[Schmidt Altitude]

As of Friday morning we had no idea what we were going to do this weekend. All we knew was the weather forecast was favorable and we needed to do two more hiking days to reach our April quota of ten . By the end of the day we'd fielded inquiries from at least a half dozen NWHikers about possible trips . After much deliberation we decided to head over to Eastern Washington and hike Jack Point with yukon222 on Saturday and Whiskey Dick with the gang on Sunday. We heard on the news that Snoqualmie Pass would be closed for avalanche work in the afternoon so we set the alarm for the extremely early time of 8:00AM and were out the door by 9:30AM. We made it over the pass about noon without incident (we saw some people hooked to parachutes on the NW end of Keechelus Lake - anybody know what they are doing?). When we drove through Easton all the eastbound traffic was stopped and starting to back up - whew, made it just in time ! We met up with yukon222 and after changing from travel clothes to hiking clothes, started out on the trail (even though we weren't expecting much snow, we both wore our long gaiters because the recent tick thread had us so freaked out ). The way winds itself roughly NE alternating through Ponderosa Pine forests and scrub grass meadows. Eventually it parallels Wilson Creek Canyon where views of the Whiskey Dick area and its windmills are possible.

Following Yukon's path

You are here.

Street Legal Whippet

As we started to head due north towards the Point, snow started to cover the trail. Eventually there was more snow than bare patches but it was never enough to warrant snowshoes. We kept the whippets entertained by throwing snowballs and sticks for them to chase. Yukon222, who had been on this route many times, was amazed at how much snow was still around this time of year. Kind of a common theme this year .

Rowena loves wood

Trail blazing

Here we come!

After a barely noticeable climb of 1200' for the first 3.5 miles, the last 500 foot push in a half mile to the point had us all gasping for breath .

On Jack Point

We hung out briefly at the Jack Point 5257' summit, then wandered a little more north to where the trees opened up for some views of Mission Ridge and the surrounding vistas . After the shutter delay we wandered back to the high point for a group photo before heading down.

View to Mission Ridge

Snow plow!

Jerky Treats!

Kiefer, the whippet ball

Jack Point Summit Shot

Guys on Jack

View towards Mission Ridge

On the way down one of us (who shall remain nameless) did an accidental glissade down the hillside but managed to land on his feet as he hit a bare patch of ground below (hint: rhymes with shlit alpymood ). The western part of the loop is more open and we were treated to some stunning views of the Kittitas Valley far below us backed by the Umtanum and Manastash ridges. Tisha was also able to "bag" a mountain tarn, extreme!

The road home

A whippet knows no boundaries.

Consider this tarn bagged.

View towards Kittitas Valley backed by Umtanum and Manastash Ridges

The highlight of the return trip was coming across two different groups of elk. Luckily, Alti-Dude was able to spot them and hook the whippets up to their leashes before they could go try to "play" with the elk . We were able to get within a 100 yards of the first group and within 50 yards of the second. Of course, we were looking for shed antlers the whole time but never saw any . Eventually, we made it back to the cars. 8 miles, 1880 feet gain, in a leisurely 4 hours 17 minutes.

We've been spotted!

Grazing

Elk Herd

Cattle crossing? :P

Elk View

We checked into the Ahrens Sky Lodge and enjoyed pizza and margaritas in the lounge while playing a few games of darts. According to the proprietor, the electronic "tavern style" dart board is the highest in the state in regards to elevation above sea-level. It must be why yukon was able to beat us both even while throwing with his other hand .

Warm Fire, Soft Bed - the Good Things in Life.

Alti-Babe's Double Bulls Eye!

During dinner, Alti-Babe admitted that she had struggled with the hike more than she thought she would. She was still feeling "funny" when we retired for the night and woke up with a cough and sore throat. Unfortunately, we had to make the decision to forgo the hike on Sunday . While we were checking out we heard that a horseback rider had seen a cougar with two cubs near the road up to the lodge. When the cougars saw the human they ran away, up towards the trail we had been hiking on the day before !

[yukon222]

Great having Team Schmidt explore the area with me. The whippets were very entertaining as they roamed the hillsides. Pics from the weekend - Sat afternoon and very early Sun morning.

Treats?!!!

My head is so hot!

Spring snow and pines2

Spring snow and pines

NE view at Mission Ridge

north view from Jack Point

'Babe and tarn

Move it along, nothing to see here

Watchful elk

Elk herd

'Dude and the Whippets

Shooting Star2

Who, me?

Good morning, elk!

Deer

Elk Round4

More succulent

Rockery close

Rockery decoration

Succulent

Last patches melting in morning

Will the snow ever melt? :-)

Just waking up in the sun

Tiny tiny

Shooting Star

Old pine

Natural bird house

[Bryan K]

Looks like a really fun trip. As for the parachutes on Kecheelus, they have snowboards on their feet and cruise around with help from the wind. They are able to do some awesome acrobatics with help from the chutes, really cool to watch.

[Chippster]

[Schmidt Alti-Dude]

[gone]

Whippet, whippet good! What fun! Great report, wonderful pictures - love those blue skies!