Viewpoint at Icicle Ridge
Stats: 6 miles round trip, 1800 ft elevation gain. Highest Point, 3000 ft.
Parking pass required: Northwest Forest Pass
For more trail information and directions see: wta.org/go-hiking/hikes/icicle-ridge-1
Today I headed up to Leavenworth with the age 40+ meetup group. It was about a 2 hour drive from the Eastgate Park and ride. I keep forgetting to check the hiking time, I would say the whole trail took about 4 hours or so with lunch break.
Stupidly, I forgot my hiking boots back in the car at the park and ride. I made due with what I had which were casual tennis shoes (slides). At least I wasn’t wearing flip flops and I had on socks. The trail wasn’t too rocky or wet so it really could have been much worse.
This trail will get your heart rate up. It climbs 1800 feet in three miles with pretty continuous switchbacks. It doesn’t have a ton of tree cover so on a sunny day bring a lot of water and sunscreen. I would avoid this altogether on a very hot day.
We managed to catch what I believe is the tail end of the wildflowers on this trail. Everything is blooming very early this year and I am glad that we were able to see it. I was also the one lucky soul that had a rattlesnake cross in front of me on the path. I had seen trip reports about snakes…luckily it just slithered by. No pictures. One other thing that I didn’t think about was ticks. Others sprayed with bug spray as a precaution. Luckily I did not find any on myself when I got home.
On our trip I was very happy to have an overcast day and a nice group to hike with. The views were very nice and the flowers were the bonus. Here are some of the views on the way up. One other tip I have learned…always take a picture of the sign at the trailhead, it helps you organize your photos easier.
And here are some of the views near the viewpoint and at the viewpoint.
dayhikeblog 
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