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Trip Report

Easton Ridge — Thursday, May. 22, 2014

Snoqualmie Region > Snoqualmie Pass

Trip Report By

15

Type of Hike

Day hike

Trails Hiked

  • Wildflowers blooming
  • Hiked with a dog
Calypso (Fairy Slipper) Orchids
This is the perfect time to see the incredible variety of wildflowers at their peak bloom. This is only the second time that I have been able to find the illusive Calypso Orchid. The Calypso(Fairy Slipper) Orchids are mostly along the first 1/2 mile of trail. Lots of other flowers that I have never seen before along the way. The flowers are scattered throughout the forest along the entire journey. Lots of Glacier Lilys and Trillium at the shallow saddle along the ridgeline. Nice airy open views of the I-90 corridor. Although the viewscape is far from pristine(lots of clearcuts) it is nice none the less. The directions and trail description in the WTA Trail Guide are spot on. Nothing is marked so make sure to bring directions. The trail is very steep but the tread is in great condition. Many blowdowns to negotiate but they effectively keep out the illegal horseback riders and motorcycles. Terpene reported some ugly motorcycle damage on this trail in 2010. No remnants of that damage are evident now fortunately. No snow at all now. We had a little scare with Maddy running off after a deer at about 1.5 miles in. This of course occurred immediately after an angry hiker lady with an umbrella yelled at me for having the dog off leash. After letting her know that there is no requirement for leashing the dog on this particular trail, Maddy was no where to be found. An hour later we found Maddy waiting patiently at the trailhead. I have to concede victory to angry umbrella lady on this one although I suspect that she may have cast an evil spell on Maddy to make her vanish.
Lake Kachess
Chocolate Lily. Tough to spot this one.
I don't know the name of this one
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Comments

Leashes

just my two cents (and general common sense here) the leash stuff is generally more for the wildlife's sake, as what happened is a prime example of unnecessary stress. you are in their domain, and i'm sure you wouldn't enjoy some unknown animal coming into your house and chasing you around.

Posted by:


"Caraveo206" on May 23, 2014 04:33 AM

The rules

Review the rules on travelling with dogs on this website. Offleash does not equal out of control.

Posted by:


wtaer on May 23, 2014 06:27 AM

Leashes

This is always a touchy subject. Maddy is actually very well controlled 99% of the time. I wish I could say the same for most humans. She does have a thing for chasing deer on occasion however. There may be some survival benefit to have the deer be skittish around people and dogs since during hunting season a comfortable calm deer is a dead deer.

Posted by:


maddymcgoo on May 23, 2014 06:40 AM

Out of control

It's clear on this website, not touchy or vague. Do not try to justify your dog chasing wildlife - not any more benefit to the deer than if a car chased you around your neighborhood. Your dog was out of your control most of the day by your own admission.

Posted by:


wtaer on May 23, 2014 06:40 AM

Dog off-leash.

I have no respect for people who hike with dogs off leash. I don't appreciate having to decide if the dog or dogs charging up to me without a person around are friendly or if I have to feign calmness while they growl and aggressively sniff me.

Posted by:


Coelho on May 23, 2014 09:21 AM

Trip Report

Thank you for your beautiful write up concerning the ridge and flowers. I find it hard to find a place to take my dog because he is an English Setter and loves to run.... Needless to say I do not take him on many hikes except on deserted roads. I am impressed that Maddy is under control 99% of the time... She must be a sweet dog that you love. When we were there on Monday the 19th we did not see anyone. I hope that the other folks can give Maddy and you a little grace..... Sounds like she is a sweet heart most of the time and that you were scared when she was lost. It is hard sometimes when we are taking pictures of wildlife and a doggie scares our pristine shot away, But we do the same thing .. Last year on Iron Peak we were photographing a mountain goat and a man came up with two dogs who chased our great shot away. Anyway... I hope people can be kind to you and Maddy.

Posted by:


PageLane on May 23, 2014 09:10 AM

Trip Report

PageLane,
Thank you for the kind words. It was refreshing after preceding comments. I want to thank you since it was your recent report that inspired me to check this great place. Everybody get out there do some more hiking. It is great stress relief.

Steve

Posted by:


maddymcgoo on May 23, 2014 09:10 AM

Don't feign anything

Let the rude off-leasher know how you feel. As explained on this site, all State lands, including Tiger Mt., the Chirico Trail, Mt. Si, and all King County parks are on-leash only. I would like to see offenders ticketed.

Posted by:


wtaer on May 23, 2014 09:21 AM

Snow

Is the trail visible or under snow? I don't have GPS with me, so just wondering whether I would be able to navigate all the way to ridge without gps's help.

Posted by:


vik850 on May 23, 2014 11:22 PM

Snow

The trail is completely snow free and easy to follow.

Posted by:


maddymcgoo on May 23, 2014 11:22 PM

Wildflower ID

Your unidentified flower is the Lanceleaf Spring Beauty, Claytonia lanceolata.

BTW, a reminder about Calypsos: you can not transplant these to your garden. They will certainly die a lonely death there. Even the best horticulturists can't accomplish this, so it's best to leave them in place for all to enjoy.

Posted by:


terpene on May 24, 2014 09:19 PM

Wildflower ID

Thank you Terpene. I'm impressed that you knew that. It was one of my favorites.

Posted by:


maddymcgoo on May 24, 2014 09:19 PM

Unleashed dog

Hiking with an unleashed dog is not only extremely rude to other hikers, it's illegal and completely irresponsible to treat a pet so badly--some dogs are easily lost in the forest.

Posted by:


"Nordique" on May 25, 2014 12:29 AM

Unleashed Dog

I seem to have unleashed(pun intended) some pent up emotions on this issue. I agree that any dog that intimidates hikers should be on leash or better yet left at home. It can ruin ones experience if they feel threatened by an aggressive pet. I do however want to clear up some apparent ignorance about leash laws. Dogs must be on leash on most trails leading into the Alpine Lakes Wilderness. This include many hikes on the I-90 corridor. The Easton Ridge trail is well outside of the Alpine Lakes wilderness and dogs are definitely allowed off leash as long as they are under voice command. Look at this link for a summary of these confusing rules:
http://www.wta.org/[…]/correction-on-dog-leash-rules

Posted by:


maddymcgoo on May 25, 2014 05:49 AM

Not what it said

Nice way to selectively read the linked article. What it says is that IF your dog is under "strict voice control" it can be off leash. By your own admission, you weren't even within voice range 99% of the day.

Posted by:


wtaer on May 25, 2014 04:59 AM

What it actually says

The link says your dog must be on leash unless it is under voice control. By your own admission your dog was out of your sight 99% of the day. You can't just dump your dog at the trailhead and be lazy about scooping and leashing.

Posted by:


wtaer on May 25, 2014 05:49 AM

Poor canines

Sounds to me like Maddy is a great dog and is virtually always under voice control by a caring and responsible owner. I have hiked these trails for the past 50 years and have always enjoyed watching dogs and their owners out having a pleasurable time. I enjoy meeting both dogs and owners along the way. Most dogs are very well behaved, as Maddy is almost all of the time.

Frankly I think it "somewhat a crime" that as many trails have been closed to dogs off leash as have been. There should be a few trails in all areas than are open to dogs and their owners to enjoy being out together where the dog can enjoy being more free. Some dogs are much happier to be with their owners off leash. I would guess that the vast majority of the time they are happy to be in close proximity to their owners,as opposed to running off. Naturally, owners of dogs that are not people friendly have a responsibility to have their dogs leashed and well controlled at all times when on trails.

Sorry every one picked on you Maddy. You sound like a "swell pup" to me.

Posted by:


kylee on Jun 15, 2014 11:45 AM