EASTERN WASHINGTON

Summary

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Attention tree lovers. This is the hike for you. Five miles of forest walking with trees as far as the eye can see. After all those trees, venture a little further to partake in views of the surrounding mountains and even Priest Lake!

Trail Stats

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Trail Details

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Located in the far northeastern corner of Washington state lays the Thunder Creek Trail. We’ve infrequently visited this corner of the state and after deciding to venture out here, we needed a hike. This one was selected. I’ll admit, we had very low expectations for the day. The previous days hike on Hall Mountain had not gone well. This hike sounded rather drab in its description.

We stayed overnight in the dispersed camping area across Sullivan Creek Road, or NF2220, from the trailhead. This area is first come, first serve and quite popular. All the official Gypsy Meadow camp sites with fire pits were already taken. No worries, one can always park anywhere in the meadow and set up shop for the night. An important fact is this camping area has a pit toilet near the entrance off Sullivan Road. Important to know as the trail head has no facilities.

In the morning we made our brief commute from Gypsy Meadow to the Thunder Creek trailhead parking. When deciding how and where to park, PLEASE be considerate of others. When we arrived there was one other vehicle. Had they pulled head in (or backed in) many more cars could fit in this relatively small lot.

The trail starts out along an old road on a fairly flat surface. Easy walking. The road passes over a creek shortly into the trail. You’ll be walking in the trees. For that matter, you’ll be walking in the trees with pretty much zero views of anything except the surrounding trees for five miles. Most excellent if you’re a tree enthusiast. If trees are your thing, then you’ll be delighted to know the area is chock full of Western Red Cedars. Some along the trail are massive. These trees require quite a load of water and thus are most often found on north facing slopes or shady wet areas. They absorb water through their roots and through their bark. Pretty neat, for a tree fact anyway.

After a bit, the road begins to gently switchback upward. Somewhere in here we let Lucille out of her backpack. She was starting to go a little crazy back there. She got a new nickname today, Grumple-stiltskin. That was one cranky cat. Demanding out of her bag. She flops around and paws at the mesh when she wants out. Monster cat.

Hiking with a cat is entertaining. It becomes a step, pause, step and step, then halt kind of deal. There were innumerable blades of grass to chomp on. New plants to sniff. A fun hole to stick her head in. She’d never been here and wanted to check everything out. Which meant forward progress was slow at best. And she certainly can’t forget to check behind us repeatedly. Just in case something is there. And then there was the stick. A most horrifying monster to Lucille. It was across her path. She came to dead halt. Tail began to flood and swish. I had to lift her over the offending stick. Seriously cat, dramatic much?

Lucille’s preference is as follows. Doug walks ahead. I hold the leash and walk behind her or if the trail allows, to her side. If this scenario changes she will come to a halt after a short while. We let her walk for a mile. I know it was a mile because I clocked her on my watch. After a mile she was put back in her bag. Which was a slight ordeal as she did NOT want back in yet. After securing her in, she proceeded to glare at me with her ears back for the next half mile or so. Grumple-stiltskin indeed.

Continued up the road. Saw a grouse (I think) trying its best to be invisible as it hunkered down on the ground. The trail eventually leaves the road and heads into more woods.

The trail through here is quite nice. Crews have built bridges to cross a few creeks. We saw two owls take flight into the trees. One perched on a branch and stared at us while we approached before taking off and disappearing into the forest. They are such majestic birds. Gorgeous creatures. Besides the owls, there are a ton of cedars in here.

Had to cross over one blowdown. Crossed a few more bridges. Found where they quit making bridges as we crossed a small creek without a bridge.

Around 3 miles into the trail, you’ll officially enter the Salmo-Priest Wilderness, which spans through both the Colville National Forest and the Kaniksu National Forest.

From here you’ll walk through a flat section for a while before heading down hill. You’ll pass visible signs of new trail maintenance. A reinforced embankment, necessary after a tree fell over and its root system presumably destroyed the trail. Here’s my shout out to all the amazing people who work selflessly to restore and improve our trail systems. Thank you!

The trail continues to switchback downward. You’ll walk through a lot of ferns and hear the sounds of a nearby creek. Walk down to another shallow creek crossing, sans bridge and then start heading uphill again.

Here we came across a massive blowdown. Not in the quantity of trees as there was only one. But that one was humongous. One will need to heft themselves up and over. Sitting on it was akin to straddling a fat horse. Or a draft horse I suppose.

The trail progresses through the woods. There was another, less impressive, blowdown. We meandered through the woods some more on a gradual uphill grade before the trail noticeably steepened. Here we could hear Thunder Creek below us. Passed four more blowdowns.

The trail continued to switchback upward. On one of these long switches, there seemed to be a blowdown every twenty feet or so for quite a ways. That got old. Back to the following switchbacks. There were blowdowns just frequent enough to be mildly annoying. Somewhere up here you could begins to see the tops of the surrounding hills through the trees.

The trail begins to approach a saddle. We noted a rather fresh pile of bear scat. Not quite steaming but fresh enough for us perk up and pay more attention as we ambled along. The saddle itself is rather flat and wide. Continue along until the trail split.

Toward the back of the saddle the trail splits. There is a sign, though I completely missed it on the way up. Was distracted by an unattended camp. Bags hung up in a tree (as they should be, this is Grizzly country after all), two tents, cooking setup and camp chair all along the trail. They had quite the setup. This junction is a decent spot to camp. Flat areas for the tent. Wide enough that other hikers can pass through with more than enough room.

Here is where we left the Thunder Creek trail and headed left onto the Shedroof trail. Should you continue straight I believe you’ll find Thunder Creek. The trail to the left is actually signed for Thunder Mountain as it’s the next destination on the trail.

I would 100% recommend walking up this trail. Particularly if you want a view. If you don’t want to go much further, there are great views only about 1/4 mile up. They get better the further you go.

This trail takes you up where we immediately had to navigate around a rather ugly blowdown. This one was on a decent incline and had loads of vegetation around it. The main tree was once again shockingly wide. The incline and plants made it a tad slippery. One of us nearly slid under the tree.

As previously stated, about 1/4 mile up this trail you’ll start to really see the surrounding hills. There’s Bear grass up here. In a few places the trail is a bit overgrown. As you walk, take in the ever improving views. There were a few more blowdowns.

The trail dives over into a small saddle where there are no views. Just trees. Continue uphill where you’ll be graced with a few glimpses of Upper Priest Lake through the trees.

Next up you’ll walk across a gulley before wrapping around the backside of the next hill. There are intermittent views of the surrounding hills. We pressed on. I wanted a clear view out to Upper Priest Lake. We had a goal in mind for the perfect lunch spot.

When you reach the next saddle, the trail has you walking back toward the Priest Lake side. There’s pink flag tape marking the trail up to Thunder Mountain. Continuing on we passed a small spring, which is marked on maps as a water source. It was flowing steadily and seems to be a fairly reliable source of water, at least through early to mid summer. The trail continues in the woods.

Ahead we heard voices and a dog. They belonged to the three backpackers whose camp we passed at the trail junction. Very friendly and cheerful people. Nice dog too, and I’m not much of a dog person. Lucille was not impressed with the pooch. They mentioned they’d only seen one other group while out here. A couple through hikers on the Shedroof divide trail who reported the Shedroof trail was an absolute mess with blowdowns further down. Gross. I’ve done that with a pack on. Not much fun.

The group was posted up for a rest and presumably lunch at a camp site. Seemed like a nice camp. A few places where one could put a small tent. Water source just around the bend. Not bad.

We pressed on in search of my view and found it, just a few paces around the next corner. A clearing in the woods with logs to sit on. Upper Priest Lake on display in the distance. Fantastic! Did we stop? Briefly.

Curiosity got the better of us and we wondered if there was a better spot. Pressed on. Had to cross through and around a few blowdowns. One was decent sized. Made it to where the trail dives downhill, which is minimally past the clearing we paused at. Looking downhill we said, “forget that,” turned around and returned to the original clearing. This clearing is about two miles in from the trail junction. Well worth the extra miles if you have the time.

Set Lucille up in the shade of a tree and we settled onto a nice log. Lucille was only willing to stick her head out for her Churru treat. The view did not inspire her. After her snack she returned to her solitude, dumping her water bowl as she went. Which she snarked about. Grumpy indeed.

While the cat didn’t appreciate the view, we did. Reminisced about kayaking from Lower to Upper Priest Lake. We’ve camped there, via both a hike in trip and a kayak in trip. Kayaked up to the inlet. Continued up and shored up on a gorgeous pebbly beach. Waded. Enjoyed the day. Until I noticed a weird thing on Doug’s leg. Looked like a tiny translucent blob. It was a leech. I grew up in Northern Idaho. Never knew we had leeches. We were repulsed. That blood sucker was ripped off his leg with lightning speed. Luckily it wasn’t attached quite yet. Great things to laugh about as we stared out toward the lake.

After lunch, it was time to pack up and head out. We met up with our backpacker friends again at their camp, along the trail junction. Chatted with one of them for a bit on trail conditions. Apparently a WTA crew is supposed to come out here later this year. Always good to know. Hopefully they are able to clear most of the downfall.

Heading back to the trailhead was a breeze. We saw no one else, just lots of trees. Saw a snake on the road section. Angered a momma grouse, who had two tiny chicks. Doug came to a dead stop and I nearly plowed into his back. Pointed out the chicks. Cute buggers, though I was more concerned with momma. She was flapping around and quite clearly agitated. And flew back and forth right at us. Good distraction from her babies. We kept on and let them be. Arrived safe and sound back to the trailhead. Then it was load up and drive a few hours home.

We found this hike to be surprisingly enjoyable. While there’s a respectable amount of overall elevation gain and loss, the trail rarely seemed steep. There are giant trees to admire. Views if you’re willing to walk a few miles further. And very few people, which is just how I like it.

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