A friend and I decided to hike Chiwaukum Creek as our first overnight trip of the season. It seemed like a reasonable choice considering neither of us is in great condition yet and we both had new gear to test out.
The first three miles of the trail were mostly clear but with some patches of compact or slushy snow. The next three miles or so had more snow. Some was compact and easy to walk across but some was getting soft and we ended up breaking though up our knees or higher. I’d say for the whole hike, we were on snow more often than not, which made for slower going than expected. Fortunately the elevation gain was gradual and the trail was always easy to follow so it was mostly easy going.
Our plan was to hike to Timothy Meadow and camp there for the night. But after the intersection with trail 1591 the trial was almost completely covered in snow and ice. After going about .5 mi from that intersection, we decided to turn around and find a clear dry place to set up camp. We chose a spot about .5 mi east of the creek, which turned out great because it had coverage from some big pines, quick access to water, and some decent views.
The sun set down the valley instead of behind a ridge so it stayed light pretty late. But once it did go down the temperature dropped quickly. Luckily there was plenty of dry wood to burn to keep us warm. The temp continued to drop into the night and at one point I heard what I thought was light rain on my fly. I awoke the next morning to about .5 in of snow on the ground. That, mixed with some early sunlight, made for a beautiful morning. We got hit with one more flurry of snow during breakfast before taking off for the trailhead. The top layer of snow froze during the night, which made the going easier at first. As the morning went on, it started to melt and made for a slushy hike.
I would considering coming back in the summer to explore deeper into the valley.
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