Eric Owens report (see April 3, 2004) overstated the snow, but understated the blowdowns! I made it to the lake with no difficulty. Okay, I just HAPPENED to have snowshoes for the last 1/3 mile... At present melt rates, and moderate weather, the trail should be mostly clear by mid-May.

Clear of snow, that is. There are four large blowdown trees to be aware of. The first three are almost evenly spaced at 200, 400 and 600 yards inside the Wilderness boundary. The first and third are new, both in the 3-foot class, both lying in the trail with a tangle of limbs, and a real mess. The second is the 5-footer that dropped across the trail in 1992, now with a rather well established volunteer path around it. The fourth occupies as much of the trail as possible at the second major switchback at about the halfway point. Ordinarily the trail is passable from the Taylor River in a little over an hour as the elevation gains are quite well graded. With these blowdowns, allow an extra 20 minutes.

On the Taylor River trail, the 6-foot culvert at Otter Creek is clogged badly and there are large volumes of water crossing the trail at this point. Expect problems here; come equipped. Water flows are moderate otherwise, and conditions in general are more dry than normal.

If you want to photograph the falls at the Snoqualmie Lake outlet, be sure get there by 11:30 AM to catch the full sunlight.

You couldn’t ask for a more perfect day for a bike-ride, hike, and geocache. These falls are every bit as impressive as Bridal Vail Falls. The size of Otter Falls vs. the intensity of Bridal Vail, each is well worth visiting.

The road to the trailhead is (still) very rough in places. There was water across the road in two of places. I would recommend NOT attempting to get up there in a car. Think ground clearance; 4WD was not necessary. We parked and unloaded the bikes at the trailhead and milled around a while waiting for everyone to show up. The ride up the trail was rough and there were a number of blowdowns and rockslides to carry the bikes around. There are also a couple deep sinkholes in the trail, be careful if you’re out there in low visibility conditions.

The ride was rough, lots of large stones on the trail, in fact, most of the trail looked like a dry streambed. As is to be expected with a group, we ended up strung out along the trail, mostly in order of the bike’s ability rather than the rider’s. We had the foresight to bring along a few FRS radios and the front of the pack was able to keep in touch with the rest of us. It was helpful to get the obstacle reports. There was a little snow on the trail at the very end of the ride. We regrouped and dumped the bikes at the turn point to Otter Falls. From there we hiked up to the falls, getting off track for a little while, but getting there nonetheless.

The falls, as mentioned, are spectacular. I highly recommend getting up to see the falls during the snowmelt.

WE LOST OUR CAMERA IN ITS CASE AT THE TAYLOR RIVER TRAILHEAD. HOPING THAT ANOTHER HIKER FOUND IT IN THE PARKING AREA WHERE IT WOULD HAVE FALLEN OFF OF OUR BUMPER AS WE DROVE AWAY!!

After an excellent (although bloody after bush wacking to Otter Falls in shorts) hike to Lipsy Lake we made the horrible mistake of setting our digital camera case containing our sony 5mp cybershot on the bumper of our truck. If you happened upon it, please contact us, we will gladly identify the cases content and are easily recognized in the pictures on the memory card. Thank you for your help, please ask your fellow hikers for us as well, Scott and Josie Lykken

thelykkens@edgeofthemountain.com

The Taylor River trail (actually the remains of the proposed Lake Dorothy Scenic Highway) is a great spring hike. The trail is mostly in forest, but there are some views up toward the granite crags of Mt. Garfield. That impressive peak reminded me of the Grand Tetons. A nice new bridge has been constructed over Martin Creek.

There's no snow or mud until Otter Falls Creek, about 4 miles from the trailhead, where snow suddenly becomes abundant. The Middle Fork Road is in pretty good shape, even getting a bit dusty from the strangely dry weather we've been having.