“Say Cheese!”
Although we have been on a few hikes this year, I have not put many hiking posts up on the blog. This is partly due to going on repeat hikes, places we have been before, or places that are considered too easy for most hikers.
Ready to start out. The trail begins just on the other side of the gate barring motorized vehicles. It is open to hikers, bikers, horses during hiking season and in the winter to snowmobiles and skiers.
Bob saw a trip report about Cheese Rock, located in the Teanaway Community Forest, about a 2- hour drive from home. Since we had not be on this trail and it is short, 3.5 miles RT, with some elevation gain, 400 ft., we decided to try it. There is a large parking area with a newer outhouse, clean and nice. Camping is allowed in designated areas. A Discover Pass is required.
This Community Forest, established in 2013, aims to protect the water supply, maintain land for forestry and grazing, recreation, restore fish habitat, and to work as a community partnership with the Yakima nation and local businesses and conservation groups. The trails do not yet appear in guides and are not really marked, except by chance, there might be a plastic red-white strip tied to a tree to note which branch to take at a junction.
We had barely begun walking when we met a young mother with a baby in a back-carrier coming down the trail toward us. We stopped to ask her how far she had gone and get some tips about the trail. She told us she had gone to Cheese Rock and there were two routes to the rock, one required walking on a long rock slab for some distance, the other one was an old logging road. Unwilling to risk the rock slab route with her baby she had elected the logging road. She highly recommended the way she had chosen and gave us directions to keep left where the road branched. We took her advice. The majority of the way to Cheese Rock was along the logging road that ended with a short, steep up on a narrow trail up to the backside of Cheese Rock.
A surprise hello from two llamas and their friends
She was humming! Her handler said she was talking to us.
While we were talking with her, two more people, each with a llama, came down the same route she had taken. We talked with them also and learned the llamas were pack-llamas. Since we had entered their off-season, they were taking the animals out for exercise. We asked if they had more llamas and they told us they had 5 more that they hired out as pack animals. The llamas hummed and “smiled” at us.
Vine and Douglas Maples in bright fall colors
Most of the trail was bracketed by colors ranging from green to yellow to orange to bright red
Western Larch turning yellow-gold
Eastern Washington Elderberry. These berries can be used to make jam or Elderberry juice or wine. The Western Washington variety is not good to eat in any form.
Thistle
These were the only people we saw all day. The trail was framed in bright fall colors, possibly the height of color, for which we had hoped and were not disappointed. This is Eastern Washington so most of the trees were Ponderosa Pines with a few Hemlock, Douglas Fir as well as lots of Maples and, a surprise, Western Larch turning gold! There is not as much undergrowth as on the western side of the mountains which provides a feeling of openness.
Our approach was from the backside of the rock and it didn't look like much.
Front of Cheese Rock!
The rock is interesting. I thought it looked like it was once a huge amount of hot mud, with air bubbles that burst and formed the holes making the rock look like Swiss Cheese. Bob thought it was eroded sandstone. Whatever it is, it is monstrously huge. We came upon it from the back and walked around to the front to take the pictures. Cheese Rock is just a small part of a much larger slab that stretches almost as far as the eye can see. Unfortunately, the rock has quite a bit of graffiti, mostly consisting of love notes with hearts and initials.
Bob standing on the rock slab. The view looking northwest from Cheese Rock
First snow of the season on Mt. Stuart as seen from the highway
On the return to the car, I thought I saw a bear as a large black shape crossed the road below. When we drove out, I saw it again and, nope, not a bear at all, it was a Black Angus steer. As we arrived, we noticed Black Angus cattle grazing on both sides of a fence and a sign stating that the range area was open to livestock. Perhaps not as exciting as a bear sighting but in keeping with the purpose of the community forest.
Total for the day, 4 people, including a baby, 2 llamas , no dogs. Our first dog-less day with perfect quiet and solitude.
3.5 miles RT, 400 ft gain
No comments:
Post a Comment