Chiwaukum Creek — Saturday, May. 27, 2023

We had two grandparents, two parents, and two kids (8 and 12) on a wildflower seeking hike. The flowers were plentiful and beautiful.

We went two miles in, some ways past the wilderness boundary. After the boundary there were many sections where we were walking through brush taller than me with little trail visible. I was glad to have long pants, though it did get warm and there isn’t much shade. We stopped to eat lunch at a point where the trail was down close to the creek — no shade but a cool breeze off the water kept it pleasant.

Note of warning: on the road shortly before the wilderness boundary, my kids were walking about 15 feet in front of me and started to scream. A large rattlesnake was crossing the road right in front of them, rattling. They ran back to the others and I managed to snap a photo as it crawled into a pile of rocks on the creek side of the trail. We were extra cautious after that. It didn’t appear on the return trip.