CHOPAKA MOUNTAIN NATURAL AREA PRESERVE

LOOMIS NATURAL RESOURCES CONSERVATION AREA

Activity: Backpacking, Peak Bagging, Camping

8.5 miles, 2,782′ elevation gain, 6.5 hours moving duration, rated Moderate to Hard

Chopaka Mountain elevation: 7,884′

Hurley Peak elevation: 7,805′

Joe Mills Mountain elevation: 7,658′

Date: 8/12-14/22

Chopaka Mountain is a standout among the skyline of mountains I spied while kayaking nearby beautiful Palmer Lake. I had my goals set on climbing it along with another couple nearby high spots.

I drove my Toyota 4Runner TRD Pro up the steep dirt mountain roads to the Cold Springs Trailhead not far from the tiny town of Loomis, Washington a friendly place in North Central Washington perfect to get away from it all surrounded by an abundance of Nature.

It was a short hike along an old road bed before exiting into the forest and towards the summit. It was late in the day. The forest began opening up as the incline continued to steepen. I found a level spot about half way up the mountain and pitched my tent.

I could see some weather rolling in and I thought to myself this is not a great place to be in a thunderstorm. Luckily the storm with it’s high winds, lighting strikes, and down pour skirted my location, perched on the side of Chopaka Mountain, leaving me nothing but an entertaining light show.

The next morning there were low clouds obscuring my view as I made the trek through a field of talus, no walk in the park, towards the top. Once on top the clouds lifted enough such that I caught peak-a-boo views of the surrounding mountains and the valley below. A rugged, but beautiful spot.

Dropping to the north saddle it was onward to Hurley Peak and more spectacular views began to break through the clouds to include Canada not far off from my position. The peaks were rocky and rough. As I descended in elevation in between the peaks I was delighted by wonderful stands of splendid firs.

The funny things is I shot some video from the cliffs of Hurley Peak bragging about how I had this entire incredible area with it’s wondrous peaks and superb views all to myself. It wasn’t long afterwards that I ran into a charming couple of naturalists with their butterfly nets. They were hunting an uncommon species of butterfly.

We had an interesting conversation regarding how this area was special. It had some of the rarest forms of flora and fauna in the state of Washington. The reason for this uniqueness is this triad of mountains, with elevations around 7,800′, were tall enough that when the glacier came through the area 15,000 years ago scraping the land, these peaks remained untouched. So they became “Islands in the Sky” with a different eco system then that of the lands below. The Naturalists swore me to secrecy as if this was the land of the Big Foot or something. Oh hang on, I think that it is… I reassured them that no one reads my blog posts not even my own sister. They just like the pretty pictures.

To prove this point I promised to run a contest: the first one of my Followers that Emails me at pursuingbalancethruadventure@gmail.com  the secret password: "Chopaka Mountain, Island in the Sky" will receive a free 'Pursuing Balance Through Adventure Shirt' and everyone that emails the password will receive a free 'Pursuing Balance Through Adventure' sticker (while supplies last).  If this post goes viral such that it threatens this fragile habitat I will then pull the article, that's the promise.  

After my third peak of the day, which was Joe Mills Mountain, I headed back to my rig. I camped in my rig at a primitive campground not far from the trailhead that night before heading out after breakfast the following day. I had a great conversation with some through hikers that were also camped at the location.

What a super few days of outdoor fun. Chopaka Mountain one of the Islands in the Sky very cool!

Thanks for coming along the trail with me as I found myself ‘Pursuing Balance Through Adventure’ in search of multiple peaks to bag.  Hiking 3 Peaks is a little on the adventurous side, but certainly rewarding. There are more explorations ahead, so please stay with me for more adventure. It is easy to do with a few simple yet important steps: LIKE, COMMENT, FOLLOW and SHARE. The menu above is helpful and can serve as your guide to inspiration. Each location is a separate website and thus needs to be FOLLOWED independently. To really feel the part checkout SHOP APPAREL for your Adventure Wear needs. 

Happy Trails-

Roger Jenkins 

Pursuing Balance Through Adventure