[s0rce]

Drove a short 90 min to the trail head at Indian Ridge, just off Mill Creek east of Walla Walla, WA on the western side of the Blue Mountains just south of the OR-WA border. Hiking group was happy about a shorter car ride (from the tri-cities) and less snow than over in the Cascades. We were happy to only find snow at about 5000ft, where we turned back after 3.7 miles, just after a steep climb from about 4000-5000ft. Total trip was 7.4 miles, 3000ft elevation gain. Couldn't find much about the trail, not even a mention on the USFS website, just went off the topo map on Caltopo. Trail was also marked on my USFS map (trail 3221) of the Umatilla national forest, although this lacks topo lines. We parked at the 2nd hairpin turn up Tiger Creek road to the Indian ridge from Mill creek and started up the steep trail on the left of the road. Wildflowers everywhere you looked for the first couple miles. If you are looking to see some beautiful flowers you should definitely go soon. We alternated along the trail and the boundary of the mill creek watershed (closed). Trail was quite easy to follow and the watershed boundary was well marked, no trail markings but this wasn't unexpected. We saw one guy a few 100 yards away and one other family eating lunch on the trail. Pretty much on par for these parts. Won't be crowded hiking out here. Was great to only travel 90 min in the car compared to 2-2.5h for most fo the Cascade hiking we've been doing. Overall, was a beautiful day for a hike in the hills. Perfect weather. Stopped in Walla Walla for some delicious pastries on the way home, Colville St. Patisserie.

I was having trouble connecting my flickr or Imagehsack so here is a Imgur album with the rest of the photos from the day: http://imgur.com/a/B8L4M Here is a GPS route https://www.gaiagps.com/datasummary/track/68b425e04bc0d74de97b82e69be5041f53832a50/ https://www.google.com/maps/d/edit?mid=1IkZlEbW_iIIIVkOUw1vPFZclRL4&usp=sharing

[Kim Brown]

Wow! What a pretty trail! So idyllic-looking. Thanks for the report & photos.

[RichP]

An area I have yet to explore. Thanks for posting.

[texasbb]

'Nother Blues lover here who hasn't been to that area. Thanks for sharing!