Photo taken from the of the Homestead Trail looking across the Horse Lake Reserve. Cannon Mountain is the white peak right of the left tree and Mt. Cashmere is the pyramidal peak left of the right tree.
Current Conditions as of July 10, 2011. The lower
trails in the Sage Hills are getting toasted, especially on the
southern exposures but most trails are in good shape. Some older flowers
persist (yarrow and a few lupines) and, in a few places, mariposa lilies
form an unlikely patch of purple amidst the brown grasses. Up on the
Horse Lake Reserve owned by the Chelan-Douglas Land Trust, the grasses are still green and the flowers
get thick as you reach the 3,000-foot level.
From this elevation to the summit of Twin Peaks (about 4,600 feet), it's
like walking in May rather than July. Conditions are unusually green and colorful for this time of July. Here are some recent pictures of the area -- get out and enjoy it before the heat wave of late July and August hits.
Photo above: Looking across the Horse Lake Reserve toward Badger Mountain and the Waterville Plateau. Photo below: buckwheat and Twin Peaks.
Photo above: Views of the Columbia River and Wenatchee from the upper reaches of the Horse Lake Reserve. Photo below: Mt. Tibbetts from the Horse Lake Reserve. 