Hiking in the Indian Heaven Wilderness

Sleeping Beauty Overlook

09.05.21 - We decided to do a one-nighter and leave in the afternoon. We took off and headed straight for the Sleeping Beauty Trailhead, in between Mount Adams Wilderness and Indian Heaven Wilderness. I was hoping to get up there for sunset but we were too early 😭

This hike was fantastic! Short but steep. It's about 2.5 miles RT and gains about 1,300'...so you're looking at about 1.25 miles one way with that gain. From the summit, you have the chance to see Mount Hood, Adams, Rainier, & St. Helens!

After the hike, we headed off toward the trailhead for our Monday (labor day) hike along some NF roads. We figured we'd just go til we found a camping spot to shorten our drive for the next day!

09.06.21 - On Sunday night, we got about halfway to our trailhead for hike, Indian Heaven to Lake Wapiki. We got up early, made some coffee and finished the drive to the trailhead. This one is about 8.3 miles, 2440' gain RT and the trailhead is right at the Cultus Creek Campground. We made breakfast at our parking spot and then got started! This hike felt longer to me than it was rated for. It starts out fairly steep, then once you reach the meadows, it flattens out a little bit for a while, then gets a little steeper as you reach the overlook of Lake Wapiki. The trail continues just over a mile down to the lake and becomes steep again (decline) at that point. The overlook would be a fine place to stop, however, I thought it was worth continuing to the lake!

Lake Wapiki

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