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Quark
Niece of Alvy Moore



Joined: 15 May 2003
Posts: 14152 | TRs | Pics
Quark
Niece of Alvy Moore
PostWed May 28, 2003 2:21 pm 
Beautiful Edds Mtn. is the westernmost edge of the 1988 fire that raged through the Kettle Range. Being on the edge of the fire, stands of gnarled, old-growth larches are dotted at the ridge leading to the summit. The views are fantastic - N, S, E and W, all rolling mountains, some to the East are silver-snag topped from the fire, the rest are various shades of green - light colored larch green, deep ponderosa green, farmer meadow green in the western and northern valleys, and a blue haze further off. The trail is easily followed, as it was apparently a favorite trail before the fire, and remains so today. I can see why. There is log-hopping, as you'd expect from a burned area, but the woodpeckers and magpies are easily spotted, and the brilliant blues and yellows of the penstemmon and fawn lillies are jarring and glowing against the black background of the downed logs and wet earth (at least it was wet in the morning for us). If you do lose the trail in the granite slabs, look for cairns, or just keep south-ish, and, well - go up. You can't get lost. The lower portion of the summit is ringed with living old larches sharing space with burned ones, and all around is a grassy meadow, still flat from snowload. In the next coupla weeks, it'll be a flower show indeed! The summit is flattish, all the trees there are burned, giving wide open views that'll "wow" you for sure. It's only 4 miles, so it's a fairly easy one. There is no water on the trail or at the trailhead, so tank up at Hall Creek. From Republic, drive east 6.5 miles. Turn rt on Hall Cr Road. At 4.6 miles, turn left on road 300, or Edds Mtn Road. The first 2.5 miles is ok for passenger vehicles, the rest of the road is a steep rough and tumble go. The trail is unsigned, but it's the one south of the meadow/camp/trailhead. The other trails are social trails that lead to camps. I highly recommend this area, and the roads leading in and out of N central Washington can't be beat for scenery. We traveled down the San Poil Valley Road and crossed the Columbia via the Keller Ferry and beyond. Every curve of the road had a "wow" factor of 10. At least. I am very interested in the Kettle Crest Trail from the Sanpoil Valley up the ridge to Hall Creek. Has anyone done this? I'm in a rush now and can't extoll it's virtues as I wish - but trust me - the Kettle Range, Edds Mtn. and environs is worth every inch of driving to get there.

"...Other than that, the post was more or less accurate." Bernardo, NW Hikers' Bureau Chief of Reporting
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Larry
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Joined: 22 Feb 2003
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Location: Kitsap
Larry
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PostWed May 28, 2003 8:24 pm 
Nice report, Quarkster! VERY nice! I'm salivating. hihi.gif

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