Yesterday was a long day. Then today, we continued our search for the sun on Easton Ridge. Avalanche danger is considerable at this time of the year. So we tend to visit Puget Sound or Cascades crest’s east.
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Easton Ridge at a Glance
Access: Kachess Dam Road
Round Trip: 9 miles
Elevation Range: 2240′-4517′
Gear: microspikes, snowshoes
GPS Track: available
Dog-Friendly: yes
Road Walk to Easton Ridge Trail
Kachess Dam Road is inaccessible in the winter, so most would park between the stop sign and the berm. Beyond that point is a snowmobile paradise. We started strolling at 7 AM and soon enjoyed a quiet walk to Kachess Ridge Trailhead.
I could do without snowshoes lower on Easton Ridge Trail because of the recent tracks. But I used microspikes on the icy path to avoid slipping before reaching the fork. Here most tracks went onto the Domerie Divide Trail.
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Easton Ridge Traverse
The pup and I walked southeast from the fork, following some tracks. We sometimes would posthole in the semi-open forest, but it wasn’t too bad. En route, we had the occasional views of the nearby ridgelines.
The hazy view of I-90 beside the winding Yakima River was at our feet and paws. The river’s vastness continues to fascinate me. The headwaters start in Keechelus Lake and flow to Richland in Eastern Washington.
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Northwest Ridge Traverse
So far, we followed the tracks that soon faded before the Point 4291 outcrops. I put on snowshoes after a break before finishing the rest of 1.2 miles. En route, we bypassed the rocky terrain from the south.
I plunged forwarded a few times while traversing sideways before going back to the crest. After going over two minor bumps, we finally reached the broad summit. The high point in the clearing wasn’t the actual summit but the one behind the line of tall trees.
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Easton Ridge Summit Views and Sunshine
Visible places included Kachess Ridge, Mount Baldy, and Domerie Peak. We only stood on top for a few seconds before returning to the south side to be out of the wind. But the gusts continued during the entire visit.
I even saw a few peaks in the Teanaway Backcountry and Cle Elum Lake’s south end. Low clouds to the south never dissipated to see anything there clearly. But the vistas were decent views in all other directions.
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Outro
On the way down, we took a break by Point 4291. The snow had softened by now, so I kept the snowshoes on and took them off by the fork. It was surprising not to run into people during the hike to the main road.
As I had anticipated, snowmobilers were now out and about having a blast.
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