[Quark]

More Cowbell chose another winner. She's smart enough to have obtained the District guidebooks published by the Forest Service and found this hike. This little gem of a booklet often has trails that hikers may not normally hike (I haven't looked at the Naches booklet, but I have the Cle Elum booklet and find that to be the case). Anyway, we supplemented the Best Old Growth Hikes book for additional information and set out. Jonathan and Sarah joined us. The trailhead is on the south side of 410, 15.5 miles beyond Chinook Pass, opposite Hells Crossing campground. The trail is used as a winter ski route, but it's great for an old growth jaunt in non-snow season. Huge ant mounds here - 3-4 feet tall, 3-4 feet in diameter. Watch where you choose to stand or sit - ant "highways" cross the trail near the mounds. I've never seen so many vanilla leaf! The forest floor is carpeted with this arsty flower. Spectacular. The larch trees are at the size that their bark is mistaken for a ponderosa - red and grooved, puzzle-pieces. Gigantic Engleman Spruce and grand fir, a smattering of Alaskan yellow-cedar and an occasional Doug-fir. Lots of views of the river, but not mu;ch in the way of access. We met a couple of nice gents who advised that at about 3.5 is a horse trail that leads to the river. We found that trail (easily) and found the bank to be moist and still wettish from spring. That was ok, we sat & had our lunch. The misquotes were ferocious for about a half mile, then merely really bad on the rest of the trail. There were several pockets of sublime breeze and that kept them away for moments here & there. I was a dumbass and forgot my bug dope, so Jonathan kindly doused me with "Off!" without admonishing me for being a dumbass. The Off didn't work, though. Luckily, Sarah took my advice a couple years ago and purchased Sawyer's brand of insect repellant, and she doused me - this stuff worked like a charm, and I wasn't bothered by bugs until the return trip when nothing but napalm would thwart the winged devils, and you can't expect Sawyers to do any better than that. All I can say is that of all the things I tell Sarah over the years, I'm glad she paid attention to my advice about Sawyers (rather than, for instance, that Cottonelle toilet paper is the best [which I'd have to retract anyway because over time, its fluffy thickness caused plumbing problems in the building, but that's another story]). Anyway, this trail is a winner. It'd be a nice one in fall, though the larches are so dang big and tall the canopy is waaay up there - might not be a huge larch show, but it's well worth the trip anyway, to enjoy the old growth here. Thanks to Kirsten for finding this gem. Pics:

gigantic vanilla leaf

thimbleberry and colorful Engelmann spruce log

check out this ant mound!

1 label

another ant mound

lovely vanilla leaf

forest floor carpeted with vanilla leaf

1 label

The Larch.

[kbatku]

Man, you really have to be getting desperate to hike "Pleasant" Valley. And you make it sound so nice! Sometime, when you are really bored I'll show you the worlds biggest ant hill - near there, by the Morse Creek gate . Damn thing is twenty feet across at the base and nine feet tall, assuming the kids haven't knocked it down this year. {edit} OK, OK- re-reading your description & looking at the photos I suppose there is a possibility it's nice enough to go there. Like many places I went to once long, long ago I suppose this could do with a return trip. Last time I was coming the other way (as I recall) bailing from a bad situation, which may have tainted my memory of the place (long wet slog in the dark and all).

[More Cowbell]

I might like this trail a little better on a cooler day a little earlier in the Spring but except for the blood sucking through your clothes misquotes it was a nice little stroll. I ain't got much to offer photo wise but here it is:

Chinook Pass 7/24/11

Dead not alive

Choices

Tiger by the river

Bill O Douglas Wilderness

On the trail

[kbatku]

Ready for Bear Creek Mtn in a month or so?

[More Cowbell]

Kim's driving but hell yes.

[marta]

What day was this? We were staying at Pleasant Valley campground Sunday night. Very similar - lots of vanilla leaf and ant hills. The weather was dramatically different on Monday. It thundered after about 3am and was cool and misty in the morning.

[More Cowbell]

Sunday. Hells Crossing TH

[puzzlr]

That's no larch.

[kbatku]

Interesting...bigger up the pic & mouse over the tree...I'd say it's definitely a larch PS: I never knew you could label other people's pictures...I'll stop now