Ancient Lakes
Jun 20, 2009
by
Munin
—
last modified
Jun 23, 2009 06:51 PM
- Type of Outing
- Overnight
- Read More in our Hiking Guide
- Hike: Ancient Lakes
- Region: Eastern Washington -- Wenatchee
- Agency: Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife
- Avg Rating: 3.96
- Why You Should Go Now
- Wildflowers blooming
- Ripe berries
- Be Aware Of
- Water on trail
Dusty Lake from middle coulee facing SW.
75 minute hike (2.5 miles or less) from trailhead to the end of the main lakes and waterfall. We found only 2 other tents and a small group of fishermen. Never actually passed anyone on trial making this trip very peaceful. We set up camp on a small hill to the South of the lakes with a view of the waterfall to the East and the gorge and sunset to the West. The lakes and waterfalls are very nice however the towering coulees and rolling grasslands are the gems of the area as you are surrounded by basalt columns in a field of gentle hills with a new cranny to explore around every rock or ridge. The waterfall lake and the adjoining are currently connected by about at least a foot of water making accessing the waterfall more difficult.
The area is teaming with wildlife especially birds including large raptors, making me question the assertion the water of the lakes have a high content of pesticides or herbicides. Juneberry bushes had ripe abundant fruit. A pack of coyote could be heard but not seen. Sagebrush is everywhere and smelled intense, we ended up using a sprig as an air freshener for our tent. Very warm and dry near 80 midday and mid 50s nighttime, though it felt comfortably cool and more like lower 60s so don’t over-pack cold weather items. The ancient lakes area is larger than it seems in photo’s and you could easily spend 2 or 3 days exploring, which is what we will do on our return.
After setting up camp we hiked the coulee between Ancient Lakes and Dusty Lake. Finding the trails was fairly easy as was just going cross-country for short cuts but bring gators to keep the grass seed from falling into socks and boots – a mild annoyance at best. We then hiked the steeper grades of the middle coulee with stone scree (4-8” common) though hike-able with some scrambling. The middle and top of the coulee is accessible safely but prepare for some moderate scrambling with loose rock for about 20’ to the South side.
The evening brought a few mosquitoes though easily manageable with DEET. Wind picked up with some mild gusts. Assure you can view the sunset from your tent, it is amazing over the Columbia Gorge to the East. Leaving the following day was hard, this is an amazing place.
The area is teaming with wildlife especially birds including large raptors, making me question the assertion the water of the lakes have a high content of pesticides or herbicides. Juneberry bushes had ripe abundant fruit. A pack of coyote could be heard but not seen. Sagebrush is everywhere and smelled intense, we ended up using a sprig as an air freshener for our tent. Very warm and dry near 80 midday and mid 50s nighttime, though it felt comfortably cool and more like lower 60s so don’t over-pack cold weather items. The ancient lakes area is larger than it seems in photo’s and you could easily spend 2 or 3 days exploring, which is what we will do on our return.
After setting up camp we hiked the coulee between Ancient Lakes and Dusty Lake. Finding the trails was fairly easy as was just going cross-country for short cuts but bring gators to keep the grass seed from falling into socks and boots – a mild annoyance at best. We then hiked the steeper grades of the middle coulee with stone scree (4-8” common) though hike-able with some scrambling. The middle and top of the coulee is accessible safely but prepare for some moderate scrambling with loose rock for about 20’ to the South side.
The evening brought a few mosquitoes though easily manageable with DEET. Wind picked up with some mild gusts. Assure you can view the sunset from your tent, it is amazing over the Columbia Gorge to the East. Leaving the following day was hard, this is an amazing place.
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Ancient Lakes valley facing West with camp site in view.
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Ancient Lakes and waterfall from top of middle coulee facing East.
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Middle coulee and sagebrush facing South.
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