In a world where everything needs to be epic, gnar, or type two it's sometimes refreshing to have a leisurely hike. Sunday mornings are usually reserved for training hikes that aren't a ton of fun, but make up for a week of minimal activity. The benefit of those trips is they make it possible for me to head out on truly epic adventures with the kids like this year's backpacking trips in the Goat Rocks and North Cascades National Park.
A few days prior we climbed Mt. Margaret with TNAB. That's not a hard trip, but it was something. As a result, I figured we could slack a little on Sunday.
The trail to Kachess Beacon starts at the cursed trailhead just east of Snoqualmie Pass. As far as I had made it in 2012 with the kids the trail wasn't much fun. Dusty, rocky, loose, generally lousy.
When the trail levels out the tread firmed up and the path became crowded with queen's cup, bunchberry, and vanilla leaf. Silver Creek runs along the eastern side of the trail and is full of little pools and short drops. It's easily one of the best trails of the summer.
Just before the trail crosses the creek a spur loops back up to Kachess Ridge. It's just as pretty, but now with elevation gain. Several trees down across the trail point to how little this trail is used and maintained. It never feels too steep and certainly not as difficult as the initial climb from the trailhead.
The trail emerges from the trees at the old aircraft navigation beacon. There's nothing left but the old tower and the views. I'm not a fan of summits with radio towers, but they always have decent views. Most interesting at the Kachess Beacon is the trail that continues along Kachess Ridge. It looks like it runs right along the spine of the ridge. Any ridge walk is a good walk.
This is definitely a trail we'll return to. Next time we might not cut the trip short at the Beacon. Instead, we might just follow Silver Creek up to the head of the valley below the West Peak of French Cabin Mountain. From there, we'd come back high on the ridge opposite Kachess. It'd be a long day, but a fun one. Especially with a return to the beautiful trail along Silver Creek.
