Red Mountain-Indian Heaven Wilderness

Activity Notes

This hike is an out and back hike, about  10 miles long with roughly 1700' of elevation gain.

We will pickup the PCT at the Crest Camp trailhead and follow it north into the Indian Heaven Wilderness. We will reach extensive meadows where Native Americans from numerous tribes gathered to collect and process huckleberries for overwinter storage and use, as well as to trade and socialize. This area was named Chequoss by the natives but was named "Indian Racetrack" by European surveyors and settlers.

At the meadows we will turn South and climb Red Mountain for (hopefully) extensive views. We will return the way we came.

The name for this wilderness reflects the longstanding use of this area by Native Americans to collect and process huckleberries for winter storage. Today, areas east of Forest Service Road 24 in the northern portion of the wilderness are reserved for berry picking for the indigenous peoples of the Yakama Confederation.