The Ice Age Floods Institute is offering guided hikes in the Upper Grand Coulee area this weekend to the Castle Lake Basin and the Giant Cave Arch in the Barker Canyon area. The hikes are led by geologist Gene Kiver and Bruce Bjornstad. Hikers aged 12 and up must register and pay a fee to participate. Visit the IAFI website by clicking here to read more about it or to register.
Geologist gives guided hike
by Jacob Wagner
Geologist Bruce Bjornstad came to Dry Falls-Sun Lakes State Park to give a guided tour of the Caribou Trail to a dog and about 10 human hikers both local, from the Seattle area, and as far away as New England last Saturday.
The approximately 90-minute guided hike started with Bjornstad showing maps of the area depicting what things were like during the Missoula Floods. He showed how a large ice dam used to be where the Grand Coulee Dam is now, and how that had diverted the Columbia River through the Grand Coulee, past Steamboat Rock, and so on. When the ice dam melted, the Columbia took on its current course.
Bjornstad, a licensed geologist/hydrogeologist who used to work for Hanford nuclear production complex in the Tri-Cities area, explained the timescale of the coulees being carved, explaining what a unique feature they are on the planet Earth, the closest thing similar being the landscapes of the planet Mars.
Hiking to huge potholes resembling craters above Deep Lake, Bjornstad explained that they were formed by whirlpools or eddies in the waters that had flooded the region, and simply dug the rocks out of the ground and sent them flying with the sheer force of the current.
“These are some of the best potholes in the world,” Bjornstad said. “There’s dozens of them up there. A lot of times you won’t see them until you’re right up next to them within a few feet when all of the sudden the ground will disappear. They can be hundreds of feet deep and hundreds of feet wide.”
Throughout the hike, Bjornstad was able to answer questions and explain geological features of the region.
A video series Bjornstad produces called Floodscapes is available to view on Youtube. The videos show stunning aerial footage shot with a drone of landscapes shaped by the Missoula Floods, including the Deep Lake Potholes.
The Candy Point Trail is a pleasant, short-but-challenging hike that starts right in town at Coulee Dam and ascends about 700 feet up flights of stone steps and trail, eventually leading to either Candy Point towards the left, or Crown Point, our community’s popular spaceship-looking viewpoint, to the right.
Both offer a great overview of the dam, with Crown Point affording an additional panorama down river. We’ll focus here on the Crown Point path; the branch to the left from the top winds back down behind the town hall where work has recently been done to restore the trail.
“It’s one of the best trails I’ve ever seen.” — Alan Carter Mortimer, Washington Trails Association crew leader
Oddly enough, the trail starts in a private backyard, but don’t worry, there are signs on the sidewalk saying it’s perfectly fine to walk through the yard to the trailhead, which you can easily see from the road. As the sign says, it’s quite the workout, but the views are well worth it.
From the get-go, it is common to hear birds singing their songs, and see nice green areas that look like a perfect place to have a picnic. It is not uncommon to see deer grazing along the hillsides. As is the case in most of eastern Washington, be prepared to give rattlesnakes a respectable distance if you see one, which you probably won’t.
The stone steps comprising much of the trail are very impressive landscaping work that must have taken a lot of hard work to install by the Civilian Conservation Corps, a federal project that put people to work in during the Great Depression. Now that you know this, you won’t be tempted to think you’ve stumbled on to the remnants of some ancient civilization.
In 2017, the town of Coulee Dam’s Parks and Natural Resources Board worked with the Washington Trails Association to clear brush along the 2.25-mile trail. With an OK from the Bureau of Reclamation after it conducted an archaeological survey, around 20 volunteers for the WTA did “tread work” on the trail, helping steady and repair the many stone steps that span lengths of the trail, as well as widening and defining it, clearing rocks, and more.
“It’s one of the best trails I’ve ever seen,” said Alan Carter Mortimer, the WTA crew leader on the project. “I’ve been doing this for 21 years, and … I was just amazed! It blew me away.”
Mortimer said that from a historical point of view, and considering the high quality of the rock walls and steps left by the CCC, the trail that has deteriorated for decades “should be way more popular.”
“It’s really cool because it goes up to a great view of the dam and everything,” he said. “You go up and it’s a really great place to have lunch on top.”
It takes 30 minutes or more to get to the top, quite the workout for the legs. Once at the top you’ll find magnificent views of the dam, the bridge, the river, the town, and beyond.
After resting a while, and taking in the views, heading back down takes about 20 minutes. In the end, you get to have a great workout, see wildflowers and birds, take some great photos of the dam … a great way to spend an hour or two.
Here’s a map to help you start out.
Looking for a great hike?
Consider taking the Candy Point Trail to Crown Point, an overlook with a grand view up and down the river.
Here’s our post about it, the first of several to come on local hikes.
Soon, Northrup Canyon will be full of green. If you like a nice hike, this one is recommended.
It’s a great place to shake off winter and welcome spring. A creek runs through part of it, and a blue sky gives a beautiful contrast to the basalt coulee walls that rise up closely on either side.
Don’t forget to take water. It can be a three- to four-hour hike, or more, depending on how far you want to go.
An old homestead of the Northrup family sits at at nice turnaround spot at the top of the canyon. But you can go further, up a rough trail to a small hidden lake.
A restroom and information kiosk sits near gate at the beginning of the trail, but there no facilities past that. As a part of the state park system, a Discover Pass is required to visit. The most convenient place to get one is at Coulee Playland in Electric City.
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