French Creek, Snowall Cradle Lake, Jack Creek & Paddy-Go-Easy Pass — Monday, Aug. 19, 2019

     My plan for this three day backpack had been to head north from Salmon La Sac along the Cle Elum River road, hike northeast over Paddy-Go-Easy Pass down to the French Creek trail, then north to the Snowall-Cradle trail and southeast past Cradle Lake to the Meadow Creek trail, then east to the Jack Creek trail and south to the Van Epps Creek trail, then on to Lake Ann, Gallagher Head, and out the Paris Creek Trail, connected to the start by a 10 mile bike ride. But halfway through I discovered that the Van Epps trail had been gutted by a forest fire and soon I was lost, my Garmin Inreach Explorer being of no help due to inadequate satellite coverage in the deep valley. So I backtracked north down Jack Creek, west up Meadow creek, then southwest over Paddy-Go-Easy Pass, as rain showers moved in.

    But it was sunny for the first two days and I met not a soul the whole time, so it felt like a real wilderness experience. I even heard elk “bugeling” my first night (it’s actually hoarse and squeeky, not melodic) camped in a bivy sack at my own tiny site about 3 miles up the Snowall-Cradle trail. Amazingly the full French Creek, Snowall-Cradle, Meadow Creek, and Jack Creek trails had been all recently cleared. Spot brushing and tread work had also been done. Yet some of these trails need more than basic maintenance.

     For example, going up and over Paddy-Go-Easy Pass above 5500’ the trail was badly eroded in sections where it was routed more or less straight up the fall line. Here it should be rebuilt, with added switchbacks and strong erosion control. Lower down, cutting back tall huckleberry bushes is long overdue on the lesser-used northeast side of the pass as it drops down to French Creek. The Paddy-Go-Easy Pass trail (officially it’s part of the French Creek trail 1595) is consistently steep but doable as a day hike or light weight overnight (my starting pack weight, including food and water was 20 lbs) with good views as you near the top and some wildflowers still in bloom.

     The Snowall-Cradle trail is also quite steep in places, but much easier through meadows, though obscure in a few spots (look for cairns) even after maintenance. This trail is more heavily used beyond Cradle Lake, though it would be a grind on the way up. The pleasant Meadow Creek trail is of moderate grade throughout, well built and maintained, with large horse camps. I stayed in one of these my second night, coming out to view the gorgeous meadow my moonlight.

    I used my wading sandals for the two crossings of Jack Creek (at Meadow Creek and the Van Epps trail), though a younger, more agile person might of rock hopped. But the crossings of Klonaqua Creek (a roaring torrent even in mid-August) and French Creek at Snowall Creek definitely required sandals, with mid-thigh water at the latter ford. The several crossings of French Creek above Klonaqua were all easy rock hopping.

     As to the Van Epps trail, some yellow ribbons mark your way through the initial overgrowth of huckleberry, but these ribbons don’t continue.  Even though the trail can be followed through fallen logs and brush for a few hundred yards into the fire zone, don’t get sucked in unless your GPS is working (one guy did get through this way). Clearing the Van Epps trail deserves a very high priority, as the Ingalls Creek detour would require an extra day, and I liked this trail when I did it several years ago. Meanwhile the official “current conditions” webpage of the Wenatchee River Ranger District gives no indication of the effective trail closure, reflecting a huge lack of due diligence.