draw. I just love that country, especially in the fall.

My short-term memory is not as sharp as it used to be. Also, my short-term memory's not as sharp as it used to be.
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yew
non-technical



Joined: 12 Dec 2005
Posts: 1173 | TRs | Pics
Location: Bellingham
yew
non-technical
PostWed May 31, 2006 8:39 pm 
directions
Quark: For Indian Dan, drive to Pateros on Hwy 97. Go about 3-4 miles north and turn left on Indian Dan Rd south of Brewster. Turn left once you're in the wildlife area to go to the lake/pond. http://wdfw.wa.gov/lands/r2wells.htm has more info. For Chilliwist, drive to Malott however you can. It's in between Brewster and Okanogan, just west of Hwy 97 over the bridge. From "downtown" Malott go south/left on Old Hwy 97 about 2 miles and turn right on Chilliwist Canyon Road which is easy to find. Enter Wells Wildlife Area. Drive to the end of the road and hike wherever you want. http://wdfw.wa.gov/lands/wildlife_areas/chiliwist/index.htm has a lot of info too. Salish: One of the main reasons I was over there was scouting out bird hunting spots. Didn't see many quail though. Hopefully, it will not rain alot this June so the chicks don't die of hypothermia.

"I aint jokin woman, I got to ramble...We gonna go walkin through the park every day." - Led Zeppelin
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GeoHiker
Rocky Walker



Joined: 26 Feb 2005
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Location: Off the Deep End
GeoHiker
Rocky Walker
PostSat Jun 03, 2006 10:52 pm 
yew_betula wrote:
Salish: One of the main reasons I was over there was scouting out bird hunting spots. Didn't see many quail though. Hopefully, it will not rain alot this June so the chicks don't die of hypothermia.
Hey don't go blabbering about my hunting area!.......smile.gif Were there any wheat fields planted? WDFW ran out of money 3-4 years ago and discontinued funding the wheat, so that area has gone downhill big time for any bird hunting. Too bad, it used to support excellent dove, quail, hun, and chukar hunting. I hunted the dove opener at the Chiliwist for 27 years. Talk about a tradition!......That area burned 3 years ago and no wheat, so I'm going elsewhere now. Many years I've hunted the general bird opener and been the only one hunting that area. I'm surprised you didn't see at least a dozen mule deer. I've taken my share of mulies out of there with blackpowder. That's before the WDFW screwed up all the blackpowder hunting. Many good memories over the past 30 some years have come from that area. Did you see any turkeys? They were stocked in there about 15 years ago and there are hundreds now. I've never seen a sharp tail, so I would question if that's what you saw, but if they have signs up maybe they've started some now. Cool report and thanks for all the pics.

You call some place paradise, kiss it goodbye......Eagles
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salish
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salish
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PostSun Jun 04, 2006 7:27 am 
Geohiker, I'll PM you and YB about this, but in a nutshell my experience was only with quail hunting in that Indian Dan area, Wells, and around Peteros, but I did do some deer hunting near Twisp -with one million other guys. I'm a dyed-in-the-wool chukar and quail hunter and hunt with two settters (a Llewellin & English) year round. My haunts are usually in the Quilomene, Colockum, L.T. Murray, Oak Creek, Toppenish area, and the basin, but I do get as far north as Chelan once a year. I've been wanting to make a quail trip to the Pateros area for years. That was my exclusive hunting area back in the late 80's & early 90's. The areas I used to hunt are now posted, but a trip there is long overdue. Cliff

My short-term memory is not as sharp as it used to be. Also, my short-term memory's not as sharp as it used to be.
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yew
non-technical



Joined: 12 Dec 2005
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Location: Bellingham
yew
non-technical
PostTue Jun 06, 2006 7:11 pm 
Wells WA
Geohiker: We saw about 2 mulies and thought seeing so few was odd. Maybe they're up at a higher elevation closer to the snowline? Maybe they're down in the orchards? I thought it looked like good turkey habitat but did not see any not any sign or hear any gobbling. That was one of the reasons I was there. I was looking for turkeys. Indian Dan had signs posted for sharp-tailed grouse leks. The grouse that flushed was brown and shape was a lot like a ruffed grouse. But, we were down low in a sagebrush area. I could believe it was a blue grouse but it did not look like one. But, I really can't be sure. I did not notice any wheat fields that were planted.

"I aint jokin woman, I got to ramble...We gonna go walkin through the park every day." - Led Zeppelin
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GeoHiker
Rocky Walker



Joined: 26 Feb 2005
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Location: Off the Deep End
GeoHiker
Rocky Walker
PostTue Jun 06, 2006 11:50 pm 
Thanks for the info. That's ashame they quit the wheat in there. All those years dove hunting I can imagine how many tons of lead are in the soil!.......smile.gif Most of the turkeys hang out north of the parking area. Heading up the road where it turns to timber. I'd see dozens on private land. The WDFW agent told me 4 years ago that a lady feeds them, and they were getting concerned there were way too many. If you go north to the junction with Davis Canyon there's a road that climbs west to Dent Mtn. You'll need a 4x4, but after the first 1/4 mile it's all public land. I used to see all kinds of turkeys up there.

You call some place paradise, kiss it goodbye......Eagles
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