Douglas Creek Canyon - North — Sunday, Apr. 5, 2015

Central Washington > Wenatchee

Easter Sunday presented itself with the perfect opportunity to visit this trail. Flying insects buzzed throughout the entire trip. The skies varied from sunny to cloudy. The wind funneled through the canyon making the 50°F temperatures feel much cooler. A hat is needed for both the wind and the sun. The trail was in good repair. Very little debris was found. Some garbage left by someone unlikely to ever read this was picked up and packed out. People. Some just don't get it. The basalt cliffs were speckled with Pillow Basalt. Personally I think it should be called Balloon Basalt as the shapes are much rounder than flat and the way they were formed would be more like blowing up a balloon than not. Regardless, it was a very interesting sight to see. Wildlife ranged from a frightened mouse on the trail to fish in the creek and birds in the air. A lone gartner snake (Thamnophis sirtalis) slithered away startling me. I hadn't seen him but my wife had. After seeing that I was far more vigilant about what might be on the trail. Brook trout darted from side to side of the various areas of Douglas Creek. The water was clear in most areas with the exception of the pools. The pools, while clean of human garbage was full of algae. The trail was in very good condition. Only a very few places was it not. Several trail signs though had been knocked down. I can only assume that happened by ATVs or the like. Tracks of ATVs were seen even though at the trail head a sign expressly prohibits their use. Again, people. Some just don't seem to get it. The northern portion of Douglas Creek Canyon Trail supposedly offers places to camp. We did not see any manmade or natural sites. That doesn't mean they don't exist, we just didn't see them. Water is available, but you should use a purifier. Fires are allowed in either cookstove or rockwalled fire ring.