Chikamin Creek

An overcast, misty sky greeted us as we drove over Steven's Pass toward Leavenworth early on a recent Saturday. Close to Lake Wenatchee is the Chikamin creek trail system that boasts many miles of great singletrack. Kendall and I parked at the trailhead off the Chiwawa River Road and rode the gravel road up 8 miles to the intersection of the Chikamin trail and the trail that leads left up to the Mad Lake area (the name escapes me). The bit of rain that had come down created perfect trail conditions, so the grunty little sections as we climbed up had perfect traction. It's only 4 miles to the intersection of the other trails but it climbs 1500'.

We turned around at the intersection and enjoyed some of the fastest, smoothest downhill in the state. Then after crossing the road we continued down the Chikamin creek trail, before branching left to Chikamin ridge. The ridge provides that little extra, several steep sections where you really have to dig deep at the end of the day. About 3 miles from the cutoff we headed back across the creek (and up one more steep section - which I made with a herculean effort) and back to the car. A fantastic 2.5 hour ride.