Thirteenmile Mountain Hike
Hike Rating: Moderate
Hike Length: 6.2 miles roundtrip
Elevation Gain: 1,400’
Trailhead Elevation: 3,590’
Best Season: April-June and September
Driving Access: Any vehicle, with care
Plus
Points
• A hike along a scenic,
lightly-forested ridge, with sweeping vistas over the
Highlands
• The trail is within the Thirteenmile Roadless Area and is
closed to motorized travel
• Route traverses open bunchgrass slopes, with scattered
old-growth ponderosas
• Elk and deer are the most common grazers on the ridge,
with little sign of cows
• Colorful spring wildflowers include lupine, paintbrush,
elkhorn clarkia and bitterroot
• A distinct sense of wilderness solitude and remoteness on
this seldom-traveled trail
Minus
Points
• Trail is overgrown with grass
and faint in places, but small rock cairns guide the way
• Not much shade on the open ridge crest, so get an early
AM start on hot days
• Rattlesnakes are a possibility throughout the summer
months, so be alert
Download
(PDF, 633 KB): Photos of Thirteenmile Mtn
Hike
Download
(PDF, 758 KB): Topo Map for Thirteenmile Mtn
Hike
Download
(GPX, 1 KB): GPS Points for Thirteenmile Mtn
Hike
Download
(PDF, 670 KB): Road Map for Thirteenmile Mtn
Hike
Trail
Notes
From the
trailhead bulletin board, the trail descends for 0.2 miles
north to the crossing of a small, spring-fed creek. Past
the creek, the trail switchbacks steeply up the east side
of the canyon, across rocky benches with thick, shady
stands of douglas fir. At 1.0 miles, the trail tops the
ridge in a grassy saddle and one has long views east to
Thirteenmile Mountain.
From this saddle, the trail begins a long traverse east,
contouring around bald, bunchgrass hillsides and through
open stands of big ponderosa pine, which have never been
logged here. The trail maintains a good grade as it
gradually ascends to the ridge crest, where one has nice
views southwest to the rocks cliffs and rounded uplands of
Thirteenmile Canyon. The trail can be hard to follow in the
thick grass, but look for small rock cairns at intervals.
The route east is mostly across open, grassy slopes, but at
times the trail passes through shady folds in the hillside
that support thick stands of douglas fir and western larch,
with a currant understory. Look for grouse in these shady
dells. At 1.8 miles, the trail crests the ridge and one has
the first views north across the Ninemile Creek drainage.
Within a third of a mile, the trail is back on the south
side of the ridge, with more views of the Thirteenmile
Canyon watershed and its rolling headwaters.
At 2.6 miles,
just where one has the first unobstructed views of
Thirteenmile Mountain looming overhead (GPS Point 1), the
route leaves the trail and starts a steep, cross-country
climb north up a wide, rocky side ridge toward the crest.
Once on the grassy ridge crest, the route follows it east
up the west-facing approach ridge to the summit of the
mountain. The hiking is steep, but fairly easy, as one
switchbacks back and forth up the grassy hillsides and over
the rock benches. On the ascent, look for glacial
striations carved into the granite bedrock.
Gaining the top of the peak at 3.1 miles (GPS Point 2), one
finds the remains of the old 1934 fire lookout heaped on
the ground and incredible panoramic vistas in all
directions — east to the Kettle River Range, northwest to
the snowy peaks of the Cascade Range, and south over the
Thirteenmile Creek watershed. Enjoy the views and a good
lunch break, then return as you came.
Road
to Trailhead
From Republic
WA, drive about 7.0 miles east on Highway 20. Turn south on
gravel Hall Creek Road and follow it for about 8.0 miles to
a prominent "T" — where one turns left onto Forest Road
2054 (aka Thirteenmile Road). Follow this good gravel track
for about 5.3 miles, over a low pass, and down to an
unsigned turnoff on the left (east) leading into the wide
gravel parking area of the Cougar Trailhead.
The road to the trailhead is all gravel, but with many
potholes, so travel is slow — though it should be passable
by any vehicle with care. NOTE: The shortcut route down
Refrigerator Canyon is washed out and this road is
permanently closed on its north end.
Camping
Options
For tent trailers and travel
trailers, the nearest option on public land is the O'Brien
Creek Forest Camp about 3.3 miles from Hwy 20 on Hall Creek
Road as one drives toward the trailhead. Immediately past a
cattle guard, there is an open grassy, 1-acre flat on the
right (south) with several good "back in" sites for any
size camping trailer. As there are no defined campsites
here, tent campers can also find spots in the shady trees
along the west edge of the flat. This campground has a
vault toilet, but no drinking water or camping fees.
Tent campers
may want to drive another 3.7 miles along Hall Creek Road
(about 7.0 miles total from Hwy 20) to the Ninemile Creek
Forest Camp on the left (south) side of the road. This is a
small, pleasant and shady camping area next to the flowing
creek, with just 2-3 tent sites — none of which are really
large enough for camping trailers. There is a vault toilet
here, but no drinking water or camping fees.
Full service campgrounds can be found at the Ferry County
Fairgrounds on Hwy 20, about 2.3 miles east of its junction
with Hwy 21 south of Republic WA (and about 18 driving
miles from the trailhead) — and at Curlew Lake State Park,
about 9 miles north of Republic and about 26 driving miles
from the trailhead.
Agency
Contact: Colville National Forest,
Republic District, (509) 775-7400
DISCLAIMER:
Every effort has been made to ensure the accuracy of this
information, but the authors do not guarantee that it is
either current or correct. The reader assumes full
responsibility for any use of this information, and is
encouraged to contact local public land agencies to inquire
about current conditions before
traveling.
Page last updated: 11/1/15