Wenaha River Trail, Smooth Ridge, Crooked Creek, Oregon Butte, Mount Misery, Turkey Creek, Panjab Trail, Melton Creek Trail & Tucannon River Canyon — Sunday, May. 29, 2016

Eastern Washington > Palouse and Blue Mountains

Trail conditions Tucannon River Trail: ~105 blow-down that have mostly been limbed and are easy to cross. Jelly Spring Trail (aka bear creek trail): ~130 blow-down (mostly ez but not limbed) from the Tucannon River to Diamond Peak. Melton Creek Trail: ~30 blow-down (mostly ez) from Diamond Peak to junction with Crooked Creek, brushy at times but good tread. Crooked Creek Trail: In good condition mostly through a burned area from Melton Creek Junction to Wenaha River. Crooked Creek can currently be crossed at the Wenaha River junction on a sketchy log with dry feet or via a knee deep ford. Wenaha River Trail: In good condition through burned area from Crooked Creek Jct to Smooth Ridge Jct. Smooth Ridge Trail: Trail is often little more than an elk path and frequently obscured by blow-down and vigorous new growth through burned area from the Wenaha River to Weller Butte. I often lost the trail only to find it again after a minute or two. Map, compass and route finding skills necessary for this section. Occasional blow-down from Weller Butte to the Jct with the Mt. Misery Trail at Oregon Butte. Mt. Misery Trail: A couple blow-down and intermittent snow to cross from the Teepee TH to Oregon Butte. A Prius at the Teepee TH suggests the road is free and clear. Trail also had snow near Diamond Peak. Turkey Creek Trail: ~70 blow-down (many large unlimbed trees) that are difficult to cross. ~10 creek crossings, all of which could be rock/log hopped with dry feet. Panjab Trail: Excellent condition. Trip report I went backpacking in the remote Tucannon-Wenaha wilderness this memorial day weekend with the goal of visiting the highest (Diamond Peak and Oregon Butte) and lowest points (Tucannon River and Wenaha River bordering the N and S ends of the wilderness) as well as taking in some of the trails through the heart of the region. I started Friday afternoon from the Tucannon River TH and made it up to Diamond Peak in time to make camp and watch the sunset. Many fungi (including morels) were fruiting along the trail between the Tucannon River and Jelly springs. Why didn't I pack any butter!? On Saturday I rambled downhill on the Melton Creek Trail which was pleasant and had views of the deep canyons of the Blue Mountains as well as the Wallowas in the distance. I surprised a couple deer and two bears in the morning and made it down to the Jct with the Crooked Creek trail by lunch time. Unfortunately, the Melton Creek trail is burned on the lower sections and stays too high above the creek to get water and shade on a hot day. Upon reaching Crooked creek I promptly took a dip, made a pot of coffee, and then passed out in the shade along the bank for a bit. I followed Crooked Creek down to the Wenaha River in the afternoon where I encountered a herd of goats on the hillside about 100 feet above the trail. I continued along the Wenaha to Fairview Bar and camped on the bank. The established campsites all burned in the recent fire and did not appear pleasant. The Wenaha Trail looked like it receives little use beyond the junction with Smooth Ridge and I'm curious what its like farther upstream and how far the burn extends. Next time I suppose... Sunday morning I got going early in order to head up Smooth Ridge before it got too hot. Climbing Smooth Ridge above the Wenaha River as the sun rose was stunning. Pictures don't do it justice. The Smooth Ridge Trail travels through burn area almost to Weller Butte. I have to admit that I enjoy hiking recent burns (in the morning and evenings; they're too hot mid-day). The contrast of charred wood and soot against vibrant new growth always makes me smile. The Smooth Ridge trail kept disappearing and reappearing on me and I had to keep my map handy to frequently confirm that I was going the correct direction. The major burn area ended just before Weller Butte and coincided with massive wild flower displays in the high meadows. I had planned to take a break at Weller Butte to eat my lunch but there were four bears grazing in the meadow below the Butte. Two were hanging out on the trail so I waited for them to wander off and made sure I was a bit further along into the woods before enjoying my Snickers bar. :) The views along this section of the ridge were great and I never needed to carry more than a liter of water between springs/creeks. McBain spring had particularly cold and delicious water gushing from it. mmmmm! I made my second and third coffees of the day at the Oregon Butte lookout and enjoyed the views before rambling down to Teepee TH and then down the Turkey Creek Trail to my bicycle which I had tossed in the trees near the Panjab TH. I was pooped by this point but managed to ride my bike back to the Tucannon TH in time to see the hills turn purple and jump in the river before it got dark. All together I encountered more bears (7) on this loop than humans (4). That's a ratio I enjoy. Thoughts on hiking in the Blue Mountains This trip was as much a reconnaissance as anything else since there is very little information in guide books and on the internet concerning hiking and backpacking in the Blue Mountains. I typically think of the Blue Mountains as hot and dry, because they are. However, it seems that there are many trails that follow creeks that flow all summer long. Hiking along Crooked Creek was really pleasant and I think next time I do a loop in this area I will hike Crooked Creek or Third Creek from the Mt. Misery Trail rather than Melton Creek. The Turkey creek trail is apparently the secret hikers trail to make an excellent loop from the Panjab TH (Panjab TH -> Indian corral -> Oregon Butte -> Teepee TH -> Panjab TH; or reverse). The Turkey Creek trail stays next to the babbling creek the whole way and has some of the best old-growth I've seen in the blue mountains. The trail is unmarked (few trail's and junctions in the Blue mountains have signs) and starts from a campsite near the port-o-john at Teepee TH and connects with the Panjab Trail a mile from the Panjab TH. Turkey Creek Trail is currently in poor condition with lots of difficult blow-down to navigate. It had a couple campsites along it. Now that I've seen some of the east side of the Tucannon-Wenaha, I'm curious about the west side and look forward to exploring the upper portion of the Wenaha River and trails connecting with it (slick ear, grizzly bear ridge, twin buttes, round butte, sawtooth, the possibilities go on...