The Salmo Loop is on my list of perennial hikes, and I didn't want to miss it for this year's Hike-a-Thon. However, I've already done it once as a dayhike this summer; what I really wanted was the extended backpack version of the Salmo Loop (when twenty miles just isn't enough)! This version of the Salmo Loop is 40.6 miles; members of the Spokane Mountaineers did it as a one-night backpack trip, but it could easily become a three or four day trip with easier daily mileage (we did 21.3 the first day and 19.3 the second day). We arrived Friday night and car-camped at Gypsy Meadows (a free Forest Service campground with a CTX) and started early Saturday morning at the Thunder Creek TH just across the road from the meadows. We entered the Salmo Priest Wilderness via the Thunder Creek trail, an easy five-mile hike up to the Shedroof Divide through an incredible old-growth cedar forest. Once we reached the Shedroof Divide we continued north, and we opted to include the spur trail up to the summit of Thunder Mountain (elevation 6,560'), site of an old fire lookout (now gone). After lunch at Thunder Mountain, we retraced our steps on the spur trail and then continued north on the divide until we reached trail 535 and joined the Salmo Loop. We briefly exited the trail system at the Salmo Loop trailhead, where we were surprised to see several cars--it looks as though the Salmo Loop has been discovered! However, we only ended up seeing two people on our entire trip--there is plenty of solitude in the Salmo Priest. We dropped down into the Salmo Basin and camped at the nice campsite about 1/4 mile before the Salmo River crossing. On Sunday we crossed the Salmo River and began our long climb back up to the Shedroof Divide. No trip on the Shedroof is complete without the side trip up to Little Snowy Top for the incredible views of surrounding peaks in Washington, Idaho, Montana, and Canada. The Little Snowy Top Lookout was in the best shape I've ever seen it in--someone has recently spent some time tidying up the interior of the cabin. Unfortunately, someone else has recently burned a lot of trash in the fire ring outside the cabin (for those who don't know LNT principles, look them up before venturing into the woods!). From Little Snowy Top we continued out the Shedroof Divide and exited via the Shedroof Cutoff Trail. From there it's an easy half-mile road-walk back to the Thunder Creek TH and the car. The Salmo Loop itself is in fantastic shape, having benefited from several recent WTA work parties (I got to help on the one three weeks ago!). The tread is in fantastic shape, and all but one downed tree has been cleared. The other twenty miles of this hike had a few blowdowns, and the Shedroof Divide south of the Salmo Loop was brushy. Watch out for a large blowdown on the Shedroof Cutoff trail--it fell in a bad location, crossing the trail twice at a bend. Someone tried to cut off some of the branches, but left 3-4" sticking out with each cut; it's hard to make it over the tree without impaling oneself! The wildflowers are in the middle of their peak right now; columbine is in full bloom, the tiger lilies are winding down, and the fireweed is just getting started. The huckleberries were just beginning to get ripe; this trip will only get better over the next few weeks!

I hiked the Shedroof Divide trail from Pass Creek Pass to the Thunder Creek trail intersection on this beautiful fall day. The trail is in excellent condition and the fall colors are at their peak. The first of the fall mushrooms are out, as well as the last of the huckleberry crop. The bears are also out looking for the latter--I saw two on today's hike.

I hiked the Salmo Loop in a day again this year in an effort to increase my Hike-a-Thon mileage, and this year I led it as a group hike for the Spokane Mountaineers. It was a very wet, rainy day for our hike, but the Loop is in great shape this year. It is about to be in even better shape because there is currently a WTA work party out on the trail as well! We met the volunteer vacation crew at their campsite near the old Salmo Cabin. It was just after we left the cabin that we encountered a very overgrown portion of the trail, which they will no doubt be doing brush work on over the next several days. The rain finally stopped as we reached the Shedroof Divide, but the clouds never lifted enough to reveal the surrounding mountains. However, the wildflower displays are fantastic right now.

Volunteers from a number of organizations including the WTA, Conservation Northwest and the Spokane Mountaineers have been working all summer to clear trails in the Salmo-Priest Wilderness. This is the only Wilderness in Northeast Washington and is home to a number of rare and endangered species including Mountain Caribou,lynx,wolverines and Grizzly Bears. The Salmo Loop and Crowell Ridge trails are 100% logged out and the Shedroof Divide is 95% clear. Fall is a great time to enjoy hiking in Eastern Washington. The mosquitoes are gone and the Huckleberries are ripe. Also, you won't find the crowds that are common in the Cascades and Olympics. Descriptions of these hikes can be found in Rich Lander's book "100 Hikes in the Inland Northwest". The Colville National Forest is undergoing it's Forest Plan Revision. The Colville contains 1.1 million acres and only 3% is presently protected as Wilderness. This is the least amount of any National Forest in Washington. There is a broad based effort among local recreational and environmental groups to protect additional inventoried roadless areas within the Colville NF under the Wilderness Act. The Salmo-Priest Wilderness was designated 25 years ago and with the population growth in Eastern Washington we feel that the time is ripe for a Wilderness proposal on our side of the state. We invite everyone to come enjoy the Columbia Highlands and support our effort to bring additional Wilderness to Eastern Washington.

Northeast Washington has some wonderful fall hiking opportunities. Thanks to the efforts of volunteers from Conservation Northwest, Spokane Mountaineers, the WTA and the Backcountry Horsemen a number of trails in the Salmo-Priest Wilderness are now in excellent shape. If you are looking for solitude nothing beats hiking on the eastside. Last weekend we finished trail work on a significant section of the Shedroof Divide. I would recommend car camping at Gypsy Meadows about an hours drive east of Metaline Falls. A quarter mile north is the trailhead for the Shedroof Cutoff trail (#511). This 1.8 mile trail starts as an old forest road and then enters the wilderness climbing gradually to the junction with the Shedroof Divide (#512). From there one can hike either south to Thunder Mountain or north to Shedroof Mountain. The south hike can be completed as a large loop of about 14 miles returning on the Thunder Creek trail. The north hike is an out and back to Shedroof Mountain for a total of 10 miles. An un- maintained side trail leads to the top of Shedroof Mountain (6800 ft) with spectacular views to the west of Crowell Ridge and Gypsy Peak (at 7309 ft. it is the highest peak in Eastern Washington) and to the east the Selkirk Mountains in Idaho. One can also see into Canada since you are only five miles from the border. One note of caution, this time of year there is no reliable water on the divide. So bring at least 2 liters.