Old Blewett Pass Highway — Tuesday, Sep. 14, 2021

Old Blewett Pass Road is an adventure opportunity year around. It makes for great hiking, biking (uh, which I might have done today, let’s just say the descent from the pass took me about 10 minutes 😊), skiing and snowshoeing. Of course in winter it is sometimes on weekends infested with snowmobiles. Even then, there are nearby opportunities to snowshoe or ski at Iron Ck, Hurley Ck, Pipe Ck, and several others. Old Blewett makes for a great walk in other seasons. It takes off on the left right after passing MP 159 ( heading north on 97). DO NOT stop on the road to wait to turn left. There are cars and huge trucks following you, many going over 70 mph. Just past the turnoff, you can make a right on Hurley Ck Rd and then wait for the traffic to break to get back to Old Blewett. It is 4 miles and a gain of around 1000 feet to get to the pass on this road. The north side takes 6 miles to get all the way down to 97 and gains (or loses, depending on which way you’re going) more. Both sides are quiet and peaceful, and often, few or even no cars. Sometimes there are a few bikers or people prospecting along the way. This is an old gold mining area and still active for some hopefuls. From the top of the pass, you can turn left (west) and find your way through the network of roads down to Iron Ck Rd and make about a 10 mile loop of it. This does, of course , require a hike back along the highway, which can be avoided by walking parallel to the road on the north side ( the road is heading kinda east here).  Anyway, there are a lot of potential adventures around here, and high on the road, good views of Red Top, the Iron Bear area, and mountains and forests to the east. I never get tired of Old Blewett, and I’ve been coming here for about 45 years, summer and winter.