No Name Ridge - Thorp Mountain, French Cabin Creek — Thursday, Aug. 7, 2014

Snoqualmie Region > Salmon La Sac/Teanaway

After being unsuccessful in arranging transportation for a one way hike of the entire length of the Kachess Ridge, I decided to split it into two hikes. This section was from the northern terminus to the junction with trail 1305. We drove to the trailhead of French Cabin Creek Trail #1305 and left one vehicle. Then drove to the northern trailhead of Kachess Ridge Trail #1315 where we parked the other vehicle and began the hike. Road 125 was in good condition and both the Passat and Prius negotiated it without any difficulty. As mentioned in a previous report, there is a dip in the road from a washout, but by going over it slowly, neither vehicle bottomed out. The trail is in good condition without too many ups and downs except for the section south of Thorp Mtn. We did a side trip to the Thorp Mtn. Lookout where we enjoyed splendid views and to our surprise, a rather abundant display of wildflowers. This was the highlight of the trip and although I had been there twice before, I was glad to have gone there again. The weather was comfortably in the 60's at 5000 feet, the sky was clear and free of smoke. Next week we'll do the southern part of Kachess Ridge.