Forty for Forty: Growing Love while Growing Up

Article in partnership with The Wenatchee World 

Forty for Forty: Growing Love while Growing Up

by Kristen Ballinger

I grew up fifty yards away from a steep, dry, sagebrush and bitterbrush-covered mountain, home to rattlesnakes, coyotes, deer ticks and even a rusting 1950s washing machine. And I loved it.  Scrambling or jogging up ‘the hill’ was an adventure into the wild, beautiful, adult-free world. 

Later, when I was far away at college and cabin fever kicked in, I told stories about my sagebrush-covered backyard. Most of my friends liked nature, but just why this arid ecosystem captured my heart was hard to explain to them. Their close encounters with the outdoors were in wetter parts of the world with waterfalls, lush green parks, or national-park scenery so astounding that advertising agencies used it to sell SUVs. What was so special about a relatively barren hill? 

It’s hard to imagine how treeless hills can be special until you have watched their grasses bend and rise in the wind like waves in an inland sea. Or slept in the backyard on an August night with the haunting yelps of coyotes drifting down from the adjacent hills. Even the smell of sagebrush stings the nose a bit at first – only after years of bringing it home on my fingers and jeans did I enjoy its sharp tang.  

The harshness of Wenatchee’s foothills makes their beauty elusive. Often you must search for such details as the tiny, exquisite, blue-eyed Mary flowers, hidden among the bunch grass. Or you must work for it – only after an afternoon of sweating through scratchy, dry grass do you appreciate the luxury of shade and moss in a tiny ravine fed by snowmelt.  

Ultimately the crucial element in knowing the beauty of my sagebrush-covered hill was cultivated from experiencing it. Without similar experiences, this was not something my far-away friends could understand.

I consider myself lucky to have grown up in a place where nature could be loved and wilderness awaited half a block away from home. Advertisers probably never will film a car commercial on my hill, but others who climb it, play on it, and experience it, will also come to love it.

Details: Growing Love for Saddle Rock  

Allowing older children and teens to roam (in a less-supervised fashion) through our relatively safe foothills are important steps in helping them cultivate an appreciation for nature, a connection to our landscape, and a sense of independence – qualities that often develop in concert. Saddle Rock, whether approached from the south via Circle Street, the east via South Hills Drive, or the north via Skyline Drive, is an excellent locale for such cultivation. Following is a description of one of the trails Kristen Ballinger would have used on the Jacobson Preserve when wandering up ‘the hill.’ 

Access: Drive Skyline Drive to the Wenatchee Racket and Athletic Club and park in one of the parking stalls reserved for hikers along the northeast end of their paved lot.

Trip Instructions: Walk from the parking lot back out to Skyline Drive and you’ll see the trailhead at the bend in Skyline Drive where the road starts climbing. Follow the trail uphill. There are a number of intersections and forks – but just stick to the better-travelled trails that keep heading upward. Virtually all these options will eventually lead you to the pass (elevation 2,020 feet) between the south and north sides of Saddle Rock Natural Area. At the pass, you can turn left (east) and walk 100 yards up a small knoll with a commanding view over the city, or you can turn right (west) and walk a third of a mile to the top of Peak 2228, which also delivers a wonderful view.

Map: See the map printed with this story or the Land Trust’s map of the foothills trails: https://www.cdlandtrust.org/sites/default/files/2025-06/2025-Foothills%20Trail%20Map-Pannel-BLEED%20FINAL.pdf 

Trip Stats: Roundtrip distance to the pass between the south and north sides of the Saddle Rock area is just under 4 miles and has a 1000-foot elevation gain. 

Land Ownership: A combination of lands owned by the Chelan-Douglas Land Trust and the City of Wenatchee are used for this hike.

Allowed: Hiking, trail running, mountain biking, leashed dogs.

Not Allowed: No motorized vehicles, off-trail travel, hunting, shooting, littering, camping, or campfires. Strive to leave the area better than you found it. 

Events: Join CDLT for Sunrise Yoga on Monday, Wednesday, 23, 2025, from 7:30–8:30 a.m. at Horse Lake Reserve. In partnership with the YMCA, this free outdoor class offers a fun way to stay active while enjoying the sunrise views. A YMCA Zumba instructor will lead the session, and while the class is free, cash donations are welcome at the event. Registration is required and space is limited, so sign up early to reserve a spot.

Kristen Ballinger wrote the introduction of this story about 15 years ago while attending college. She is now a medical doctor working in psychiatry and behavioral medicine at Seattle Children’s Hospital.

Forty for Forty. Recognizing the 40th Anniversary of the Chelan-Douglas Land Trust with 40 stories about places the CDLT has protected and kept open for public access.