After viewing the North Fork falls a few days earlier I decided to walk to Coal Creek Falls.

These falls and the creek were running high with lots of water coming down. The trails are in good shape with some mud but not as much as one might expect after 6 to 7 days of rain.

The attached photo gives a good idea of water levels in Cougar Mt. Park. I noted creeks running in places I had never seen or heard them.

This was supposed to be a very brief outing to test some recent footwear updates, but we got carried away, and zigged around for almost seven miles. First time I have been here. This trail system is reminiscent of an ikea floor plan, but fortunately much less peopled on Sundays in February, and with much better signage.

The leaves are starting to come out on deciduous huckleberries, and there are a lot of them, here. What I think is Oemleria cerasiformis (Indian-plum, Osoberry) is leaving out on southern slopes, and we even saw one flower. The sun peaked out occasionally, and not a drop of rain, but it still looks very much like winter.

There were a few very small blow-downs, but not worrisome enough to check as a 'problem'.

After enduring months of seeing Coal Creek Falls as nothing more than a trickle, it's invigorating to see it at a more robust flow than at our last visit, in September. Weather: chilly, around 40 and falling, persistent mist, turning to steady light drizzle.

We began about 9 a.m. from the Anti-Aircraft Peak Trailhead; three hikers were coming out as we went in, but very few others were encountered, thanks to the threat of snowstorm looming later in the day.

Entry trails were in fairly good shape, for December. Further along AA Ridge it got a bit boggy and slippery, but easily passable, and my feet stayed dry in tennis shoes. Most deciduous foliage is gone, of course, so Cougar's heavily-canopied trails are actually brighter now, in spite of gloomy skies. Glistening Oregon grape and sword fern were the dominant greenery; the ""grape"" is crowding the narrower trails quite a bit in many places. Many fungi present, but I'm embarrassingly ignorant of mycology. The only wildlife we observed were the usual juncos, chickadees and wrens; not even towhees or squirrels.

We were very pleased to see good flow in the East Fork of Coal Creek where the Clay Pit bypass crosses. Cave Hole Road is not in very good condition: in most places only one rut was passable, the other either too eroded or too muddy. Several clumps of comfrey were evident on the Falls trail -- I hadn't noticed them there before....is that just because of less foliage now, or is this a climate-related change?

Coal Creek Falls were very nice, probably about 10 to 20 percent of maximum flow. These falls are a wonderful place to sit, rest, meditate; and now while the flow is only moderate it's even a good place for conversation.

We returned the same way we entered. I was pleased to make it all the way up the Cave Hole Road grade non-stop; a tough walking hill. We got back to our vehicle just as the weather took a turn for the worse.

For a moderately-long but quiet, easy hike to a nice destination, this is hard to beat, any time of year.

What a lot of trails for such a short hike! I covered about 5 miles of wet soggy trail in Cougar Mt. park on Friday. The hike was in solitude but the trails are very wet with standing water and mud-holes.

The purpose was to see Coal Creek Falls in winter and the hike was worth it. Heading from the AA Peak Trail head I walked down Lost Beagle to the Klondike Swamp, then via a connector to Cave Hole, down to the Coal Creek Falls trail. Most of these trails are in good if slightly muddy condition. The falls trail is in excellent shape and you can hear the water roaring over the falls as you get near.

After a snack and some photos, I continued on to the Quarry Trail, then back via Fred's Railroad, AA Ridge to my car.

I saw only one other person on the hike and no wildlife. The rain was constant and I was soaked but happy on getting back to my car.

Hike took about 3 hours.