Squire Creek Pass via Eight-mile Trail — Sunday, Aug. 5, 2018

You have to be either young and strong, or old and ornery, to do this trail! It's either rocky, rooty, or both, and steep all the way. Don't be fooled by the short mileage!  I'm in the old and ornery catagory and it kicked my backside. The road  you want is Clear Creek, FS # 2060. It is tire punching rocky, go slow, there was a Prius in the parking lot tho. No loo. The trail is signed on the right. There had been some trailwork done on the first part of the trail, it is a bit rocky,  but not bad as N Cascade trails go. Once you get to the base of 3 O Clock rock (not labeled on GT maps) it goes from Dr Jeckyll to Mr Hyde. You veer to the right, don't get sidetracked into the boulder scramble  on the left like we did. This is a popular climbing route, but we didn't see any climbers. The steep sheer rock face is amazing! Once you cross the vine maple chocked avalanche slope, it's all root ladders, some blowdowns and picking your way up thru overgrown trail. I had to pick my way up slowly thru the tangle with my short legs. You will cross another short open rocky section, then you break out into the huckleberry fields, a hiker coming down saw a bear. There are some nice views out toward Sloan, Pugh, Whitechuck and the valley. The huckleberry fields seem to go on forever and steeply, I felt like a kid on a road trip, when are we going to get there? When you reach the granite slabs, watch for the cairns to guide you. Now the walking is easier on the granite. The little tarns are almost dried up. You finally reach a nice viewpoint with Three Fingers, Mt Bullion and the back of Whitehorse. I think we made it to the actual pass, as we saw some hikers coming in from the other side. There is a small goat trail going up to a saddle in the peak to the south. Ravennspirit followed for a ways, but I was done. The views were nice, but this hike did test my fitness level and I'm not sure whether I would do it again.The early wildflowers are gone, but we did see some fall daisies, the tiny flowers of rattlesnake orchid and budded gentian. On the way back down, we stopped at the waterfall and little stream and cooled off our feet. #Hikeathon Pls help the old gal:  give.wta.org/Muledeer