February 9 – 12 the Trekkers made their annual X-C ski pilgrimage to the Methow Valley. 
Twenty-six of us filled North Cascades BaseCamp to the brim, enjoying days of skiing, snowshoeing and relaxing, and evenings of wonderful dinners, great company, reading, conversation and games. We couldn’t have asked for better conditions…. above freezing during the days and 4 feet of perfect snow. 
Glorious! Some folks stayed an extra night to take in the very interesting presentation about how re-introduced wolves are getting along in areas of Washington where sheep and cattle graze. (Actually, the sheep and cattle are faring VERY well!)
Month: February 2016
The March 2016 UWFA Newsletter is posted
2016-02-23 Hike and past hikes
Good Morning Trekkers –
Last week’s hikes were terrific! The Gold group went to the Skagit Wildlife Preserve and saw lots of wildlife, indeed. According to Luci, the showstopper was sighting two horned owls in their nest, with a close second being thousands of snow geese feeding in a field. They also spotted herons and two eagles in their nest, as well as many
other birds and evidence of beavers recently at work. Two photos
attached or check out Donna’s photos at her Dropbox site:
https://www.dropbox.com/sh/ruj0cec5i6e6g32/AADbgGcgcKX75VO0GP70YUGQa?dl=0
The Silver group explored the Chuckanut Mountain area from the East side, hiking first to Pine Lake where they enjoyed lunch, then Cedar Lake. After circling Cedar Lake they hiked up to overlook areas with views to the Northeast and to the West. Then they dropped back to the main trail junction and made their way up to Raptor Ridge, another lovely viewpoint that sits above an area of enormous rock formations.
This area is very dramatic with its lush forests, deep valleys, lovely lakes and interesting rocks. We didn’t spot as much wildlife as the Gold group, but check out the bear in a cave that we encountered!
GOLD HIKE – Luci says: “We are now going to undertake some elevation gain ready or not. W will be going back to West Tiger Mountain to hike up to the Talus Caves, 3 miles RT with 700 ft. gain. After descending from the caves to the Tradition Plateau, we will meander about on the various trail options to get in some more miles, shooting for 6 miles.” Meet at NE 50th & 35th NE at 8:15 for an 8:30 departure. We will take the Highpoint Exit 21 on I-90 to get to the trailhead, about
2 miles beyond Issaquah. Discover Pass required. Weather looks good, but bring rain gear, binoculars and poles. E-mail both luciboyle@yahoo.com and suechristian26@gmail.com if you wish to come and let them know f you can drive.
SILVER HIKE – Looks like a great day for a view hike, so let’s head up to Dirty Harry’s Balcony off on I-90. This is a moderate 6 mile RT hike with an elevation gain of 1300 ft. to a rocky ledge with marvelous views across the mountains to the south and east, including McClellan Butte, Bandera Mountain and Mount Washington. Info. and trail reports at http://www.wta.org/go-hiking/hikes/dirty-harrys-balcony . Meet at 35th NE & NE 50th at 8:45 am for a 9am departure. Please let Barbara know by 5pm Monday if you plan to go and whether you can drive.