Ancient Lakes

February, 1998

After going to Baker Lake for several years for our February outing, we tried a new location for 1998: Ancient Lakes. This became a standard Winter-Spring destination (including the next coulee over, Dusty Lake) for the troop until its demise.

The Ancient Lakes are a number of small lakes at the head of a coulee draining into the Columbia. The lakes were formed when during the last ice age, the waters of huge lakes dammed by ice from the continental ice sheet were unleased onto the Columbia Plateau when the ice dams repeatedly broke. These tremendous floods poured over the walls at the head of the coulee where a huge twin waterfall dug out the lakes at the base of the cliffs.

Even today you can still see the high water mark left by those flood waters long ago. It is apparent that the whole coulee was filled by water at one time. It must have been an awesome sight, had anyone been there to see it. It is still beautiful today, as a small waterfall flows into the upper lake.

For a longer narrative about this trip: [CLICK HERE]

The WTA page for the Ancient Lakes Trail: [Click Here]

Adults on this trip:
Bill Mooseker, Bill Peckinpaugh, Steve Goodwin, Greg Phillips, Gary Shively, Carl Douglass (sr)

Scouts on this trip:
Carl Douglass, Rob Douglass, Peter Goodwin, David Hoff, Mark McAfee, Kyle Meissner,
Andrew Mooseker, Austin Peckinpaugh, Brian Sisk, Adam Phillips, Roger Shively, Jason Smith,
Ben Spencer, Danny Stallings, Shelby Stong, Chip Walker, Eric Walkingshaw, Jon Younger

East Bank Trail
Ross Lake

April 1998

The Ross Lake Mini-Miler was a four day, three night backpacking trip up and back the East Bank Trail along Ross Lake in the North Cascades National Park. Normally, the highway is gated four miles from the trailhead, but a light snowpack and a mild winter led to the early opening of the highway so that we could do this trail in early April. Totals for the hike were 32 miles with 4500 feet in elevation gained.

For a longer narrative about this trip [CLICK HERE]

Adults on this trip:
Bill Mooseker,Greg Phillips, Bill Peckinpaugh

Scouts on this trip:
Brian Sisk, Jason Smith, Adam Phillips, Danny Stallings, Cary Walker, Peter Goodwin,
Kyle Meissner, Austin Peckinpaugh, Shelby Stong

Milk Creek
Glacier Peak Wilderness

May 1998

In May, Even though the high country is buried under feet of snow most of the valley trails into the Cascades are snowfree. Unfortunately, most of those little streams that in late summer are mere trickles are raging torrents. This was the first outing for a number of new scouts who had just graduated from cub scouts. They were taken aback when they had to ford this stream less than a mile from the trailhead.

The temperature of the water is just above freezing, and your feet feel like blocks of ice when you get to the other side. The new scouts took it all in stride and had a good first outing hiking a total of 10 miles and gaining 1100 feet.

Unfortunately, this hike is now inaccessible for all but the most adventurous risk takers as the bridge over the Suiattle that gave access to the Milk Cr Trail was washed out in a winter storm in 2003 and has not been replaced. A risky ford or possible log crossing is necessary to access the trail, which is no longer being maintained and has become overgrown and very difficult to find in the years since the washout.

The WTA page for the Milk Cr Trail: [Click Here]

Adults on this trip:
Bill Mooseker, Tracy McMahan, Russ Hoff

Scouts on this trip:
Mark Abbott, Bryce Burkholder, Daniel Chung, David Hoff, Nick McMahan,
Kyle Meissner, Jon Younger

Pyramid Mtn via NF Entiat
August 7-11, 1998

Pyramid Mountain is on of my favorite hikes. It is located on the ridge that is on the west side of Lake Chelan. The site of an old lookout, this is one of the few 8000+ ft mountain tops in Washington that can be reached by trail. Grand views in all directions are the reward for your effort.

We didn't have a lot of time for a hike because of our Wyoming trip later in the month, so we were limited to a four night/five day trip. Our initial plan was to start at Big Hill and come out at the North Fork of the Entiat. Unfortunately, when we go to the turnoff to Shady Gap and Big Hill, there was a sheriff's car sitting there enforcing a road closure due to a forest fire.

I figured out that we could do a loop trip from the N. Fork Entiat trailhead by using the little used Butte Creek trail. It would mean a lot more elevation gain for the trip to do it that way, but our options were limited.

In the years since 1998, there have been several forest fires that have burned over some sections of the route described here. These are primarily along the NF Entiat trail and SF Pyramid Cr Trail.

For a longer narrative about this trip [CLICK HERE]

Adults on this trip:
Bill Mooseker,Bill Peckinpaugh

Scouts on this trip:
Andrew Mooseker, Danny Stallings, Austin Peckinpaugh, Eric Walkingshaw, Kyle Meissner,
Roger Shively

Bridger Wilderness, Wyoming
August 1998

After planning it for over a year, on August 15th we left on the biggest expedition ever for Troop 24 - an 11 day backpacking trip in the Bridger Wilderness in the Wind River Mountains of Wyoming. It's close to a thousand miles to the trailhead, near Pinedale, Wyoming - a two day drive. It was quite an adventure with plenty of excitement, both good and bad. For a more detailed story than the descriptions under the photos in the albums, click on the links to the narratives given in the albums.

Adults on this trip:
Bill Mooseker, Charlie Walker, Greg Phillips, Bill Peckinpaugh

Scouts on this trip:
Jason Smith, Adam Phillips, Brian Sisk, Jon Younger, Andrew Mooseker, Danny Stallings, Peter Goodwin, Kyle Meissner, Cary Walker, Austin Peckinpaugh, Roger Shively