Cowiche Mountain - Snow Mountain Ranch - 5.23.2012
See the google map instructions on how to reach the Cowiche Mountain trailhead.
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After driving 2.4 miles on the Cowiche Mill Road, park (~1900') across the street from an excavating company and the Cowiche Creek Nursery. Our route in red is not a GPS route... it is my best guess.
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The sign for the parking lot... with Cowiche Mountain beyond.
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Plenty of room to park... a sign asks that you only park on the gravel.
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Denali Girl and BarbE leaving the parking area to hike down and across the South Fork of Cowiche Creek.
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After crossing the creek there is a kiosk with lots of information on the trail system and the Cowiche Canyon Conservancy.
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We are going to do the Cowiche Mtn Loop trail... however, we will follow the Riparian Trail East and do the mountain loop trail in a clockwise direction (a tip from someone we met at the kiosk)... and it was an excellent tip.
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Denali Girl and BarbE on the Riparian Trail East... with Cowiche Mountain in the distance on the right.
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Time to leave the Riparian Trail East and get on the Cowiche Mountain Loop trail.
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Starting to gain elevation now... looking back across the valley.
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No idea what this is... but there were tons of them.
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Lupine
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Heading for the summit... it is up there somewhere.
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Looking back across the valley.
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Asters
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Several trail junctions along the way, but we will stay with the Mountain Loop Trail.
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Denali Girl and BarbE on the Cowiche Mountain Loop Trail.
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Daisey???
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No idea.
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Lewisia... more on this hike than I have ever seen.
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More Lewisia.
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Still gaining elevation.
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Desert parsley or desert buckwheat... not sure.
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Phlox
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Phlox
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Yellow asters.
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Lewisia
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Desert buckwheat??
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Still gaining elevation... broader views now... looking across the valley.
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Not sure on this one.
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BarbE and Denali Girl going through lupine lane.
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Lots and lots of lupine.
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Balsamroot with lupine and phlox.
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Looking down to the valley as we near the summit.
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We turned left at this fence and walked a quarter mile to a nice view of the Yakima Valley.
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Broad view of the Yakima Valley from a spot near our high point.
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Penstemon
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Heading west along Cowiche Mountain... looking for the trail down that will complete our loop.
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More Lewisia.
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No idea.
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Feels like amber waves of grain to me.
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We saw a few corrals along the way.
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We decided to take the Wildflower Trail here... a slightly more direct route back to the car.
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Staying with the Wildflower Trail at this junction.
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ragman's advertisement for viagra... don't expect sales to skyrocket.
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Making our way down the Wildflower Trail and looking back up at the summit area.
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Lots of thistles here... should be very pretty when they bloom.
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At the junction with the Balanced Rock Trail, but we will take the Wildflower Trail all the way down to the valley floor.
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Back near the kiosk now... closing our loop hike... and looking over to the balanced rock (I think).
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Back at the parking area... you can see the excavating company on the other side of the road... a 6 mile loop hike, gaining 1140 feet of elevation.
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