Palouse to Cascade Trail, 2021

 

 

 Lots of daisies and foxglove on the way up to the main trail

 

 

 

 

Most of the trail looks like this

 

 

Now named the Palouse to Cascade Trail; it was formerly the John Wayne Pioneer Trail or Iron Horse State Park Trail.  At 44 miles and less than a one hour drive from home it is one of the closest hikes for us.  We got up at a normal time and still had an early start before the day got too hot.  We have had a lot of really hot days recently.  Since neither of us do as well in the heat as we did when we were younger, Bob watches the weather forecasts and chooses the most comfortable days for our hikes.   

 

The trailhead parking lot is large and has an outhouse.  This hike requires a Discover Pass.  From the parking area there is a narrow steep trail up to what was originally part of the Chicago Milwaukee St. Paul and Pacific Railroad.  Because it is an old railroad bed it is wide and nicely graded with a gentle incline.  The trail is open to hikers, bikers, horses and rock climbers.

 

 

Rock climbing lessons for kids summer camp

Approaching the first trestle crossing with rock climbing class on the right

 

On the day we went there were 4 climbing groups that included kids of all ages from very young to older teens in a summer camp and one group of beginning adult climbers.  That made for a total of approximately 40 to 50 rock climbers.  There are 2 port-a-potties at the climbing sites.  There were more bikers than hikers and no horses the day we were there. 

 

 

One of the trestles

 

 Most of the way it is not possible to see the highway below; however, we did have one view

 

As mentioned previously, I do not like heights and suffer from some vertigo at times.  This trail has trestles that proved a challenge for me.  They are extremely high off the ground, but strong, paved and built to hold up a train! However, I still had difficulty getting across them.  Bob held my hand and I focused on the center of the path, not looking ahead nor to either side, and hurried as fast as possible to get across.  We crossed two of the trestles and used the third, much longer one, as the turn-around point.  Bob went across that one and took photos along the way while I waited for him to return.  

 

 A wonderful surprise was the number of flowers on display along the trail. 

 

 Clover

 

 

 Daisies

 

 

 Penstemon

 

 

Delicate small twin flower

Harebells also called Scotch bells

Fireweed

Foxglove

Tiger Lilies

This was a 5.6-mile RT hike for us with an elevation gain of 300 ft.

Count for the day:  17 hikers, 28 bikers, 40 to 50 rock climbers, and one dog.