April Hikes 2014

If you are a Seattle Backpackers Meetup organizer here are some April hikes from years past that were a lot of fun and and you can easily [copy this meetup] to schedule it for yourself.  Be sure to read through before scheduling to make sure dates and meeting locations are adjusted to fit your preferences.

Suggested April hikes Meetups:

1) Tener-Si Traverse Snowshoe Hike:     Let’s hike the Kamikaze Trail up to Mt Teneriffe, follow the ridge road down to Mt Si, and hike down the Mt Si trail. That’s 11 miles and 4000+ ft elevation gain……..

2) Ancient Lakes Overnight: How about a super easy hike in sunny eastern Washington?……..

3) Oil City to Third Beach Backpack Trip: Let’s go backpacking at the beach! This is a 3-day, 2-night, 17-mile, very muddy adventure…..

4) West Granite Mountain Snowshoe Dayhike: Stretch you legs on this awesome day hike! West Granite is a less-visited peak just beside Granite Mountain, at I90 exit 47. We’ll start out on the trail to Talapus and Olallie Lakes…..

5) Double Feature Day Hike: Cedar Butte and Rattlesnake Ledges: Meet at the Rattlesnake Lake State Park, then head west on the Iron Horse Trail formile to the Cedar Butte trailhead. Going up, we will take the scenic Blowout trail to the summit to enjoy the views (about a 800 foot gain). Then back down to the trailhead and up to the Rattlesnake Ledges (about 1,100 foot gain). The overall hike is around 8 miles…..

6) Badass Mid-Week Rainier Snowshoe!: We’ll start at the Longmire Ranger Station, loop around the mysteriously bubbling Longmire Meadows, and climb up to Rampart Ridge. This geologic formation left from a lava flow offers……

7) Mt. Si Hike!: Si! This is a nice, classic I-90 hike with great views and low drive-time (comparatively!). We’ll start off in nice forest and climb to the summit, gaining 3550 feet of elevation in 4 miles. (8 miles round-trip)…….

8) Snowshoe Hike: Pratt Ridge Saddle (maybe Pratt Lake): The Pratt Lake trail is a great go-to winterhike. It starts at low elevation (1800′) and is pleasant for a leisurely stroll to Olallie Lake for our first extended break……..

9) Copper Creek Hut Snowshoe Trip– 2 Nights: The Mt Tahoma Trails Association, located next to Mt Rainier National Park, has groomed trails and maintains several huts. Our destination is Copper Creek Hut, which is the only hut I’ve never been to……

10) Easter Egg Hike!: The course will span easy, flat terrain as well as some big hills and even some weird old mine shafts! But this is largely dependent on YOU, my dear fellow egg-hunting hikers! I ……

11) Wallace Falls State Park Day Hike!: Join me on an awesomely beautiful loop hike in Wallace Falls State Park. We will ascend through verdant forest alongside the Wallace River to several impressive waterfalls, before looping over to Wallace Lake. The route will be about 10 miles total, with a decent climb in the beginning portion of the hike……

12) Backpack Trip: Rialto Beach on the Olympic Peninsula (First Night): We will have great beachcombing opportunities. There is also a unique natural feature near camp called the Hole-in-the-Wall. Rain or shine, expect big beach fires to help keep warm and toasty…….

13) Steep Tiger Mountain Hike: We will take the Bus Trail, to the Nook Trail and up to the Talus Caves for a short break. Then we will head up the steep Section Line trail to the Tiger 3 Summit and should be back to the parking lot between noon and 1pm……

14) Mt. Washington Summit Day Hike: here are ledges, waterfalls, caves, and a multitude of trails that offer endless loop hike opportunities. For an added bonus, it’s much less know than comparable hikes nearby like Mt. Si or Mailbox Peak…..

15) wallace lake, greg ball trail: i have wanted to do this one for awhile,its one i have never been to outside of wallace falls which is the same trailhead and awsome as well. bring snacks,we will be having lunch at a local establishment …..

16) Oyster Dome: waterproof boots are recommended, and gaitors if you have them……

17) Head up the Skoke (Staircase) – wander in the snow: We will head up the Skoke and travel as far as the group feels comfortable…..

18) Photo Hike: Ebey’s Landing: Stand over the some of the highest coastal bluffs in Washington and wait for the sunset behind the olympics on this 6 mile hike.  Maybe we’ll see a few eagles on the way, so bring a zoom lens…..

19) North Fork Quinalt 3 day: In skiing terms this may be a black diamond, or double black diamond hike. There will be deep stream crossings, some bushwhacking and rough campsites…..

20) Triple Header Event -The Duckabush River Trail, Dosewallips camp out and Oysters: This is intended to be a weekend with 3 specific and different features. One is an overnight car camp at a great state park along Hood Canal. This will be a mixer and will give us an opportunity to …..

21) Camp Handy, Dungeness River Basin, Olympic National Forest: we will hike through old growth forest alongside the Dungeness River for 3.3 miles to arrive at the Camp Handy meadow. At the first mile in, we will log cross Royal Creek, fed by Royal Basin, an area popular with backpackers and controlled by the Park Service……

22) Saturday singles only spring day hike (Rattle Snake Ridge): This is a nice beginning to the summer season type of hike.. Only 4 miles round trip. We will be at the top around noon so bring some snacks for lunch…..

23) Hex Mountain Snowshoe Trip- Overnight: Hex Mountain trail. Quoting the book Snowshoe Routes-WA by D.Nelson, This trail represents the epitome of snowshoeing in the Cascades, a long steady climb through lush old forests…..

24) New Members only Overnight Ape Cave Snowshoe: Please be sure to read this entire post before signing up…Thanks Total round trip 10 miles Elevation gain: insignificant avalanche danger: insignificant Maps:Green Trails map # 364 USGS map for Mount Mitchell Pictures from last year This trail is accessible

25) Kayak-Nisqually Wildlife Refuge:  I figured it would be great to do some kayaking among the tidal flats and inlets and maybe get another chance to see some Raptors and other smaller birds. So I came across this kayak rental place in the Olympia area

Inspirational April hikes ideas from Seattle Backpackers Magazine:

1) Snowshoeing Coldwater Lake Loop – Mt St Helens: Winter’s harshness has ended, by calendar only. Keep your fingers crossed. If your like me, your screaming for spring, and especially summer!! Winter still has it’s many advantages and snowshoeing is one of them. I had been couped up for month and had to escape…..

2) Chambers Bay: The whole family will enjoy exploring this unearthly landscape of carved hillsides and towering ruins on the shores of Puget Sound. Once the site of a quarry and cement plant…..

3) Cirque of the Towers, Wind River Range, Wyoming: I am not sure where I first read about the Wind River Range, but every trip report or article I read was filled with superlatives and awe, written in hushed and reverent tones describing the grandeur of the Winds. Just the name itself evokes an image of rocky windswept plateaus of peaks and spires……

4) Early Spring Washington Hikes: I am apt to cringe when someone asks about my favorite photography sites in the Pacific Northwest. How can I choose when there are so many? Though it’s still winter I am already eagerly anticipating my favorite spring hikes in Washington, described below…..

Inspirational April hikes ideas from Washington Trails Association: 

1) Frenchman Coulee: On summer weekends, rock climbers flock to the nearby Frenchman Coulee climbing area, drawn to the tall vertical columns of basalt that line the coulee walls. Hikers, who prefer their lands more horizontal than vertical, will also find great enjoyment here…..

2) Icicle Ridge: Often free of snow as early as April, this excellent early season hike offers hikers what they have been missing for months: a good chance of sun (this being the sunny side of the Cascades….

3) Baker Lake–Maple Grove: Magnificent old growth forests, stellar views of Mount Baker, turbulent tributaries,and, of course, a beautiful lake make this trail a great path to travel…..

4) Cowiche Canyon: A group of dedicated volunteers with the Cowiche Canyon Conservancy worked for years to develop this trail – or, rather, to un-develop this trail – because this old railroad right-of-way is now a path through a wild wonderland……

5) Murhut Falls: This short trail in the Hood Canal Ranger District on the east side of the Olympics takes hikers to a relatively unknown waterfall…..

6) Lake Serene – Bridal Veil Falls: Towering and formidable, Mount Index is perhaps the most awesome and fiercest sight and site along US 2. But softening its stark appearance is Bridal Veil Falls. Emanating from beneath the mountain’s austere crags, the tiered and tumbling cataract drapes over granite slabs…..

7) Whiskey Dick Wildlife Area: Though this land is called a “wildlife area,” it could as easily be named a state wildflower area. On any given spring day, hikers can expect to see an array of wildflowers that puts the pretty alpine meadows to shame…..

8) Hoh River-Five Mile Island: The most famous of all the Olympic rain forests, the Hoh is one of the busiest places in Olympic National Park. A visitors center and a couple of well-groomed nature trails attract bus loads of admirers from Seattle to Seoul, Boston to Berlin. And its not just camera-toting …..