Snow Peak, Kettle Crest South — Saturday, Sep. 4, 2010

Eastern Washington > Okanogan Highlands/Kettle River Range

Snow Peak Cabin is straight out of a dream. (Reserve at www.recreation.gov) I went on Labor Day weekend, by myself, my very first overnight backpacking trip and was spoiled by this amazing little cabin. A new wood stove was flown in just a week ago and kept me toasty warm. There was tons of wood. The website says you have to chop your own wood, but the pieces are the perfect size already, so you don’t need to chop it. The night sky was so thick with stars, it felt like if you scrambled to the top of Snow Peak you could reach up and touch them. There’s a thermometer in the cabin that said it was 31 degrees throughout the night and early morning. And it was crazy windy at night and even shook the cabin; I was so glad I wasn’t tenting it. I heard from a local that the cabin is owned by mice, but didn’t see or hear any, so that was a relief. The only wildlife I saw were lots of little shrews and some hawks. Supposedly, the elusive lynx lives in that area, but I wasn’t lucky enough to see one, or even a black bear. The cabin is at 6400ft and the weather varied incredibly. The hike in was perfect (sunny, breezy, puffy passing clouds in the blue sky); the hike out was feisty (cold, windy, cloudy, hailing). I was surprised to find a tiny spring along the trail a quarter mile from the cabin this late in the summer (with at least a dozen blue butterflies); and even more surprised to find a piped trough-like thing of water closer to the cabin. From Republic, follow hwy 20 east a few miles, which becomes the Sherman Pass Scenic Byway. At milepost 309, turn right onto Hall Creek Road 99, go about 3 miles, then turn left onto Forest Road 2050100 (Snow Peak Road 100) and drive about 4 miles until you reach trailhead. The road is in excellent condition. (This is summer access. In the winter, you have to go in from the north, on the Sherman Pass trail, which is longer and harder.) Snow Peak Trail #10 goes 2.7 miles east, 600ft elevation gain, and then connects to the Kettle Crest Trail #13 (which is also part of the Pacific Northwest National Scenic Trail). To get to the cabin, turn right and go south for 0.5 miles. (Trail area map: www.fs.fed.us/r6/colville/2007-recreation/trails/trail-maps/sher_edds.jpg) The trail winds up and up through the site of the 1988 fire started by lightning on White Mountain on the south end of the Kettle Range. The views are incredible the whole way. On a clear day, you can see west to the Cascades, east into Idaho, and north into Canada. It took me 4 hours in, 2 hours out, but I am a REALLY slow hiker. Even though it was a holiday weekend, I only saw one small group of four people and two dogs, and a two forest service people who must have been doing some trail maintenance.