04-20-24
It
was time for a trip east of the
Cascade Mountains to see spring wildflowers. Gary and John were free to
come along. We discussed several ideas. We wanted to find a spot with
wildflowers close to peaking. I was aware of the new Cashmere Canyons
Preserve. Trails were opened there in April 2021. Kim had visited and
Suzanne was there several times this year. It looked like it had some
good wildflower color at this time. It would also be trails I had not
yet hiked. We settled on Cashmere Canyons. The parking lot is not large
and there is no way to park alongside the road. With that in mind, we
decided on an early start. We met at the Bothell P&R at 6:15
am. It was my turn to drive. Highway 522 was closed for construction at
the start so we had to detour south on I-405 and turn around there.
After that, it was smooth sailing. Traffic was very light as a slow car
behind me gave me a long stretch with nobody ahead or behind. We exited
at Cashmere and drove 2.8 miles up the canyon road to the trailhead. We
arrived at about 8:17 am. The lot was about half full. The temperature
east east of Stevens Pass dropped as low as 27F. That was much lower
than expected. It was 34F at the trailhead. It was sunny and felt much
warmer.
We were on our way at 8:27 am. The signboard provides information. The Cashmere Canyons Preserve is privately owned. It is managed by the Chelan-Douglas Land Trust. Wilderness conservation is the reason for it's existence. Hikers are allowed. There are no dogs, bikes, horses, motor vehicles, and more. The small lot limits crowds. Once you are in it's just you and some other hikers and runners. The flower show begins immediately. The balsamroot are just past peak. Lupine are just starting to bloom. There are more and better ones higher up. We quickly saw phlox, woodland star, desert parsley, fernleaf biscuitroot, and a few more. The route up to the ridge top is an old road. It is smooth and wide enough to allow hikers to pass by. In addition to the wildflowers, the hills are scenic as well. Everything is bright green in the spring. Higher up the homes and ranch/farm building came into sight.
Heading up the road we saw a small John Deere plow that has had bushes grow in inside it. We then saw four deer off the trail. We were taking a lot of photos and moving pretty snow as a result. Other hikers were moving faster and we soon began to be passed. The road gets a little steep in places as we moved up the slope. We could see forests above and some great balsamroot fields. At 2 miles we reached the Crossroads junction. A loop goes off to the right and another to the left. Right was open fields. Left led to high forest ridges. We decided to go left first. This would take us through the balsamroot fields we saw from below and to two summits with mountain views. We wanted the views early with the best lighting. The trail took us to another junction. We chose to go left and do the loop clockwise. The road/trail soon had us seeing a lot of balsamroot. Bluebells also began to appear. Just a few at first but as we continued around the loop we saw more and more bluebells.
I was expecting a largely level loop with the summits toward the end. Instead we began to drop. This meant we had a steep ascent farther along. We were in forest but came to a spot with views out. Peak Finder software showed we were seeing Jester, Miller, Three Brothers, and Navaho in the Teanaway Valley. We also could see McClellan, Little Annapurna, and the Temple in the Enchantments. Gary was ahead of us when he called out a find. It was a set of pure white bluebells. They had no color at all. John and I saw some white monkey flowers in 2020. A true albino flower is a treat to find. As our route began to climb the bluebell crop really thickened. Some of the patches were huge. It was a really good display. We passed a couple groups doing the loop ion the opposite direction. The last climb to the top of Little Bear Peak was the steepest. We had balsamroot on both sides of our narrow ridge with views out to the Enchantment Peaks too. I was the last to reach the top. I sat down in the shade to cool off. There are several big tree disks for chairs. Very quickly I cooled too much and went over into the sunshine.
We had views of the peaks seen earlier plus Eight Mile Mountain and Cashmere Mountain. The north side of all the peaks still have lots of snow and really look good. Across the valley was Tibbetts Mountain. I hiked to that summit in 2010. My photos from that trip included one looking down to Little Bear and Sunrise Peaks. We had lunch on top and spoke with a group going in the opposite direction. We arrived on top at 11:45 am. With all our photos, we took quite a long time to get that far. We had all day and speed was not a concern. We headed on at 12:13 pm. The trail dropped steeply and continued in forest. I had seen one death camas on the loop and now saw a dozen more. The trail took us to the saddle. There was a view out to the Enchantment Peaks and more wood seats. We took the side trail here to the top of Sunrise Mountain. The trail had a lot of the very large spring beauty we had seen lower down. This trail switchbacked up to the summit. Several other groups were on top.
We had good views out to the peaks and also down to the Wenatchee Valley. Overhead we saw some parasailors. One of them soon flew directly above us. It was warm and sunny on top with some trees for shade. We noticed that the trailhead parking lot was in sight from here. We were in no hurry to move on. The sun and views made this a great spot for another break. We arrived at 12:32 and stayed until 12:51 pm. We still wanted to check out the north loop on our way down. From the saddle the trail quickly dropped to the end of the loop. We took the trail back to the Crossroad junction. We had traveled 6 miles so far with 2 miles back down to the trailhead. We chose to take a look at the north loop. It starts with a climb up from the junction. This loop has almost no trees. It is entirely out in the sunshine. Prolonged sun exposure is not a favorite of mine. It was still not hot but if felt like it. From the first high point we dropped and climbed to another. The green ridges and slopes were all around us.
We were not very excited about taking the entire loop as it had another descent and climb. We did continue down and then up to the start of the loop. We went left and continued climbing we had decided to go the the highest point and turn around. We saw a few wildflowers along here but not a lot. At the highest point we took our last break of the day. We arrived at 1:54 pm. With the sunshine and a little breeze it was a comfortable spot for a break. It was 2:20 when we finally started heading back. We retraced our steps back to the Crossroad junction. We had hiked 8.6 miles and just had 2 more miles to go. The hike down went pretty quickly. The old road/trail is smooth and so is easy walking. We met a few groups coming up. We took more photos but far less than on the hike up. We reached the car at 3:40 pm. For the day we hiked about 10.6 miles with 2800' of elevation gain. We stopped at the 59er Diner for dinner and had minimal traffic on the drive home. It did rain a little once we reached Gold Bar.
This was an excellent spring wildflower trip. Other hikes have more wildflowers but this one included the beauty of the green hills and canyons and views plus a pretty good wildflower display. In places the balsamroot and bluebells were really thick. It is always nice to hike a new to me trail and this trail has not existed for long. We saw the four deer and with the small parking lot the trails were never crowded. All the people we talked with were having a great time. There are a lot of great spring wildflower hikes east of the Cascades and this is one I will visit regularly. The white bluebell sighting was special touch on a great day on the trail.
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Trips - 2024
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We were on our way at 8:27 am. The signboard provides information. The Cashmere Canyons Preserve is privately owned. It is managed by the Chelan-Douglas Land Trust. Wilderness conservation is the reason for it's existence. Hikers are allowed. There are no dogs, bikes, horses, motor vehicles, and more. The small lot limits crowds. Once you are in it's just you and some other hikers and runners. The flower show begins immediately. The balsamroot are just past peak. Lupine are just starting to bloom. There are more and better ones higher up. We quickly saw phlox, woodland star, desert parsley, fernleaf biscuitroot, and a few more. The route up to the ridge top is an old road. It is smooth and wide enough to allow hikers to pass by. In addition to the wildflowers, the hills are scenic as well. Everything is bright green in the spring. Higher up the homes and ranch/farm building came into sight.
Heading up the road we saw a small John Deere plow that has had bushes grow in inside it. We then saw four deer off the trail. We were taking a lot of photos and moving pretty snow as a result. Other hikers were moving faster and we soon began to be passed. The road gets a little steep in places as we moved up the slope. We could see forests above and some great balsamroot fields. At 2 miles we reached the Crossroads junction. A loop goes off to the right and another to the left. Right was open fields. Left led to high forest ridges. We decided to go left first. This would take us through the balsamroot fields we saw from below and to two summits with mountain views. We wanted the views early with the best lighting. The trail took us to another junction. We chose to go left and do the loop clockwise. The road/trail soon had us seeing a lot of balsamroot. Bluebells also began to appear. Just a few at first but as we continued around the loop we saw more and more bluebells.
I was expecting a largely level loop with the summits toward the end. Instead we began to drop. This meant we had a steep ascent farther along. We were in forest but came to a spot with views out. Peak Finder software showed we were seeing Jester, Miller, Three Brothers, and Navaho in the Teanaway Valley. We also could see McClellan, Little Annapurna, and the Temple in the Enchantments. Gary was ahead of us when he called out a find. It was a set of pure white bluebells. They had no color at all. John and I saw some white monkey flowers in 2020. A true albino flower is a treat to find. As our route began to climb the bluebell crop really thickened. Some of the patches were huge. It was a really good display. We passed a couple groups doing the loop ion the opposite direction. The last climb to the top of Little Bear Peak was the steepest. We had balsamroot on both sides of our narrow ridge with views out to the Enchantment Peaks too. I was the last to reach the top. I sat down in the shade to cool off. There are several big tree disks for chairs. Very quickly I cooled too much and went over into the sunshine.
We had views of the peaks seen earlier plus Eight Mile Mountain and Cashmere Mountain. The north side of all the peaks still have lots of snow and really look good. Across the valley was Tibbetts Mountain. I hiked to that summit in 2010. My photos from that trip included one looking down to Little Bear and Sunrise Peaks. We had lunch on top and spoke with a group going in the opposite direction. We arrived on top at 11:45 am. With all our photos, we took quite a long time to get that far. We had all day and speed was not a concern. We headed on at 12:13 pm. The trail dropped steeply and continued in forest. I had seen one death camas on the loop and now saw a dozen more. The trail took us to the saddle. There was a view out to the Enchantment Peaks and more wood seats. We took the side trail here to the top of Sunrise Mountain. The trail had a lot of the very large spring beauty we had seen lower down. This trail switchbacked up to the summit. Several other groups were on top.
We had good views out to the peaks and also down to the Wenatchee Valley. Overhead we saw some parasailors. One of them soon flew directly above us. It was warm and sunny on top with some trees for shade. We noticed that the trailhead parking lot was in sight from here. We were in no hurry to move on. The sun and views made this a great spot for another break. We arrived at 12:32 and stayed until 12:51 pm. We still wanted to check out the north loop on our way down. From the saddle the trail quickly dropped to the end of the loop. We took the trail back to the Crossroad junction. We had traveled 6 miles so far with 2 miles back down to the trailhead. We chose to take a look at the north loop. It starts with a climb up from the junction. This loop has almost no trees. It is entirely out in the sunshine. Prolonged sun exposure is not a favorite of mine. It was still not hot but if felt like it. From the first high point we dropped and climbed to another. The green ridges and slopes were all around us.
We were not very excited about taking the entire loop as it had another descent and climb. We did continue down and then up to the start of the loop. We went left and continued climbing we had decided to go the the highest point and turn around. We saw a few wildflowers along here but not a lot. At the highest point we took our last break of the day. We arrived at 1:54 pm. With the sunshine and a little breeze it was a comfortable spot for a break. It was 2:20 when we finally started heading back. We retraced our steps back to the Crossroad junction. We had hiked 8.6 miles and just had 2 more miles to go. The hike down went pretty quickly. The old road/trail is smooth and so is easy walking. We met a few groups coming up. We took more photos but far less than on the hike up. We reached the car at 3:40 pm. For the day we hiked about 10.6 miles with 2800' of elevation gain. We stopped at the 59er Diner for dinner and had minimal traffic on the drive home. It did rain a little once we reached Gold Bar.
This was an excellent spring wildflower trip. Other hikes have more wildflowers but this one included the beauty of the green hills and canyons and views plus a pretty good wildflower display. In places the balsamroot and bluebells were really thick. It is always nice to hike a new to me trail and this trail has not existed for long. We saw the four deer and with the small parking lot the trails were never crowded. All the people we talked with were having a great time. There are a lot of great spring wildflower hikes east of the Cascades and this is one I will visit regularly. The white bluebell sighting was special touch on a great day on the trail.
 Trailhead Signboards |
 Past Peak Balsamroot |
 Desert Parsley |
 The Parking Lot |
 Blooming Lupine |
 Green Slopes |
 Phlox |
 Ballhead Waterleaf |
 Old Plow |
 Woodland/Prairie Star |
 Lots Of Balsamroot |
 White Flowers |
 Gary At Work |
 Deer |
 Lush Green Slopes |
 Fresh Lupine |
 A Lot To See |
 Lupine Bloom Begins |
 Hikers On Trail |
 Spring Beauty |
 Ridge To The East |
 Raptor In Flight |
 Parasailor |
 Heading For South Loop |
 Prime Balsamroot |
 Balsamroot Slope |
 Gary & Balsamroot |
 Death Camas |
 Perfect |
 First Viewpoint |
 Enchantment Peaks |
 First Bluebells |
 Rare White Bluebells |
 8 Mile & Cashmere Mtns |
 Many Bluebells |
 Steep Climb |
 View From Little Bear |
 Enchantments Close Up |
 View East |
 Colorful Flower |
 Big Spring Beauty |
 Peaks From Sunrise Mt. |
 Balsamroot On Sunrise |
 Cashmere Mountain |
 Another Parasailor |
 Yellow Bell |
 Sunrise & Little Bear |
 Gary & Crows |
 On The North Loop |
 Peaks Over Ridge |
 Paintbrush-Like Flower |
 Heading Down |
 Balsamroot & Lupine |
 Valley Is Below |
 Lone Pine Tree |
 Last Lupine |
Trips - 2024
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