Yesterday’s last-minute trip didn’t leave us much time to explore. But we also cut the trip short. So we could get into Wenatchee at a decent hour and spend the night. I wanted to get an early start on Beaver Hill. The outing was a great excuse to grab a milkshake at the 59er Diner on the way home.
See more trip photos here.
Beaver Hill and Plain Ridge at a Glance
Access: Beaver Hill-Plain Ridge Pass
Round Trip: 3.7 miles
Elevation Range: 2260′-3088′
Gear: microspikes
GPS Track: available
Dog-Friendly: yes
Plain, Washington
There is one fun fact about the community of Plain. The name was “Beaver Valley” over a hundred years ago. But the postal service did not approve the name because it was too long. So the residents requested a more “plain” name.
Chumstick Highway connects the community of Plain and the City of Leavenworth on an old railroad grade. It then goes through the pass on the north side of Beaver Hill. Then from there, it’s just a one-mile hike up to the top.
See more trip photos here.
Beaver Hill
Beaver Hill is southeast of Plain. It’s also one of the few gems along Wenatchee River Valley. To the west is Natapoc Mountain, which doesn’t see many visitors in any given year. So it provides complete solitude.
Beaver Hill also makes an excellent beginner’s hike with the short distance and mild elevation gain. So that would give us more time to explore something else later if we wanted.
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Going up the North Ridge
From the pass, we hiked southbound while going uphill along the ridgeline. Soon, we reached the false peak, aka the northwest summit. Then it was just a 10-minute ridge walk to reach the top from there.
There was snow on the ground. But not enough to snowshoe. So I just used microspikes to keep from slipping on the occasionally icy trail. The temperature was in the low 30s.
See more trip photos here.
Beaver Hill Summit
Beaver Hill stands just over 2800′. But both summits offered a decent amount of views. I could see the Icicle Ridge and even the tip of The Enchantments peaks. The community of Plain, plus nearby high points, were all within our sight.
Then there were views of the prominent Natapoc Mountain to the west and Tumwater Mountain to the south. I couldn’t see anything in the north because of the trees. In the springtime, there would also be a variety of wildflowers on the hillside.
See more trip photos here.
Onward to Plain Ridge
The gorgeous weather today made me want to explore more. So on the way down, I decided to go up to Plain Ridge north of the pass. Even though I didn’t research beforehand, the southwest ridge looked straightforward.
Shortly, we ran across the road. Then we went right back into the trees on the west slopes. After some scrambling, we made it up on the ridgeline. Then we followed a road adorned with recent snowmobile tracks.
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Plain Ridge Summit Plus Outro
The road bypassed the ridge below the top. So we left the roadway and stayed on the crest. We postholed half of the time, and it was annoying. But soon, we were on the forested summit without views.
Right below the summit was an opening. It overlooked Chumstick Highway to the south. So I took a few photos there before we went back onto the road. From there, we went back down to the car at the pass and finished the trip.
See more trip photos here.