South Fork Silver Creek Trail to Gunsight Pass — Friday, Aug. 20, 2010

Eastern Washington > Selkirk Range

This trail doesn't have the great panoramic views that other trails in the vicinity have, but the interesting features right along the trail make up for the lack of views into the distance. There are multiple water crossing along this trail (a rarity for Northeast Washington hikes, where water scarcity can sometimes be a real issue). All of the water has created some great thimbleberry patches, plus I found monster huckleberries near the trail-end at Gunsight Pass. There are also groves of aspen, as well as massive western larch. The trail is 7-miles each way, and more or less dead-ends at Gunsight Pass, elevation 5,600'. However, there are off-trail routes to some of the nearby high-points: Sherlock Peak and Linton Mountain. The only negative about this hike is the sign at the trailhead warning that there has been a "recent cougar encounter." Unfortunately, the sign was not dated and did not provide any information about what happened. I did not see any cougar sign, but the notice at the TH made me very nervous! What I did see was a bull moose near Gunsight Pass, but he didn't stick around long enough for me to get his picture.