The Washington State Hiking Podcast

Uncrowded Golden Larch Hikes

• Episode 82

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 Welcome to the Washington State Hiking Podcast. I'm your host, Jennie Thwing Flaming, 

and I'm your co-host Craig Romano.

Craig and I are happy to have you here. We provide practical and timely seasonal hiking advice for hikers, trail runners, and potential hikers and trail runners of all skill and ability levels that is helpful, accurate, fun, and inclusive.

 Hi everyone. Jennie here. I am on my own again today as we get to the end of summer and transition into fall. I wanted to talk a little bit about crowds and LS today because we are now at the beginning of L season. Um, we've talked about lurches. In other episodes of the podcast today, I want to talk specifically about crowd management.

And this has been a real challenge for a long time on our trails in Washington. And there are certain times of the year, like l season, like um, wildflower season, where. Our trails can get really, really crowded and I'm sure that, like me, you've seen a lot in the media about. Crowding and are understaffed, under-resourced forest lands, um, national Forest lands, um, BLM Land National Park Service Land.

And so, you know, that is a topic for probably another episode to really get into. But if you're thinking, wow, I really want to, um. Find some uncrowded places or not put additional strain on some of the places that are really popular, really well known on social media. That's what I wanna help you with today.

So last year at about this time, I did a solo episode that was about large hikes that are not as hard. So if you're looking also for that, go back and listen to that episode from a year ago. There's a little bit of overlap between that one and this one. But this one will be specifically focused on avoiding crowds.

So let's talk about a few basics first. So first of all, when is Golden Larch season? So Craig and I have talked before about how there are different kinds of Ls. There are the Alpine Ls, and then there are Western Ls, and the ones that are in high alpine areas. Let's say above four or 5,000 feet on up and that are north of.

I 90 and just east of the cascade crest. Those are the alpine larges, and those are typically at their peak at the very end of September and the very beginning of October. So that's. Now, um, and then western Ls go to a little bit lower of elevation. They can be a little further away, away from the crest of the mountains.

So you'll see those a little bit further south and also, um, in northeastern Washington as well. So. I also wanna say that some of the really crowded, large hikes really are spectacular, and I love them too. Places like Maple Pass, cutthroat Pass, and Blue Lake in particular, I think are probably the most crowded, probably Maple Pass is the most crowded.

So I'm not telling you not to do those hikes. I, I don't want that to be the message. I think for crowd management. Um. If you can, you know, these are places that are worth a vacation day. So if you can go on a weekday, that will make a huge difference. Um. You know, if you can have some backup plans. So if there's no safe and legal parking available, um, finding another place to go, that's also super important.

Um, you know, these are popular places. You're not gonna find solitude the first week of October, even on a weekday, but you can probably find parking and it'll be a little less crowded, I think. If you are there when it's crowded, be patient with your fellow trail users, be kind to other people. Um, pack out your trash, pack out some extra trash if you can.

Um, these are all things that will really. Help, especially during this time of extreme crowding. You know, staying on the trail is also really important. I'd recommend bringing your own TP and taking it with you. You may need to do that if, um, outhouses are locked. I don't know that they will be this year, but they could be, or there could be really long lines for those trailhead pit toilets.

So, uh, yeah, those are a few thoughts about going to ones that are really crowded. Okay, so I'm gonna talk about four different places, um, that are kind of different kinds of experiences to give you as much variety as possible for places that are not crowded. This is not all of the uncrowded large hikes.

I haven't been on all the large hikes, you know, we've talked about it in other episodes. So I'm just gonna give you four suggestions. I'll have their ups and downs, and I'll talk about those as well. So the first one is Grasshopper Pass, which is in the very far North Cascades near Winthrop, and I have an article about it on my website that I'll put in the show notes along with my favorite large hikes.

In Washington that are not Maple Pass. That's what the article's called. Um, so I'll, I'll put that in the show notes. So the thing about getting to Grasshopper Pass is that it's a very long way on a very rough road. The hike itself is remote. This is a section of the Pacific Crest Trail in very northern Washington.

Uh, it is a little bit busy this time of year with PCT hikers, so it's not like, even though it's a long way on a really rough road, you'll definitely see a lot of people getting to the end of the PCT, which is also really fun in its own way. Um, but I have not had trouble finding. Like a place to park or anything like that.

Um, so you can go, well, it's the PCT so you can go really far. The official hike to Grasshopper Pass is about 10 miles round trip. And the cool thing about it is that you can go, um. You can go kind of as far as you want and come back, you'll see LS right away. So if you don't wanna do a 10 mile hike, if you only wanna do a five mile hike, you will still see beautiful Ls.

Um, going to Grasshopper Pass is about 1500 feet of elevation gain. So again, it's, you can go quite far. This section is not particularly steep and. So that makes it kind. It's just, it's getting there. That's the real challenge. And you really need to be prepared. You know, you are several hours from a cell phone signal here.

Um, the weather can change very rapidly. The last time that I did it. Um, some very cold, stormy weather rolled in on an otherwise sunny day, and I was prepared for that. But it's important to pay attention to things like weather and being prepared, um, more than on some trails, let's just say. Okay, so the big challenge with Grasshopper Pass again is just getting there.

So. Definitely gonna need a high clearance vehicle. You're going to need to have confidence driving on rough Forest Service roads. It takes, uh, an hour and a half to get up there on rough Forest Service roads from Moama. So, you know, if you live in the Seattle area, it's gonna take all day to get. So this is definitely gonna be a multi-day adventure, but it's just gorgeous and super.

Worth it. You know, you need a real spare tire. You need to go slow and you know, backup sometimes to allow other vehicles to pass. Make sure to check on the road conditions. I would check Washington Trails Association Trip Reports and also, um, forest Service websites just to find out if there are washouts or anything blocking the road.

There are not. At the time, I'm recording this in September, 2025. There have been closures on this road in the past, so make sure to check that out before making the trek. Okay, let's move on to number two. So this is going in the complete opposite direction. This is the Swac Forest Discovery Trail. I have talked about this trail before on the podcast.

It's one of my favorites in Washington State, despite being right next to you. Blew it. Pass. Um, so on a major highway. And the fact that there are beautiful golden ls right in the parking lot, so you don't need to hike at all to see them. You could just have a picnic by Ls, which is pretty cool. Um, it's not crowded.

I've never seen it be crowded. It gets crowded. In the winter, um, 'cause it's a, there's a snow park there and lots of snowmobiling, but um, you know, sometimes there's a couple other cars. This is not gonna be a busy place. So here you're going to see Western larges. So it's a little bit early right now to go to this location.

Um, but it's more like mid to late October. Sometimes even getting into early November, you can still see Ls here. And this is. About a three mile loop. It's beautiful. Um, there are some really cool views from here as well, and it has about 600 feet of elevation gain. There are some drop-offs. The trail is pretty narrow, but overall this is a pretty mellow trail, perfect opportunity for someone who's looking for a.

Not difficult, not crowded, hike. Um, so that is my number two suggestion. Number three is going to be Manastash Ridge and it's in central Washington. You go to Ellensburg and then drive pretty far on a Forest Service road. From there, that's also Western ls, so mid to late October. Sometimes even early November, you'll get great views there.

Um, or great, uh, sorry, not great views. Great. Um, LS. Uh, and this is, I really love this hike. I did it for the first time two years ago, and it's, uh, if you go to Manastash Lake and Lost Lake, it's eight miles ran trip with just over a thousand feet of elevation gain. You could cut that in half by just going to lost Lake.

Um, I saw, I didn't camp when I was there, but I thought it would be a pretty great spot. Um, one thing I wanna just mention about this trail, and this will be a deal breaker for some people, but I would encourage you to consider giving it a chance, is that there are dirt bikers, so like trail motorcycles if you're not familiar with those and horses on this trail.

Um, and. I experienced quite a few motorbikes when I was there. You know, they were very courteous. I don't have a problem with sharing trails as long as everyone knows. I think that's great actually, as long as everyone is expecting other kinds of trail users, and that was my experience on this trail. Um, I think, you know, it was a beautiful Saturday, so I think if it was a weekday you, you'd probably have way.

Fewer, uh, bikers. But yeah, that didn't take away from the experience for me at all. And I think we passed maybe 12 total the whole day. So it wasn't, it wasn't a big deal for me and I was really glad that, um, I did it and I didn't let that stop me. You also wanna be really careful with dogs on this trail for that reason.

Make sure. That, um, you keep them on their leash or where they will come to you right away. Um, so they don't get in trouble with those other trail users as well. But, um, wonderful, beautiful trail. Um, I absolutely loved it. It was wonderful. Okay, finally, the last one I wanna talk about is a place that I've only driven through.

I haven't hiked there. I'm really hoping to do that this year in October. Um, I almost didn't include this because right now, um, the trails in this area are closed because of a wildfire. But this, so I'm talking about Sherman Pass in Eastern Washington on Highway 20. It's mid to late October because again, western larches, when the fall colors are going to be really impressive in that area.

And so because that is a month from now. Three to five weeks from now, depending on when we're talking about Exactly. Um, I'm hoping that there is a chance that the trails will have reopened. Um, but I don't know that to be true. So again, you know, like any trail that Craig or I ever recommend in this podcast.

We are talking about it at a specific point in time. Super important to use those Washington Trail Association trip reports to find out, okay, is this trail closed for some reason? Is there an access problem? Um, so with that qualifier in place, I still want to tell you about Sherman Past because this is a place that is.

Never, ever, ever busy. This entire part of the state, Northeastern Washington is just completely underrated as an area of the state to visit and. It gets very hot in summer, but not quite as hot as down in the Tri-Cities. Um, this is a really beautiful part of the state that hopefully we'll get to talk about more in the pod.

So there are a couple of trails at Sherman Pass that have great ls. Um, one of them is the Sherman Pass or the Sherman Peak Loop. The other one is Copper Butte. Um, they're in the same area we're talking about. Six miles ran trip just under 2000 feet of elevation gain. Like I said, right at the time. I'm recording this in September.

The snow peak fire, which is just south of there, has the trails closed in this area. Um. That could extend for a long time, depending on if this area actually burns or not, or it could change quite quickly. So before heading out there, like I said, this is an area that I'm hoping to explore in October, and I will be watching these things to see if that's possible or if this just isn't the right year.

Which might be the situation. Okay, well hopefully you got four kind of really different ideas for uncrowded large hikes, and I put some additional resources for these in the show notes. So happy fall. Happy large marching. I'd love to hear. What your crowd avoiding tips or management tips are for Ls, any of your favorite trails.

You know, you can send us a text, uh, in the show notes, we'd love to hear from you. All right, bye for now. See you next week. I.

If you are enjoying the Washington State Hiking Podcast, Craig and I would love to have you leave us a rating and a review that helps other people find us. And if you wanna support us financially, you can leave us a tip through the show notes. No account, no commitment, nothing like that. Thank you so much for listening and see you next week.  

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Jennie Thwing Flaming

Host
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Craig Romano

Co-host