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Trip Report

Ancient Lakes — Saturday, Dec. 12, 2020

Central Washington > Potholes Region
Facing west from the Judith Pool waterfall

I started from the lower trailhead parking lot and hugged the north wall of the coulee heading up towards Ancient Lake, then dropped down and walked the shore of the lake to the waterfall. The scramble up next to the waterfall is a little dicey, I was glad I was wearing hiking boots and not just sneakers. I went up to Judith Pool and then turned back around and the trail was in great condition the whole way. There's not much in the way of signage but it's quite easy to go cross-country, so you'd have to try to get lost. On my way back, I stuck to the south wall of the coulee which had some really cool rock formations. It was a little frostier than the north wall as it didn't get any sun, but I didn't notice more than a few icy patches and all were easy to get around.

There was probably 8-12 cars at the lot upon arrival and departure. I didn't see anyone at all the first hour of the hike and after that, no one closer than 1/2 a mile. There's tons of space in the coulee so it was easy to stay distant from other parties. There were a few hunters as it is WDFW land, so if you have a bright hat it can't hurt to wear it!

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