2017/12/16 – Horse Lake Mountain III / 馬湖山之三

  • Reading time:4 mins read
Today's destination
Today’s destination

Photos from this trip can be found here.

Original plan of spending the day in Salmon La Sac area fell through due to poor weather conditions. Salmon La Sac Road was clear of snow and ice to Ronald. Beyond there, one to two inches of snow with a few tire tracks, nothing to pose any driving issues. I turned the car around by the NF-4308 bridge and drove farther east on I-90 in hope to catch the mostly sunny forecast.

A thick layer of temperature inversion was seen over the City of Wenatchee as we drove past Monitor on Highway 2. Number 2 Canyon Road was free of snow and ice to mile 4.5 where we got above the inversion. Out of nowhere, the neighborhood dog Luke “Hillwalker” came up to greet us as we were getting ready. Sun had yet to break through the clouds.

Catching some rays
Catching some rays

Photos from this trip can be found here.

A few more “private property” signs had been put up by the road since our last visit one month shy of three years ago. We hiked half a mile on the road past the private property signs before scrambling toward the southeast ridge. Hillwalker seemed to know his way around as he continued to lead. Occasionally he’d pull a disappearing act and reappeared behind us minutes later. We ran into owner of the other car as she ran down the trail with her pup.

Hillwalker’s tag indicated that he enjoys roaming the hills and not to worry about him getting lost, then I felt better about letting him tag along. Snowshoes were packed but weren’t needed on shallow snow; microspikes came in handy in slippery areas. We made good use of the largely visible main trail and crossed Number 2 Canyon Road twice before the final steep climb to the summit.

Three Brothers and McClellan Peak
Three Brothers and McClellan Peak

Photos from this trip can be found here.

Wenatchee had been under the inversion during the entire trip and it showed no signs of clearing up. We walked to northeast end of the summit ridge for a different perspective of the views and the temperature inversion. Hillwalker was the first guest to ever partake in our low-key summit birthday celebration.

Summit wasn’t terribly cold, the three of us enjoyed a long stay on top before returning to the car. On the way down I realized I had forgotten about visiting the east peak, oh well next time!

Temperature inversion
Temperature inversion

Photos from this trip can be found here.

Access: Number 2 Canyon Road
Gear: microspikes

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