Decided to try and head east and outrun the rain and we were successful. I had worked in the Wenatchee area in the past and was always fascinated by the barren hilltops/mountains skirting the valley in this region and the sort of constant in your face views.
The Canyon turnoff road is easy to miss, and remember your Discover pass. The road has potholes but its perfectly passable with a passenger car, just watch for the big rocks. The gate area is pretty low so almost none of the elevation gain is done by car. The parking area is kind of a double/shooting range and sometimes camp area, so take that for what you will.
The trail isn't so much of a trail as a closed off forest service roads. The climb begins immediately but its not difficult and the views are constantly there and you quickly get an impression of the magnitude of your surroundings as you leave the valley behind.
The hike has a bit of lingering snow at the top, not much but its still cold enough to where some flakes came down when we reached the ridge-- ~4000 feet, we went as far as the 4300' ft peak you see coming around the last switchbacks and called it good. The wind really picks up up there, and there is no good source of water out here. Beautiful hike and a most excellent way to get elevation and not have to bust out snowshoes this time of year.
fwiw, we found that the distance from the gate to the 4300' peak was about 11.5 miles roundtrip
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