Ancient Lakes
Jul 03, 1998
- Type of Outing
- Day hike
- Read More in our Hiking Guide
- Hike: Ancient Lakes
- Region: Eastern Washington -- Wenatchee
- Agency: Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife
- Avg Rating: 3.96
We started out early
Saturday morning July 4th. There were thunderstorms looming on the horizon wich should have been an indication of the day to come. We started out winding our way through the broken scrub of the channled Scabland. In spots on the dusty trail there were indications of numerous snake tracks wich kept us on the alert. The trail continued very destinctly for about 2 miles or so to the first lake; a small pond surrounded by scrub-brush and nettles. Mosquitos ruled this lake so we continued on another half mile to another scenic lake framed by desert cliffs on one side giving way to a flat scrub field near the outlet side. Upon our arrival at the lake shore there was a sudden flash of lightning followed by an intense explosion of thunder that literally shook the ground. Feeling that it was a little to close for comfort we decided to make our way to the far side of the lake below the cliff. As we were making our way around some rocks my friend Dave stepped into a gopher hole and broke his ankle. Then, to add insult to injury, Dave was promptly bitten on his left hand by a rattle-snake as he lay writhing in pain from the broken ankle. Like a couple of extras from an Abbot and Costello movie we had no first aid kit so we doused the snake bite with a cold bottle of Red Hook Beer that Dave had in his pack. The thunder and lightning gave way way to sudden torrential rain so we knew that someone up there didn't like us. I instructed Dave to stay put while I sprinted the entire distance back to the trail head parking area to get my cell phone I had hidden behind the bench seat of my pick-up truck. Once again, Murphy reared his ugly head and, much to my complete horror some jerk had broken the passenger window out of my truck and stole both my stereo and cell phone. Just when I thought the world was coming to an end a County Sheriff pulled into the parking lot. I explained the situation and he was on the radio summoning help from a local search and rescue unit. To make a long story short Dave was airlifted to a hospital in Spokane and made a complete recovery. The trail to Ancient lakes is in great shape!!! (enjoy)
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