Steamboat Rock, Northrup Canyon

It was looking to be a cold weekend, but the hiking bug had hit so Jayson, Pat, and myself headed out towards Wenatchee for a bit of day hiking and car camping.

After dropping off our gear at our campsite at Steamboat Rock State Park, we headed the mile or so to the Steamboat Rock trailhead. Day time temp was mid-fifties, so I was able to ditch the jacket. Along the way, we passed the leg of some unfortunate deer and blood on the rocks.



A quick scramble up

the rock and we found we had the whole mesa to ourselves. Banks lake below was still frozen and we spent much of the day making fun of Pat for bringing a full pack ("training" he says) and hiked along the perimeter of the rock, daring ourselves to see how far over the cliff sides we'd peer.

We spotted a herd of about 30 deer, all keeping a wary eye on us as we passed to the east. On our way back to the trail, we found a relatively fresh carcass of an unfortunate deer (cougar?) after the coyotes and birds had taken their fill. The very cold night (20 degrees) passed with the coyotes howling through the night.

The campground was relatively clear, with only a few trailers of some nice folks and a small troop of boyscouts who kept relatively quiet. The next morning, we headed out to Northrup Canyon.

Book says this is 3 miles to the cabins and another mile to the lake, but we did all 8 miles in just over 2 and a half hours, so I doubt it. No eagles to be seen and heavy cloud cover, but it was a nice change of scenery from the day before. The first mile of trail had thick ice on the trail making it slippery at times, the last mile thick mud. Would bring gators.

Steamboat pics: http://www.flickr.com/photos/thehostelwitness/sets/72157615761080771/

Northrup Canyon pics: http://www.flickr.com/photos/thehostelwitness/sets/72157615888921208/

Jayson's Photos: http://jaysonmcivorphotography.com/gallery/7697136_xwmB8