Thirteenmile — Saturday, Jun. 25, 2022

We started from the Highway 21 trailhead and hiked 4.5 miles to our turnaround point on a hilltop looking east, which made a scenic picnic spot.  Along much of the hike there were expansive views of gently-contoured mountains and gorgeous wildflowers blooming later than usual due to the cool and wet spring. We kept an eye out for rattlesnakes, but fortunately saw only a harmless, though good-sized, garter snake at one of the creek crossings. We were glad we'd gotten an early start because by mid-morning it was hot and our last mile outbound was fairly exposed. We encountered only one other group of hikers, who were camping just before our turnaround and reported there was a spring nearby. Thirteenmile is included in Craig Romano's "100 Classic Hikes Washington," and although we only did a portion of the entire 16-mile trail, we felt it earned its place for the profusion of wildflowers and lovely views.