[daffish]

I left the White Pine Trailhead in the mid-afternoon on this scorcher of a day. The trail contoured a steep hillside in dry forest for 2.5 miles to the junction with the Wild Horse Trail.

forest hike on a hillside high above the creek

always a good sign

from shade to sun

trail junction sign

Now the work began as a continual ascent upward took its toll on my energy. It was slow going and I paused at all the stream crossings to allow the downward draught of cool air to wash over me. Five miles from the trailhead, in the valley below the pass, I found the way trail leading upward. I had noticed this path on a previous trip and suspected it led upward to a (hunters?) camp. The path ascended the north edge of the valley before crossing over to a basin with meadows near the 5600’ elevation level. There was indeed a horse camp here, but the meadows were still fairly boggy and I retreated back up the path to camp in a semi-open spot on the hill.

basin with meadow at 5600ft

camp just above the basin

That evening, the alpenglow burnished the rock of the Chiwaukums a deep red and later, the full moon kept the night sky bright.

alpineglow on the Chiwaukums

In the morning, I readied myself for even more elevation gain and headed out to go to Deadhorse Pass. It was easy bushwhacking through light brush wiggling upward trying to stay in the more open areas. At first I went to the open and talus filled southern facing slopes but soon saw that it would be to my advantage to drop down a bit and just follow the stream upward. Now above the forested areas, the scramble was a delightful trip upward with the new green growth of spring alongside the tumbling stream.

scrambling upward in the morning

following the stream upward

As I got higher, I came to a snowy basin with steep walls protecting the ‘soccer field’. This ‘field’ showed as a wide expanse of flat area on the topo map and I was curious to find out what it actually looked like. But first, I had to get up the wall. For my up route I chose a green heather slope that turned out to be much steeper than I anticipated. Indeed, during one section, I was literally on all fours going up. But it went and I found myself on the lip of a curious basin. The ‘soccer field’ was more of a failed cirque with a wannabe lake on it. And the ‘lake’ was more of a flooded meadow than an actual pond. I suspected the water may be seasonal.

first view of the 'soccer field'

lake is mostly a flooded meadow

From here, the route up to the pass was obvious and I took the route that stayed on snow as much as possible to avoid the talus.

Deadhorse Pass route

looking northwesterly to Jim Hill Mtn

Soon at the pass, I found myself dead tired at Deadhorse Pass. For all the prediction of excessive heat for the day, it was very cool at 7200’ and I had to put on a pullover to stay warm. The lakes to the east were still in the grips of winter as Cup Lake below me was still 90% snow covered, while the lower Larch Lake was 90% snow free.

dead tired at Deadhorse Pass

a tiny Pine struggles to survive at Deadhorse Pass

west views from Deadhorse Pass area

Cup Lake still snow covered; Larch Lake mostly snow free

Coming down was a breeze and the snowfields brought me back to the ‘soccer field’ where I wandered around and checked it out. To get down, I descended a nasty and steep rock and dirt filled gully that launched multitudes of rocks sliding down below me. Done with that section, I followed the main stream back downward until getting into the forested area and taking a detour to stay slightly on top of a rise to reach my camp.

'soccer field' up and down gullies

descending alongside the stream

As I was descending the forest well above the meadows, I ran across a very old sign nailed to a tree which made me wonder if there was an old trail that led higher up towards the pass. I certainly wasn’t on any discernable trail where I saw the sign.

old sign in the forest above the hunters camp

Rested up back at camp, I packed up and started the haul downward. The bugs had been a bother at all the higher elevations, even at the pass, but as I descended lower on the trail, they disappeared and I had only my own tired feet to contend with. Stats: 13 miles RT 4400’ elevation gain

[Backpacker Joe]

Did you find the dead horse? Im pretty sure there werent any fish up there! Nice work.

[Marmot Salad]

Nice. Looks like you had the place to yourself.

[HitTheTrail]

Good trail beta for me. (I like hiking on trails actually). Grace Lakes via Wildhorse is high on my list for a quick backup "get off the couch" hike when all else fails. It will probably execute when my wife wants me out of the house next. BTW, places like the "Soccer field" appeal to me.

[D. Inscho]

Deadhorse is a great alternative to the long Larch lake route. A stay in Deadhorse meadows is nice enough destination itself. Thanks for the reminder

[MLHSN]

Good stuff