I took Taylor and Parko on a little Tieton excursion yesterday afternoon. Nice day, partly sunny, temps in the 60s. No real destination in mind, just started driving. Westbound we stopped at Rimrock Lake and ran around on the rocky/mucky shoreline exposed from the reservoir drawdown.

From there I started thinking about hiking out from White Pass like I’d done with Parko earlier in the summer. The further west we headed though, the more the weather turned overcast and rainy. Below left: looking west toward clouds. Below right: looking back east toward nicer weather.

I ended up driving all the way to White Pass, but turned around in drizzly conditions and backtracked a few miles to the Sand Ridge trailhead, a spot I’d noted on the drive into the clouds. It looked boring (as you’d expect I guess with a name like Sand Ridge) and there were no other cars in the dirt parking area. But that was fine though, I just wanted a quiet walk in the woods where I could let the dogs run.

The first couple miles were a steady climb on a well-trodden sandy trail though typical pine forest. Clearly well used by horseback travelers. I let Taylor run off leash from the get-go and popped Parko’s leash a little later. I was warm in shorts and a tee shirt. Near the top of the ridge (Sand Ridge, I assume) we scooted off trail, scrambling around on a couple boulder fields and following game trails (the dogs found plenty of delicious treats thoughtfully left by the wildlife).

Nothing too exciting up there though. Warm sun, a few glimpses at Bootjack Rock to the north, some fall-color larch. The trail appeared to be dipping back down again at the top of the ridge so I made that our turn-around point for the day.