Hike the Blues Away!

Whenever I take to the trail I hike my blues away. But in the southeast corner of Washington I praise the blues-I welcome the blues. The Blue Mountains that is! Quite possibly Washington's least known and least hiked mountains -unless of course you hail from Walla Walla or are an elk hunter from eastern Washington-then you know these mountains all so well.

I've only made two trips to these mountains so far-and was just there last month on my Eastern Washington spring road trip. Still quite a bit of snow on the higher elevations and a little too in the Tucannon River Valley. But on the southern slopes-not much white stuff. I hiked 4.5 miles up the Tucannon River Trail then hiked another 2.5 miles up to Hunter Spring at elevation 5,700 feet. What did I get in return? Views! Wildflowers! and a few ticks too~

The floral show was stunning and the views down the Tucannon Valley and out to Diamond Peak (pictured right) were wonderful. I'm including two treks in these mountains in my upcoming Backpacking Washington book. If you are looking for a good day hike-and one that won't be incredibly hot in summer try the Tucannon River trail (described in my Best Hikes Dog Book). Summers can be brutal out here on the ridges; hotter than a nun's dream! Autumn is perfect. I'll look for you then. I'll be trekking across the Mount Misery Trail detailing the route for your reading pleasure. I'll also be singing the blues!