Chiwaukum Creek

This is a good spring hike to take when the rare and showy Tweedy’s Lewisia are blooming, usually early to mid-May. Instead of driving miles on a bad road and hiking up a mountain, here they can be spotted only a mile from the trailhead!

The hike starts on a private gravel road behind a closed gate and past private property. Please stay on the road and don’t trespass.

Follow the main road as it follows along the river. After you pass the cabins, the road becomes lined with lupine, the hill covered with balsamroot. In a mile the road curves to the left to cross a bridge to a private cabin, there are trail signs to point you to the beginning of the actual trail on your right. Now start looking for Lewisia! Lots of clumps can be found close to the ground and growing in the rocks on the slope. This Lewisia (Lewisia tweedyi) is endemic to the Wenatchee Mountains and parts of British Columbia. It is very picky about the growing conditions, liking a very well-drained rocky soil with snow cover in the winter and little precipitation. They cannot be transplanted and are not found in the nursery trade. Enjoy them in their natural habitat, and of course do not pick them!

Once you start up the true trail, the next mile is a gentle uphill on a narrow brushy trail. How brushy depends on if there has been a trail crew in to clear it. This section is open and exposed after a recent fire burned through this once pine forest.

Lewisia is the star at the beginning of the trail, but continue on and enjoy the colorful paintbrush, purple penstemon, false Solomon’s seal and others. Some of the brush is white ceanothus, when blooming at least will be a pretty nuisance.

At 1.2 miles from the trailhead, reach the Alpine Lake Wilderness boundary and sign on the right-hand side of the trail. Keep going up until the trail levels out and then drops down to the creek at 2 miles where you will find a nice spot with some logs to sit on and enjoy your lunch.

The trail once continued deep into the wilderness but disappeared under the brush and blowdowns. Adventure on if you so choose and report what you find. When you get back from this hike, check for ticks, the east side of the Cascades is notorious for them in the spring.

It's possible to extend your trip from here, heading up to Brigham and Flora Lakes before ending at the junction with Icicle Ridge Trail, but this can be an extremely brushy way, almost impassable most years.