06-01-25
Kim
was free for a Sunday hike. I did 10 miles in the WF Teanaway Valley on
Saturday. We headed a little north of there to Iron Bear Peak. We met
at 6:30 am in Seattle and headed east. Kim drove this day. We stopped
in Cle Elum for gas and headed up Highway 97 to the Iron Creek Road.
Traffic was lighter than normal on the drive and I hoped that parking
would be easy. We found cars parallel parked alongside the road before
the creek crossing. We just parked at the side spur before the parked
cars. Iron Creek was small enough to easily jump over with dry feet.
The lot across the creek was full. We walked the road to the small lot
at the trailhead and found that there was only one car there. We
started on the trail at 9:08 am. The route starts by following the
creek in forest. We saw vanilla leaf, Indian paintbrush, and arrowleaf
balsamroot at first. When we broke out of the forest the wildflower
show really took off. This was a little later than we usually hike this
trail and the wildflowers have been a week or two early this year. I
hoped we were not too late. In the open rocky sections we saw more
balsamroot and purple penstemon. Next was one of my favorite
wildflowers, scarlet gilia. I saw a couple gilia plants at Devil's
Gulch. This hike had substantially more of them. They were far up the
slope, down the slope, and right in front of us. This was the best
display of scarlet gilia that I have seen in years.
We were moving very slow as viewing and photographing the flowers took lots of time. Group after group passed us by. Nobody else seemed all that interested in the wildflowers. I can't imaging zooming along the trail and not stopping to see all the flowers. As we ascended, the trail goes from open slopes to forest and back again. In the forest we continued to see blooming vanilla leaf, false Solomon seal, and a few trillium. On the open slopes it was balsamroot, penstemon, scarlet gilia, larkspur, Valerian, and more. We crossed Iron Creek one more time and it still had a good flow. It was an easy rock hop. Just before reaching the ridge top we saw the best arrowleaf balsamroot display of the day. They were right about at peak. We reached the four way ridge top junction at 10:50 am. After a short break it was time to head across the ridge and then up to Iron Bear Peak. Down the ridge is where the bitterroot bloom. We saw many buds about to bloom with a little color showing. We only saw a few patches of them in bloom. They generally open in the morning and early afternoon. I hoped we would have many more to see on the way down.
The entire trail is used by hikers and motorcycles and is very gently graded. We did see a motorcyclist head up passing many hikers and a few minutes later we turned around and passed us again on his way down. The trail is narrow and spring brings out the crowds making it a less than ideal time to see motorcycles. The trail switchbacks under the ascending ridge and then back to the ridge top again. It was getting toasty as there was not a lot of shade on this section. The wildflower show continued as we saw trillium, Jacob's ladder, and ballhead waterleaf among others. I was glad when we were back in cool forest. More short switchbacks brought us up to where the summit is in sight just above. Along here we saw many glacier lilies. At first they were shriveled up yellow flowers. Just a few minutes later they were near their peak. This is pretty late to see them on this trail. We reached the summit of Iron Bear Peak at about 12:20 pm. The sky was clear and there was very little haze. Mt. Rainier was in sight to the south along with Mt. Adams. Many of the Teanaway Peaks were in sight. Mt. Stuart stood above all the other peaks. I could see Earl, Navaho, Little Navaho, Miller, and Three Brothers the best.
It was time for a nice long summit break. Most years I see photos of the steer's head flower right near the summit. I never see them but have had others point them out. This time I looked and looked and never did see one. A strong breeze was forecast but never really arrived. We had a light steady wind that felt great on a warm day. Only much later in the day did the wind pick up and we were down low by then. As expected, there were three to six parties on the summit at most times. Hikers arrived and left but it was a busy place. The views are really good for a hike of just under 3.5 miles up. At one point we were the only ones on top but that did not last for long. It as time to pack up and head down at 1:28 pm. We spent over an hour on the summit. The descent is not bad as the trail is moderately graded. As a motorcycle trail it does have some loose rocky spots but mostly it is fine. We set a faster pace down with fewer flowers stops.
When we reached the lower ridge I was ready for lots of bitterroot to be blooming. What we found were no bitterroot blooming. Even the spots where we saw them blooming earlier were without any bitterroot colors. I have no idea why this occurred. It was a bit of a disappointment. We had a short stop at the for way junction and then dropped off the ridge. On the way down we saw a few flowers that were missed on the way up. Kim noticed a lone onion in bloom. We saw a few death camas on the way up but saw more coming down. A few groups were still coming up as we reached lower levels. Some wind could be heard above but it was not bad on the trail. We finally left open slopes for the last forest walk to the trailhead. It as much cooler in the forest. We reached the trailhead to find one car there. There were only half a dozen or so others farther down. Two cars were parked next to us. The road in is in good shape. Smoother than most times I have been on it. The drive home had much less traffic than most spring or summer weekends. There were no slow downs at all back to Seattle.
After a slightly disappointing wildflower hike the day before in this same general area, this hike was much better. The scarlet gilia display was among the best I have ever seen. The bitterroot show was a little disappointing though we saw some in full bloom on the way up. We did see a lot of hikers but it was still not as many as I expected. With one exception, the motorcycles staid away this day. I think that coming just a week after a three day holiday weekend more people were at home. That was fine with me. We had a sunny day that was not too hot and great wildflowers and mountain views. What more could be ask for?
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Trips - 2025
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We were moving very slow as viewing and photographing the flowers took lots of time. Group after group passed us by. Nobody else seemed all that interested in the wildflowers. I can't imaging zooming along the trail and not stopping to see all the flowers. As we ascended, the trail goes from open slopes to forest and back again. In the forest we continued to see blooming vanilla leaf, false Solomon seal, and a few trillium. On the open slopes it was balsamroot, penstemon, scarlet gilia, larkspur, Valerian, and more. We crossed Iron Creek one more time and it still had a good flow. It was an easy rock hop. Just before reaching the ridge top we saw the best arrowleaf balsamroot display of the day. They were right about at peak. We reached the four way ridge top junction at 10:50 am. After a short break it was time to head across the ridge and then up to Iron Bear Peak. Down the ridge is where the bitterroot bloom. We saw many buds about to bloom with a little color showing. We only saw a few patches of them in bloom. They generally open in the morning and early afternoon. I hoped we would have many more to see on the way down.
The entire trail is used by hikers and motorcycles and is very gently graded. We did see a motorcyclist head up passing many hikers and a few minutes later we turned around and passed us again on his way down. The trail is narrow and spring brings out the crowds making it a less than ideal time to see motorcycles. The trail switchbacks under the ascending ridge and then back to the ridge top again. It was getting toasty as there was not a lot of shade on this section. The wildflower show continued as we saw trillium, Jacob's ladder, and ballhead waterleaf among others. I was glad when we were back in cool forest. More short switchbacks brought us up to where the summit is in sight just above. Along here we saw many glacier lilies. At first they were shriveled up yellow flowers. Just a few minutes later they were near their peak. This is pretty late to see them on this trail. We reached the summit of Iron Bear Peak at about 12:20 pm. The sky was clear and there was very little haze. Mt. Rainier was in sight to the south along with Mt. Adams. Many of the Teanaway Peaks were in sight. Mt. Stuart stood above all the other peaks. I could see Earl, Navaho, Little Navaho, Miller, and Three Brothers the best.
It was time for a nice long summit break. Most years I see photos of the steer's head flower right near the summit. I never see them but have had others point them out. This time I looked and looked and never did see one. A strong breeze was forecast but never really arrived. We had a light steady wind that felt great on a warm day. Only much later in the day did the wind pick up and we were down low by then. As expected, there were three to six parties on the summit at most times. Hikers arrived and left but it was a busy place. The views are really good for a hike of just under 3.5 miles up. At one point we were the only ones on top but that did not last for long. It as time to pack up and head down at 1:28 pm. We spent over an hour on the summit. The descent is not bad as the trail is moderately graded. As a motorcycle trail it does have some loose rocky spots but mostly it is fine. We set a faster pace down with fewer flowers stops.
When we reached the lower ridge I was ready for lots of bitterroot to be blooming. What we found were no bitterroot blooming. Even the spots where we saw them blooming earlier were without any bitterroot colors. I have no idea why this occurred. It was a bit of a disappointment. We had a short stop at the for way junction and then dropped off the ridge. On the way down we saw a few flowers that were missed on the way up. Kim noticed a lone onion in bloom. We saw a few death camas on the way up but saw more coming down. A few groups were still coming up as we reached lower levels. Some wind could be heard above but it was not bad on the trail. We finally left open slopes for the last forest walk to the trailhead. It as much cooler in the forest. We reached the trailhead to find one car there. There were only half a dozen or so others farther down. Two cars were parked next to us. The road in is in good shape. Smoother than most times I have been on it. The drive home had much less traffic than most spring or summer weekends. There were no slow downs at all back to Seattle.
After a slightly disappointing wildflower hike the day before in this same general area, this hike was much better. The scarlet gilia display was among the best I have ever seen. The bitterroot show was a little disappointing though we saw some in full bloom on the way up. We did see a lot of hikers but it was still not as many as I expected. With one exception, the motorcycles staid away this day. I think that coming just a week after a three day holiday weekend more people were at home. That was fine with me. We had a sunny day that was not too hot and great wildflowers and mountain views. What more could be ask for?
 Crossing Iron Creek |
 Vanilla Leaf |
 Forget-Me-Nots |
 Arrowleaf Balsamroot |
 First Scarlet Gilia |
 Paintstemon |
 Small White Flower |
 Forest Trail |
 Buckwheat |
 Many Scarlet Gilia |
 Scarlet Gilia Close Up |
 Orange Paintbrush |
 Double Penstemon |
 Macro Shot |
 Ballhead Waterleaf |
 Western Meadow-Rue |
 Trail Far Below |
 Larkspur Close Up |
 Starry False Solomon's Seal |
 Past Prime |
 Kim On Trail |
 Big Patch Of Penstemon |
 Balsamroot Patch |
 On The Ridge Top |
 Triple Bitterroot |
 Double Pink Bitterroot |
 Pink & White Bitterroot |
 Trillium Bush |
 Fresh Trillium |
 Desert Parsley |
 Mt. Rainier |
 Glacier Lilies In Bloom |
 Mts. Stuart & Navaho |
 Miller Peak |
 Earl Peak |
 Mt. Adams |
 Mt. Stuart |
 Kim On Iron Bear Summit |
 Butterfly |
 Leucistic Lupine |
 Onion |
 Colorful Penstemon |
 More Penstemon |
 Lupine |
 Balsamroot Lined Trail |
 Back In Forest |
 Woodland Star |
 Scarlet Gilia Again |
 Last Scarlet Gilia |
 Coiled Log |
 Kim & Tall Pine Tree |
 Green & Red Paintbrush |
 Purple Trillium |
Trips - 2025
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