Three Peaks Loop

Started with Mt Spokane trail, starting at the Selkirk parking lot. Went to Kit Carson and then out to Day Mt and down to the road back to the cabin. Downed trees have been removed and trails were nice. passed several bikers and other hikers.

hiked Mount Spokane today, it was about 76 degrees and the wind was blowing from the east which was nice due to our route we decided to take. My buddy and I parked at the second parking lot at around 3800 feet and instead of using the trails we walked up on Mt Spokane Park Dr until we reached the next parking lot. We wanted to appreciate the view so we decided to do our trip with this approach. We also had a map from the ranger station which was really helpful which I would recommend everyone do since it is an essential item. We then continued on Mt Spokane Park Dr heading North until we reached the ski lifts. We started the ascent heading west around 1030 from the ski lift and followed the line up the ski slopes. We followed the Hour Glass route which according to the sign is the hardest descent for skiers. We then hit the North Summit Rd and followed the hard ball until we hit trail 140 and took it to the summit. The approach from the ski slope made the trip worth it since we were on the east side of the summit and it had more of a view. Since the slopes are not maintained as often, you may have to do some bushwacking and on the spot route selection to avoid bushes and obstacles. If you do this route, bring extra sun screen and keep an eye on the weather.

I started this trail from the last possible parking lot. I made my way onto trail 130 which is a little tricky to find. If you find the base of lift 5 there is a little field to the north of it with what looks like a service road at the end. This is the start of trail 130. 130 will take you to the top of Day Mountain. This trail is approx. 95% in the shade and the majority of it is a service road. While descending Day Mountain, I took trail 160 to hit the peak of Mt. Kit Carson. I continued down 160 and it brought me to Saddle Junction. From here I took 140 to the summit of Mount Spokane. Even though the trails get harder in difficulty the views got more amazing with each peak. I would rate my first part of the trail easy, then moderate, and then on the high end of moderate while getting to the top of Mount Spokane. The top of Mount Spokane is something! There is the Vista House with has picnic tables inside and out and a fireplace inside. After spending some time up there I decided to take a direct route back to the parking lot (which can be seen from the summit). I followed lift 2 all the way down and would not recommend it to anyone....unless that person is looking for a challenge. I would rate that section difficult because of the incline and the fact that it was all overgrown with grass, shrubs, and bushes and I was unable to see where I was stepping the majority of the time. The best part of the trip for me was that at the beginning there was gooseberries along trail 130 and was great to snack on. And on trail 160 and 140 there was millions of huckleberries to snack on! There was even huckleberries on the way down following lift 2 so at least I was rewarded anytime I wanted to take a break there. Overall this was an awesome day hike which took me approx. 8 hrs total (approx. 6hrs hike time/2 hrs rest time).

As a side note I did not come across any mountain bikers.

We had a blast trying to figure this trail out! After finding out we went in a circle on one of the many cross country ski trails we made our way towards quartz trail. Tip: if you're looking for the lookout at the top of the mountain, just follow the dirt road that almost looks paved. Your last chance to get on this road is from the Nova Hut where the bathrooms are just at the entrance to Quartz. It's a steep mile or two from the nova station to the lookout but well worth the burn once you get to soak in the 360 Degree view of the whole area! Beautiful!

Great place to hike/trail run with one exception....mountain bikers. Don't get me wrong I don't hate all mountain bikers but the ones with little disregard for trails or hikers are not my favs. I have helped build or fix trails in the past and the damage the non nature loving bikers do is horrid. Anyhow, there are many great trails on Mt Spokane and you spend all day hiking and put in plenty of miles. All trails are fairly easy and depending on day you go you may not see another human being!

Make no mistake about it, this is a grueling day hike if you decide to conquer it in one day. Make sure to wait later in the summer when it is dry. We tackled it earlier in the summer, and had to trudge through several feet of snow near the top. The views are great, however, and we felt extremely accomplished when we finally limped back to our car.