North Fork Tieton to Tieton Pass — Saturday, Jul. 3, 2004

South Cascades > Goat Rocks

The coyote is a wanderer. He currently lives in the Columbia Basin and has come to love its harshness. It is, however, the Cascades where he feels at home. The coyote has read other trip reports of the North Fork of the Tieton trail towards Tieton Pass, the Crest Trail, and beyond. What they say is true; the valley is heavily forested with few views. The tread is sometimes dusty, and always has the evidence of heavy horse use. The coyote doesn’t care about the lack of views; he values the quiet whistle of the wind and the squeak as the trees sway back and forth. The horse droppings don’t bother him either, for he views the horse and its human companions as kindred spirits, fellow travelers in the wilderness. He has no patience for those who complain and only contempt for those hikers who don't even exhibit basic civility. The coyote and his mate left the North Fork trailhead at exactly 2:05 PM. The forest was dark and quiet, just the peaceful whistle of the wind in the treetops and the call of birds. Several times during the day, we heard the sound of a large animal thrashing around, but never saw the source of the commotion. The afternoon passed quickly, as we climbed slowly towards Tieton Pass. We caught a few brief glimpses of the Goat Rocks towering above, but never a clear view. This is old growth forest and is choked with excess downed timber, brush and so forth. Without a doubt, someday it will fall victim to fire. We reached the pass about 5:15 or so and stopped for a bite to eat. The coyotes mate fretted a bit about the time, not wanting to spend the night sitting alongside the trail. Coyote has no fear of this, however, and the two continued towards McCall Basin. The trail climbs out of the pass and winds its way from the west side of the ridge to the east and finally climbs to a saddle. At the spur trail into McCall Basin, we stopped. The trip back was long and uneventful. Night gradually fell upon the forest and we reached the car at about 9:10 PM.