[whitebark]

Another cold cloudy Sunday in Seattle, another trip to the Teanaways for relief. For some reason, we decided to hike the Yellow Hill Trail. Maybe it was because we hadn't done it in a while. We had a vague recollection that the trail was sort of second rate for some reason, but time had made the bad memories a bit hazy. At any rate, here's the trip report: *** The Yellow Hill Trail, located in the Teanaway region, provides a steep climb to a 5500' mountain with a great view and abundant wildflowers. The trail is multi-use, so don't expect a nice tread or complete peace and quiet. The final part of the trail gets better after a dismal start. At least you may escape seeing other hikers, who avoid this trail for some good reasons. This trail is probably at its best earlier in the season, when snow deters motorized use, and wildflowers are at their peak. This place will best avoided by the time summer rolls around. The first mile of "trail" is on a partially closed road in a logged area, open to all motorized toys except cars. At least one SUV, feeling left out of the fun, had managed to squeeze around the massive berm and drive the road anyway. The trailhead (2700') is trashy, somewhat of a party spot. Among the trash was a surprise treasure: a can of Busch Beer that was unopened. Despite the fact the the "born on" date on the can indicated that the beer was a year old, I (perhaps rashly) placed it in my pack to celebrate summiting Yellow Hill. Beyond the road end, the trail morphs into a badly abused motorcycle/ATV trail. As is typical with such trails, it is rocky, eroded, and goes straight up the fall line. Proper drainage and erosion control on such a trail is absolutely impossible. Judging by its appearance, motor use of this section of trail is fairly heavy. Eventually the trail levels out onto a bald hill top at 4400' with a nice vista and some picturesque wind-battered trees. Beyond this point the trail narrows and becomes more pleasant to hike on. Only expert motorcyclists are able to proceed beyond here, which possibly makes things a bit calmer. The path drops a bit to a a saddle, then makes a gentle traverse to a second saddle, passing a refreshing little creek along the way...a relaxing and shady break on this otherwise tough route. At the second saddle, the trail's motorized nature reasserts itself, and it launches itself toward the summit of Yellow Hill at a blistering grade. Near a meadow the trail briefly becomes easy and pleasant again, then a final thigh-burner of a climb takes you to the summit of Yellow Hill. There are a few blowdowns on the trail and some snowbanks linger on the summit, not enough to deter hikers-- or a pair of determined and skilled motorcyclists that I saw, probably the first this year to reach the top. The summit of Yellow Hill is mostly forested, but at the north end of the summit is a rocky outcrop with a great view of Mt Stuart and a nice crop of freshly sprouted glacier lillies. The bitter and windy weather on Sunday had us huddled behind a rock for protection, but the sun appeared at intervals bringing welcome warmth. Ah yes the summit beer: it tasted about as good as a Busch usually does, which is not great. I took a few gulps to celebrate the summit conquest, the dumped the rest out, not quite trusting the effectiveness of its preservatives. The total hike to Yellow Hill is about 8 miles and 3000' of gain, including the effect of "counter elevation". Saw 5 motorcycles total ---and (more of a surprise) 4 other hikers near the start of the trail.

yellow hill vista