Photos from this trip can be found here.
A relatively quick plan B trip to other side of the mountains for better weather. But even the Columbia Plateau couldn’t escape the stubborn, permeating low clouds. Although I’d much prefer seeing something in lower elevation than nothing from a summit.
For people who might not be familiar with the whereabouts of Sentinel Mountain, most refer to it as Saddle Mountain. But to be semantically clear, Saddle Mountains is a mountain range, while Sentinel Mountain is one of the several high points along the range. The range extends over to west of Columbia River and ends just east of Manatash Ridge.
Photos from this trip can be found here.
Like the time before, we took Road R SW to top of the ridge at the 90-degree road bend and parked somewhere amid clouds. On the way up, we passed several groups of camper trailers with dirt bikes ready to hit the hills.
Visibility was generally poor. But in hope to catch a glimpse of what views there were below the clouds, we hiked toward the west ridge and descended couple hundred of feet on easy terrain. And to avoid the occasional dirt bikers popping up on the road, we stayed on the ridge the entire time.
Photos from this trip can be found here.
A good 15-minute window of views from the slopes, then clouds swooped in and took the views away. Uninspired by the weather development to move farther down the ridge, we turned around after a snack break. Most places were capped in low clouds, even the gigantic wind turbines along I-90 erected headlessly into the overcast.
Access: Mattawa, WA
Gear: none