[Matt]

October 19-20, 2023 Destination: Kettle Crest trail north from Sherman Pass to Copper Butte, with camp on Wapaloosie Mtn. Summits: Columbia 6782, Jungle Hill 6544, Wapaloosie 7018, Copper Butte 7140, Scar 7040. I've wanted to hike Kettle Crest for western larch season ever since I saw a mid-October photo of larches at Sherman just beginning to turn gold with a light cover of snow on the ground. Some friends were also interested this year, so I planned the trip. The reality turned out more mixed than the plan.

• New place to explore? Yes! Entirely new area for me.
• Friends available? Friends not available, so I went alone.
• Long drive? 5.5 hours from Seattle.
• Good weather window? First day was very sunny and warm.
• Western larches? Larches were early this year, but still colorful at lower elevations.
• Fresh snow for scenery and water? No snow
• Spring for water? Springs doubtful, so carried water for whole trip.
• Fun peak name? Yes, Wapaloosie.
• New summits? Yes, Columbia, Jungle Hill, Wapaloosie, Scar, Copper Butte
• Summit camp? Yes, Camped on summit of Wapaloosie
• New WAP2K peak? Yes, Copper Butte has 4740P, #107/144 for me.
• Worth going back for more? Yes, multiple other options for future trips!

Here are more of the details: Getting there: I drove up Wednesday evening from Seattle and camped near the trailhead. From Tonasket eastward was all new to me, but it was already dark, so I couldn't enjoy the scenery. My headlights gave occasional glimpses of some colored trees, but increasing drifts of needles on the road were ominous foreshadowing for the larches. Western Larches: These are Western Larches, so they grow at lower elevation mixed in with other forest. Usually they reach peak color around the third weekend of October, but this year was very early, so larches near the crest had lost most of their needles. Hiking along, they still gave a pleasant thrill when an occasional bright one would appear. And the hike below bare trees provided a meditation on the cycle of seasons, with the trees adjusting to survive the cold of winter and then grow their needles bright green then gold again for the next seasons. Scenery: Most of the trail is in forest, but occasional openings give views along the way. Wapaloosie, Scar, and Copper have huge grassy meadows on their flanks, for wide views of the area. The lower surrounding hills were spangled with spatters and ribbons of larches still showing bright yellow amid the darker forests.

Sunrise where I car-camped in a parking lot covered with larch needles near Sherman Pass.

Mixed remnants of color above Sherman Pass.

Brighter trees on the hills and valleys below.

More transient fringes of gold overhead.

A very eastern WA view, grass & sage in the foreground, and western larches mixed in the forest below.

Off-trail travel: I could usually find pretty good openings or open forest for travel to the summits. Along some of the crest, there were myriad small cut tree trunks on the ground, probably from fire control long ago. Columbia Mtn 6782: I hiked up the side trail to the old lookout site, going cross country partway to skip the long switchback. Interesting old custom-built cabin on top. Jungle Hill 6544: I carried over to avoid going back and forth on the trail. Perfectly warm and comfortable on the summit. Mostly treed but nice view up Sherman Creek eastward. Wapaloosie Spring: The spring on Wapaloosie's south ridge had a trickle of water running from recent rains. I couldn't know if it was running ahead of time, so I carried 11 pounds of water from the trailhead to cover the whole trip if necessary. Wapaloosie Mtn 7018 Evening: I hiked up the easy south ridge to the summit. The flat summit was viewless, but lower meadows on the east side had wide views. After much back and forth, I wedged my tent into a spot just above the meadows, then wandered around the warm golden grass admiring the view of larches below.

Standing by the lookout cabin on Columbia Mtn.

My shadow on the Jungle Hill summit cairn, with the cap of the register looking like I have a giant alien red eye. Maybe I'm a Borg

A trickle of water from the Wapaloosie spring.

Wandering around the sunny afternoon meadows on Wapaloosie.

Reclining on the warm meadow, with golden larches viewed through golden grass.

Wapaloosie Mtn Morning: I cooked breakfast while watching the sunrise light up the slopes below me. However, there were also high clouds above, so the rest of the day was overcast.

Sunrise lighting high clouds in the morning.

Morning tea and my shadow in the red morning light.

Golden light on the view back to Columbia Mtn.

And the sun rises, spreading light across the rides, meadows, and trees.

Morning Trip Northward: I hiked down the side of Wapaloosie and and left my overnight pack by the trail for a side trip to Copper Butte and Scar. At the col between Wapaloosie and Scar, the map showed a line direct to the col, but the trail took a long switchback westward. After exploring through the brush, I found bits of the old direct trail, but it was entirely overgrown and abandoned. Copper Butte 7140: The summit is just 50 feet off the trail. Lots of old furniture was scattered around the old lookout site, including a rusted iron bedframe and stove. Scar 7040: I hiked up the west side of Scar to the tree-covered summit, and down the southwest ridge, which has open grassy meadows almost all the way back down to the trail circa 6500 feet.

Reclining on the summit of Copper Butte.

More larches westward from Copper Butte.

Overcast summit on Scar

View up U.S. Creek from the side of Scar Mtn.

Exit hike: I made it back to the trailhead with the last bit of light just before I'd have to use my headlamp. Stats: Day 1, 10.6 miles, 3260 gain, 1680 loss. Day 2, 18.1 miles, 3360 gain, 4920 loss.

All dark back at the Sherman Pass trailhead.

Kettle Crest GPS track.

Future Trips: Any of the trails through the lower valleys would make a good late October trip through the larches. The Kettle Crest itself offers runs near more summits either north from Copper Butte or south from Sherman Pass. I'll be back when I can stay a few days to make the drive pay off. Maybe I'll even finally get to see the road in daylight sometime.

[Stefan]

lotsa miles!!!