Indian Head Peak loop hike

Day 1
On July 1, we set out from Seattle early in the morning to hit the trail and spend a weekend in the backcountry. Our plan was to do a 26-mile loop in 3 days.

We set out on the Indian Creek Trail which stays along the White River for about 2 miles. This would have been a nice, flat, beautiful way to begin our trip had it not been for the mosquito convention taking place. Needless to say, we hightailed it trying to escape being biten...there was no escape and by the time we took the camera out for this photo we were covered in little, red bumps!

Once we got past the mosquitos, over a gradual incline, the hike became fun! The weather was beautiful, it was a holiday weekend, and we had nothing but each other and Murphy...that is until we stumbled upon this bad boy track. This set the stage for a weekend of clapping, singing, and random talking so as not to startle any bear.

At home we did some research and found this to be a rather good size black bear print.




We hit the snow and only vaguely lost the trail. At just under 11 miles for the day, we reached a segment of the Pacific Crest Trail and camp.








We set up camp, dried out socks and boots, filtered water, and prepared a yummy dehydrated pasta meal. Ok, it wasn't all that yummy but we were really hungry!

Indian Head Peak loop hike

Day 2, part 1
Our tent was less than ten feet away from a loud, babbling brook formed by the snow melt, which made for a slumber from which one does not easily roll out of bed. We mildly awoke to the faint beep-beep sound of a watch, although it ended after putting forth little effort to ignore it. Once again, our eyes peeled open an hour or two later to the slow warming of the tent from the sun's rays. This, I might add, is one positive way to ensure getting up in the morning. As your body heats to an uncomfortable level the desire to stay in the bedroll quickly vanishes.


We had some oatmeal and one toasted english muffin with hot tea to wash it down. Our plans to eat the other muffin disappeared when Murphy decided to grab it and run. It was a soggy mess by the time it was back in Mark's hands. ) : Dani filtered water while Mark rolled the tent up and took care of returning a call. Once packed and ready we started our hike. Within five minutes Murphy spotted a Marmot and bolted after him. Squeaking ensued along with Mark chasing the dog down and encouraging him to stay by our side. We only had a few miles on the Pacific Crest Trail (PCT), which had minimal elevation gain and a number of snowy patches.



We stopped for lunch somewhere on the PCT, which included leftover PB&J and a tuna kit. The bread had become quite soggy--so we recommend putting PB on both sides with jelly in the middle if you plan on holding on to a PB&J longer than 4 or 5 hours.


We continued north and soon found our Junction with the White River trail which led back east. We explored the area and hiked about a mile north on the PCT to discover Mirror Lake (which was covered in snow) along with a field of avalanche lillies and expansive views of the area, including Glacier Peak. Dani and Murphy took a short nap while Mark caught a few photos.

Indian Head Peak loop hike

Day 2, part 2
























Our plan was to hike within 5 miles of the trailhead so that we could hike out on Monday. However, we quickly lost the White River trail due to snow within 10 minutes. It should of been tough to get lost since we had the aid of two rivers, one on each side. Unfortunately, we dropped to hike beside one river and found brush so thick that it literally required all 4's to get through. We navigated up somewhat to a forested area, which was easier to travel through, but had many fallen tree crossings. After several hours of this, it really began to get quite old and caused the morale to drop significantly. Even Murphy didn't like it.
Alas, we found the 2nd river. According to Mark's altimeter we were within a hundred feet of where the trail should be, so we dropped packs and began hunting. Whew! Never before in our lives have we been so glad to see a trail! We picked it up about a 1/4 mile uphill (or 100' in elevation). Unfortunately there was a river crossing that required the removal of boots and pant legs. The water was raging from the heavy snow melt this year and the water was likely 32.1F. We had an approximate 15 foot, waist deep crossing of water that was running at a good 100 gallons/second. Mark tossed Murphy across the river, grabbed Dani's hand, and across we went. The water felt like sharp icicles piercing our legs and feet until we could no longer feel them. Dani wanted to turn around somewhere between knee and waist deep, so Mark squeezed her hand a little harder and kept walking. On the other shore, Murphy shook himself dry and Dani sat down wondering if feeling would ever return to her feet. Mark insisted we keep moving so that our legs would warm back up, so we hiked in our sandals expecting the next crossing to be only a 1/4 mile away. It was probably a mile or two, and in the mean time our feet were subject to thorns, stickers, bites, and dirt that the trail enjoyed throwing at us. The 2nd crossing was probably twice as wide as the first. Again, Mark grabbed Murphy in one hand and Dani's hand with the other. Mark led the way and at one point thought he was going to lose his footing and start floating down the river. The same cold water sucked all feeling out of our legs and left us gasping short breaths on the opposite bank. But, we had made it.
Our fear of the third crossing left us with little hope, since we knew we couldn't turn around and retrace our steps through the rivers and dense forest at this point. Luckily there was a large tree that had nicely placed itself between the two banks. Mark opted to walk, Dani scooted, and Murphy shot across on Mark's heels. It was the last of the White River crossings and we were quite glad to have those behind us. The remainder of the hike we looked for a campsite, which we found near a smaller river that provided water and a cool breeze. We set up camp, ate rehydrated BBQ Jamaican chicken for dinner and apple cobbler for dessert. The evening was finished off with a cup of much deserved hot apple cider.

Indian Head Peak loop hike

Day 3
After an adventurous day 2, we lazily got out of bed and readied ourselves for the hike out. Mark prepared granola and blueberries for breakfast - that hit the spot! Dani headed to filter more water and Mark worked on taking down camp. Once we took off, we were in the forest for a good while with a decent trail. At one point Dani said, almost as a question, "Bear." Mark reached down to grab the off-leash Murphy and we both saw a very large black bear butt take off up the hill into thick underbrush. So we stood and talked and clapped for a few minutes and preceeded with caution.

As the day went on we were in and out of forest and thick vegetation. There, in fact, was a trail...you just had to look hard to find it! We had a few more, less precarious river crossings on day 3 and decided since they were relatively close together to leave our Chacos (rugged sandles) on and our pant legs zipped off. BAD idea! Tramping through the thick overgrowth left our legs rather cut up and burning - but we were in a hurry to get to the car. At one point Dani made the comment that she felt as if she were trying to commit suicide by giving herself papercuts around the ankles - and it wasn't working!

Our last day was so nice Mark was able to stop and take some scenic photos! We were on the tail end of our food so he didn't linger long!

We made it to our final (8th or 9th) river crossing of the trip - the only one with a bridge, albeit a broken one! We were thankful for the break of plunging into freezing cold snow melt and shimmying across blown down trees! This bridge was a happy sight. Once we crossed we were in our final miles of the hike, meaning we were along the White River again and the mosquito convention was still in session! Our last few miles, despite being quite tired from the previous days difficulties, are a fuzzy memory because it only took us about an hour to get to the car.

Two happy campers - finally back at the car!

We dumped our packs and sped away as our flying, biting friends also enjoyed the air in the parking area!

Mark had the brilliant idea to stop at Wenatchee State Park to have a warm 50-cent shower. The bad news: we only had 75 cents. The good news: there weren't any men in the men's room! Murphy crashed out in the back seat and we drove home (relatively) clean and happy.