Backpacking Washington's Coulee Country : Barker Canyon

[NorthwestWanderer]

Hello! I hope 2020 is off to a good start for everyone! I just got done with two overnight backpacking trips, one a bit more in depth than the other. This one was near Grand Coulee Washington in the sage brush area of central washington. The area is north of Steamboat Rock and known as Barker Canyon.

Really good early season leg stretcher. Hit a high of 59 degrees and a low of 20. I got some new gear to combat the cold and it passed the test with flying colors!

On the way to the trailhead I had to use HWY 174 and it was a pretty relaxing drive. I only saw 3 other vehicles the whole section I drove (Saturday). I pulled over on a side street to take this picture looking back from where I came from. From where I'm standing here looking toward the Stuart Range in the Cascades (the enchantments) is about 79 miles away.
In the trip I did a night before this (Joseph Canyon in Oregon) I drove 6hrs to the TH only to realize I forgot my tent poles (amateur) and had to drive back into town and buy a walmart tent.

Pretty good view at the start of the hike. Big cliffs on right is Steamboat Rock. Water is columbia river. Rocks on left I have no idea what they're called but my destination is to camp in one of those little bays. I was the only one at the TH and the only one I saw all trip. (I take that back there was an older couple there parked in the boat launch looking at the view but they left as soon as I started hiking)

Steamboat rock and some birds

Heading for the notch in the center of picture. In about a month this place will get a few rain falls and erupt in green and flowers, which will last a month before going back to looking like this (just with leaves on the shrubs).

Barker Butte. Found some trash here (empty beer bottles) I packed out. Upon setting my pack down to remove the waste one of my own beers exploded in my pack. This is a first for me haha.

Cool geology formed from the Missoula floods during the ice age.

Up at my low pass/notch looking back to where I came from. The area seemed to have allowed vehicles on it at one point as you can see vehicles much further in than this on Satellite images with google (which are 2012?), but alas, you can no longer take your vehicles this far anymore. This was the only real uphill other than some scrambles I made in the bay. Extremely easy hiking and great leg stretchers after the winter.

At bay #2 now to find a smaller bay.

Eagles loved flying around this spot.

I was able to get my stuff spread out and dried of the beer just in time. Mmmmmmmm coors (i know I'm a filthy casual)

Camp! Super relaxing!

Loved the stargazing when this dude finally went away. Milkyway isn't back from the south for us Washingtonians yet but she'll get here!

Loved the area so much I WILL be back there this spring. Whether it be a day trip or another over nighter.

 

[wsp_scott]

Neat to see a backpacking report from this area. I drove past Grand Coulee Dam and then Dry Falls in the summer of 2006 and then did some reading about the big flood 1000's of years ago.

Was it cold enough that the boaters aren't out yet? Looks like it would be a great place for a kayak if there weren't a lot of powerboats.

 

[NorthwestWanderer]

Neat to see a backpacking report from this area. I drove past Grand Coulee Dam and then Dry Falls in the summer of 2006 and then did some reading about the big flood 1000's of years ago.

Was it cold enough that the boaters aren't out yet? Looks like it would be a great place for a kayak if there weren't a lot of powerboats.

Yeah it was too cold and windy for the boaters to be out yet. The only boat I saw on the water was on my way back home as I was crossing the vantage I-90 bridge.

 

[John Morrow]

Fantastic!

 

[misSOULa]

Awesome area, and it always feels good to get the first trip of the year under your belt. Over here in Missoula, MT, there are markers on the sides of the mountains along the trail at 4150 ft that mark where the waters of lake Missoula used to be. A store in town even sells bumper stickers that say "RESTORE GLACIAL LAKE MISSOULA"

 

[whiskypig]

Looks like a beautiful spot, even more beautiful with the solitude. I am hoping to get my first 2020 trip in next month, and I am itchin' to go now after this trip report!

 

[Chickadee]

It's always refreshing to see someone post about WA that isn't Mt. Rainier! Thank you for picking up trash and not making a fire, locals get tired of that area burning because people don't always exercise logic. Just for reference, the man-made lake you see is Banks Lake, not the Columbia, but the water is pumped into Banks from the Columbia. I can only speak to the area past the meadow but some of the old roads are left over from past homesteads. Some entities would also have bird feeding stations to help the local bird populations but they are not active and do not drive back there anymore. Any activity the area sees now are cattle grazing, hiking, bird hunting, and management by WDFW.