Change Peak by Greenway Mountain offers comparable views to the taller neighbor. Hall Creek Trestle to Change Creek Trail directly reaches the top. Meanwhile, McClellan Butte is only a stone’s throw away to the east.
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Change Peak at a Glance
Access: Hall Creek Trail
Round Trip: 10 miles
Elevation Range: 1240′-4320′
Gear: microspikes, snowshoes
GPS Track: available
Dog-Friendly: yes
Change Peak via a New Route
Change Peak sees fewer people than nearby hot spots like Mailbox Peak and Mount Si. So one still finds solitude on this hidden gem right off the beaten path. Then during research, I found an alternate route via Hall Creek.
We started from Mount Washington Trailhead in the past, but with more foot traffic. The new route adds more distance from Olallie State Park, but not by much. Who knew all roads would actually lead to Rome?
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Palouse to Cascades State Park Trail
We started at the empty gated entrance by the state park. Soon, the incredible view of Hall Creek Trestle greeted us from above. Then it suddenly dawned on me that I’d seen it a gazillion times from the freeway.
I haven’t explored the area between Change Peak and McClellan Butte. I also didn’t know that the massive structure was part of the Palouse to Cascades State Park Trail. But I learned something new today!
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Hunting Down Change Creek Trail
The steep trail took us up to the trestle, where we crossed to the west. Soon, we saw two people preparing to climb “We Did Rock.” It was also part of the Deception Crags Climbing Area off Exit 38. Again, who knew?!
I forgot to load the GPS track onto my device before the trip. Then we spent the next hour trying to find a way into Change Creek. We even followed a hidden trail before the second bridge for no reason.
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Technology Interference
So we returned to the main path, and I approached the climbers. They weren’t familiar with the area but let me use their phone since I don’t usually have mine on a hike. Otherwise, we needed to return to the car and get the info.
As it turned out, the trail was only several hundred feet east of the hidden path. We lost one and a half hours due to the late start and the unplanned route-finding. So that put us even closer to sunset time.
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Change Creek Trail to the Road
The snow-free and scenic trail took us up the east of MMM Ridge. Then it moved west of the ridgeline at 2600′ over snow patches. I put on microspikes before crossing Change Creek at 2800′ with more snow ahead and slick.
The rest of the 3.2 miles in deep powder was slow going. But it was more scenic than going through the basin by Mount Washington. Then I changed to snowshoes at 2900′ when hiking in boots became laborious.
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Change Peak Summit View Plus Exit
We reached the summit 45 minutes before sunset as the wind speed increased. The sky had quickly darkened with increasing clouds and rain that looked to be forming. So we didn’t enjoy our time on top as much.
We dodged the wind in the trees facing the opening to the north. Then we left at sunset as it began to snow, which soon turned into rain as we dropped altitude. It took a little over two hours in the dark to get back to the car.
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