Tibbetts Mountain — Friday, May. 9, 2025

Bottom Line:

Flowers, butterflies, rattlesnakes, grouse, rolling green hills, and a primitive, challenging route from Hay Canyon (straight) up to Tibbetts summit. While balsamroot has faded at the bottom, it has just peaked at the top (3K ft up). A good variety of flowers, a number of which I have not seen mixed in with balsamroot before (e.g. penstemon, paintbrush and camas). The trail is sandy, steep and challenging (nary a switchback), climbing over 1000 ft/mile for the initial 2-mile ascent out of Wet Hay Canyon Road. It is also very narrow and at times overgrowth (with flowers) adding to the need to be alert for rattlesnakes (had one sitting right in the trail rattle and rear up, forcing a detour). GO NOW for a sublime flower mix from top to bottom! CAUTION: Do not wear headphones on this trail so the snakes are able to give you that head's up! 

Stats:

• Distance: 8 miles
• Duration: 5-3/4 hours (took my time soaking it all in...)
• Vertical: 3150 ft
• Road/Parking: Hay Canyon Rd is directly across from Cashmere, WA opposite the first bridge into town heading east on Hwy 97/2 towards Wenatchee. A short distance up the road, past the residential area, you will come to a "Y" where the road splits into Wet Hay Forest Service 411-100 Rd and Hay Canyon Forest Service 7411 Rd. There is ample parking and dispersed camping here - no need to crowd the trailhead as with some other nearby hikes. Head uphill to the left on Wet Hay. No toilets. National Forest parking pass required.
• Weather: Sunny with cloudy periods (high wispy clouds), 70Fs, no wind
• Water: There is no water available to filter on this trail; carry water
• Flora/Fauna: I kept startling grouse on this trail - usually they just scurry away on foot (being the "forest chickens" they are), but at least 3 took flight in noisy bursts and startled me back! It was my first time being told to "back off" by a rattlesnake sitting directly in the middle of the trail; it took me a second to register that the "rattle" was not a secada-like insect... by then the snake had reared up and was agitated in a defensive coil. Will try not make that mistake again! The snake would not move, so I had to give it a wide berth, bushwacking through tall grass and logs wondering what else was around. Butterflies galore once the wind calmed a bit. The trail is blanketed with flowers all the way up, with balsamroot at the bottom having yielded to dense meadows of biscuitroot and lupine, while just peaking at the top (mixed with camas). The smells are fantastic, from the blooming sage to the lupine. All this, and no peeps. Among the flowers seen: balsamroot, lupine, biscuitroot, penstemon, paintbrush, sage, oregon sunshine, geranium, desert parsley, milk-vetch, camas, woodland-star and phlox. NOTE: Please stay on the trail to avoid damaging the meadows - the balsamroot takes a long time to establish itself.
• Trail: Very quiet - I did not see anyone else on the trail. This is a ridge walk between the Olalla (west) and Cashmere (east) canyons, and you will have excellent views of both, although eventually from high above (those hikes having minimal vertical). Also, great views of the Cashmere valley, the Wenatchee River, and the Cascades, including the core of The Enchantments. The hike starts with a short ascent west on the Wet Hay Forest Service Road, which mountain bikers also use to attain some flowy single-track trails into Hay Canyon. A 1/4-mile up, you will reach a knoll, there two primitive trails head steeply, straight up the hill. Take the right path, where a sign a few yards in will indicate that this is a hiker-only trail, and a very primitive one at that. The trail is initially covered in deer tracks without any human footprints to speak of. It climbs relentlessly for the first two miles attaining a number of false summits, with at least very two steep sections that will be even more challenging on the descent. Poles are super helpful and will help with the snakes as well. The flowers are amazing end-to-end, although the balsamroot has faded at the bottom, being replaced by dense fields of lupine and biscuitroot. As you head higher, the flowers become more diverse, with penstemon, phlox, camas and paintbrush being added to the mix. BEAUTIFUL! At the top, vast fields of balsamroot are peaking, especially on sheltered exposures (wind and sun are tough on the blooms). The trail system becomes a little more confusing near the summit, with a mix of single track and some old fire roads - suggest GAIA for navigation. CAUTION: Rattlesnakes, ticks and fall hazard on steep slopes.
• Takeaway: I will come back next year for peak balsamroot on the bottom third of this trail where it looks to be as good and dense as anything in the Cashmere area, but with just enough trail difficulty to keep the trail quiet. Of course, if peaking at the bottom, there will likely be no flowers up high, so right now is somewhat optimal for the flower mix! While this seems like it might be great for a shuttle hike with a peak that can be accessed via a Forest Service Road, it is honestly much harder coming down than going up.

I will try to post a video later today.

More Information on this Trip Report

• https://www.instagram.com/wta_alpinewanderer/
• https://wildflowersearch.org/search?oldstate=gms%3A4%3Bgmc%3A47.543163,-120.520635%3Bbloom%3AIgnore%3Blocation%3APeshastin%20Pinnacles,+WA