Backpacking to Ancient Lakes. First, ate lunch before starting the hike. Set up the tent at Dusty Lake, maybe ~1 mile from TH. Quite windy. Adding rock to all the anchors. I was planning to do the loop we did last May, but in reverse order. Saw a faint track up to the basalt columns, and decided to check it out. A little steep and loose. Once at the ridge, there is a proper trail going down the north side.
Walked to the waterfall east of the Ancient Lakes. Up above H Lake, just shortly before the parking lot at the official "Ancient Lake TH". This parking lot is day use only. Otherwise, it would be a good choice to start our hike.
The lakes are always pretty. A lot less people than last time. We skirted the east end of Ancient Lake (no proper trail) last before. This time, I took a high route, and came to the waterfall's top. However, on top of rock scrambling (there's a faint track), there's a little bit of bushwacking in prickly low bushes. Even though the bushwacking part is short, my hands were in pain for a few days with unseen broken needles embedded in my skin.
Ancient Lakes basin is pretty, maybe 5 lakes, more people here. Found a trail up to the basal ridge that separates Dusty and Ancient Lakes basin. But going down there looks questionable. Excellent view of all the lakes from here.
We walked back to where we crossed earlier. Back to our tent. Wind had died down. Didn't cook dinner. Not very hungry. Read. The night sky was not very dark, lights from the northwest (Wenatchee?).
5/8, Sunday. Up early to blue sky, cooked breakfast. The water here is only good for washing, not fit for drinking. Agriculture runoff. We didn't use up the gallon of water. Hiked out.
Drove ~40 miles to PSU's Wild Horse Wind Facility. 3 miles up from the gate is its visitor center. I signed up the 10am turbine tour (same tours are offered in the afternoon too). Definitely windy here. Signed the waiver. Everyone was asked to wear hard hat and safty glasses. At least a dozen people joined the same tour. I liked it, even though we couldn't see any working turbine. There's a dead one outside to look at. The blade (modeled on airplane wings) is huge. The more modern stations use larger blade and the old models, so less revolution but catch more wind. Then the guide turn off a working station, so we could walk in and peek up. A long stairs up. She also showed us a wind map of US. Even though here is the most windy in WA state, compared to midwest, the winds here are tiny. Another surprising fact, this visitor center is powered by solar panel.
I also signed up for the 11am flower tour. So we just stayed on. After a presentation of the restoration effort during the site construction and what would we find in this time of the year, we went out. Chilly. Dark clouds brewing all around. Amoung other common spring flowers, we saw the endemic Umtanum lomatium, Hedgehog cactus (in bloom), Rock lupine (hairy leaflets), Hooker's balsamroot, Sagebrush violet. Succulent leaves of bitterroot.
After lunch, we did a short hike up a ridge over Yakima River. Last year's buckwheat garden had little in bloom today. Phlox was in peak along the slopes. Saw a few last blooms of Daggerpod. Didn't even see any Phacilia. It hailed a little bit. Strange weather.
Bad traffic on I-90 west of the pass for ~20 miles. At least 30 minute delay. Back in town early enough for my evening play.
