Trip Reports

Beano and I have been talking about scrambling Long Mt. for awhile and B. is up for anything so we tried a route from Marten Creek Trail. We figured right away that there probably wasn't enough snow left to take the gulley routes to the summit ridge and into a basin below the peak, but we thought we'd give it a try to go through open forest. We followed the Marten Creek trail for about 2 1/2 miles to a large wash out area that flowed over the trail. This looked like as good a place as any to try to slog our way to the ridge. We followed a stream gulley for awhile gaining about a couple hundred feet or so until we hit a large slab section. We worked our way around this on the left side hoping to be able to return to the stream gulley, but we soon found that the gulley turned into a waterfall and our slope was becoming a very steep and slippery slide area that was quite unstable. Realizing that down would be much worse than up, and that we were probably not going to get to the summit on this route anyway, we opted to have lunch and then head back down. The Marten Creek trail itself was very nice for the first two miles or so, but then deteriorated to salmon berry with a few devil's club thrown in. Blowdowns and washouts added to the fun. Once we started off trail however, our route became mostly solid slide alder, salmon berry, and more and more of the devil's club......what Beano likes to call, "El Diablo". I would agree. The funnest part of our descent was slipping down the dirt and head long into a patch of "El Diablo" that would meet you at about eye level. Finally, we returned to the trail and since we had some extra time, decided to try to follow the Marten Creek trail as far up the valley as we could. This trail becomes brushier and more eroded until it collapses into a six foot trench filled with rock and water. Beano was pretty sure that the trail crossed the stream in a large flat area....now snow, but we couldn't find a safe crossing. OK, enough is enough. More brush and scrapes and stickers until we arrived back at the trailhead. A change of clothes and Omega's for gyros and Mac and Jack. All in all a very satisfactory day and some better ideas for a more successful route to the summit. The only problem now is how to pick all the "El Diablo" stickers out of my poor skin.......and bruises, and bumps, and cuts and........

The trailhead for the Old Sauk River Trail is located just off the Mountain Loop Highway shortly after traveling south from Darrington. The parking area has been rearranged a bit since the last time I visited in that it is now just off the highway. The changes have reduced the number of cars that can park there and there is no longer a privy there. There were about 4 cars there at 10:30 in the morning, but several parked alongside the highway outside of the parking lot at 4:00 PM.

The trail itself is in great shape at this time. We only saw two areas of mud on the trail after a week of rain. This trail bears the brunt of winter storms and there are many areas along the trail where improvements have been made in the form of rocks along the trail or new bridges. The Forest Service currently appears to be in the process of moving a section of the trail further away from the river and this area is clearly marked.

This is a great hike for kids in that it is mainly flat with very moderate ups and downs with the river next to you nearly the entire way. There are several areas along the trail that provide great views of the river as well as spurs off the main trail that provide shoreline access to the river at this time of year.

There is another trip report from today. I am putting this up to add more photos. I was on the trail at about the same time as the other trip report. Headed up the trail about 8:15am. We pasted a couple of people on the way up and only saw three other people at the top. The snow on the trial is only on the final quarter mile. Watch for post holing when you get near the streams under the snow. This will be more of a problem over the next few days and weeks as the weather warms.
The rest of the trail is in great shape. There is a lot of water on the trail, but always flowing on rocks. So it is good to wear hiking boots right now. Tennis shoes may get wet. Oh, and on the way down we saw about 75 people coming up, and maybe 10 dogs.

We started up in the trees on a lovely morning, a group of 9 intrepid Mountaineers. Within about 3/4 mile we crossed the stream, only a little tricky, and emerged into the burned area that encompasses most of the south face. This would be a very hot exposure on a summer day, but today it was perfect! Views over Lake Wenatchee were constant nearly from the beginning and as we climbed extended down to Stuart as well as east and west along the Alpine Lakes. Several significant blowdowns, some large enough to require a significant detour around, others which could be clambered over. We encountered patchy snow beginning around 4400', which well and truly obscured the trail around 5000'. Checking the trusty GPS we just aimed straight uphill, easily kicking steps into the soft snow but minimal postholing. Some of the exposures become quite steep but the snow made the risk of a serious slip quite low. We made it to the summit at just a little before noon, with only one other person there before us (who treated us to a nice yodel serenade). And what an amazing panorama! Glacier Peak in all its glory probably just 10-20 miles to the north, MT Stuart peeking up to the south, and snowy peaks in every direction. The sun was warm but the breeze eventually got a bit chilly so we headed back down. Some fun glissading! We made it back to cars at around 2:45, a fantastic day with a great group!

This is a beautiful hike, good for children and families. Both falls are wonderful. Otter Falls is well marked today, but surprisingly people seem to miss it. Look for an arrow of rocks pointing to the scramble up an incline. The whole way you can hear the falls, and see that a clearing is upcoming. Also, a BIG hint, is Otter FAlls carved in a tree. However, I think many of us are looking down not up when hiking. The trail is not as clear beyond the bridge at Big Creek Falls. LOTS of people out today!
A clarification on the directions - drive past Middle Fork Snoqualmie campground until you reach the gate. Nothing is signed for "Taylor Creek". And there is no indication in any signage of the falls.

What a beautiful day to hike to the lower falls and start off our hiking season. On the hike today was mom and the two boys (5 & 8). We got an early start and were at the trailhead by 9:30 with plenty of parking available. With the two kids the hiking was slow but there were no problems on the trail at all. We did encounter lots of people who were passing us and a few coming down. Lower Falls was beautiful place to stop and each lunch and was our turn around point for today. On the way back we passed LOTS of people and dogs. Upon return to the parking lot around 1:15 pm it was full and the drive out revealed that people were parking down the sides of the road to come up and hike.

Picked up several empty waterbottles on the way out and some trash. Please pack it in, pack it out!

All in all the boys got their 1st hike in with only minor complaints!

Initially wanted to hike up toward Snow Lakes, but it's a no-dog hike, so we picked nearby Icicle Ridge Trail.

It's a great short hike, but it is more like 5 miles than 4 round-trip if you go to the eastern-most promontory overlooking Leavenworth. The weather was pleasant, though I wouldn't want to do that hike when it's much over 80 or so. The latter parts of the hike up rather quickly so it would be a tiring workout on a hot day.

The trail is in great shape, lots of switchbacks through flowers, grasses, and some burnt-out forest. I saw two small brown snakes, too, which were inconsequential.

The views at the top on this perfect day were well worth the effort. Lots of great spots at the top to sit and enjoy your lunch. Highly recommended, especially if you're in Leavenworth looking for a little exercise.

I’m thankful we hit the trails early because when we arrived around 9am there were only 3 cars in the parking lot, but when we returned a few hours later we saw well over 50 cars. This is a popular trail due to it’s 1-mile length, 200 ft. elevation gain, and great views.

We visited this area in the fall of 2010 but experienced cooler weather, fewer people, and we actually saw the ice caves. Today, the snow was still on the top of the trail and the caves are covered. We did hear a couple avalanches in the upper reaches of the mountain (and others viewed them) but there was no danger to us.

Pictures and our experience located on our site at http://www.brettandlaura.com/[…]/

Great hike. Hiked 1.5mi up the dirt road to the trail head. Nice easy hiking. The whole trail never veers too far away from the creek. You can usually see or hear the creek gushing the entire hike. We turned around just shy of the junction where the trail crosses over the creek. Lots of wildflowers blooming. Got to see the elusive Tweedy lewisia blooming. Another few more weeks and there will be even more flowers. Saw lots of trillium everywhere, calypso, glacier lily, paint brush, violets etc. Loved this hike as it is endless as to how far you want to go. Ran into only a few little patches of snow still hanging on but nothing worth turning around for. Quite a few trees down across the trail but all of them are manageable for going over, around or under. No worries.

*Note:If you are heading east, you will have to bypass exit 45 FS RD9030 and continue to exit 47 Tinkham Rd, Denny Creek, Ashael Curtis at which point you will head westbound to exit 45 to access FS RD9030. The road is blocked due to structural damage to the overpass.
Phew! With that out of the way, today was a fantastic day to hike Bandera Mountain. The route was clear until just before the Bandera Mountain/Mason Lake split, where there was some snow covering the trail. The hike up the knoll was clear until the very top where there was a few patches, and shortly thereafter snow becomes the dominant substrate. I blazed up untouched snow most of the way, avoiding the heavily trodden and slushy looking path. The summit was snow covered but there were a handful of snow free view points available. I might add that the ridge to the summit was snowfree enough to accommodate a wide footpath. I'd recommend hiking poles and gaiters in addition to of course adequate footwear. All in all a fine hike, Happy Trails.

Enjoyed a beautiful family hike/walk. The river was running fast, but not treacherous. Lots of nice sandbar and beach break spots along trail. Shady and pleasant. My six yr. old had lots of fun.

Decided to try hiking to Franklin falls today since it was buried in snow two weeks ago. The road down from Hyak was closed due to snow but the road up from Exit 45 was open up to the trail head tho there was snow aplenty. The hike is only one mile and was a mix of open but wet trail plus hardpan snow up to three feet deep. There were well over 100 people there today, many hiking in sneakers, flip-flops and carrying babies in backpacks, crazy and risky as that is. The falls was carrying a lot of water while a side canyon looked to be buried in a glacier. The mist from the falls was being carried quite a ways.
We also did the Denny Creek trail up about two miles. Snow made finding the trail difficult at times and we found several people who had hiked and gotten lost but managed to find their way back. At two miles, the snowpack was just too deep to continue so we bushwhacked our way alongside the river most of the way back and came across another waterfall just as tall as Franklin falls but with the river cascading thru a narrow channel and boiling and exploding with vigor. Back at the parking lot, we looked at the map and we weren't sure what falls we had seen since the map didn't jibe with our recollection of the path we forged.

What a little gem of a hike! Great for this time of year, before it gets too hot. The flowers are out at the lower section of the trail. The top 1000 feet are still under snow, but it’s easy to get through and find the way (straight up!). There are some mosquitoes.

Full set of pictures: https://picasaweb.google.co[…]huser=0&feat=directlink

Darren

The road to the trailhead is paved the entire way – what a bonus! This is a really nice trail, as all reports have noted, and feels good on the knees and hips to walk a soft trail.

Today, the blue sky was nicely reflected in the water and the water in the river was running fast.

Just before we got to the junction to Echo Lake trail, we talked to a group that had camped there the night before and they said to expect lots of snow on the switchbacks that made it tough to find the trail. This information, combined with the fact that it was around lunchtime (12:30), made us retreat down the Maggie Crk trail and find a nice lunch spot instead of pursuing Echo Lake.

On the way out, we saw lots of dogs, kids and just one mosquito (killed him before he bit me).

This trail is completely snowfree and has been maintained (no deadfall whatsoever). The hike to Green Lake begins with an easy, almost level, 3-mile walk through magnificent forest, following (mostly) the abandoned Carbon River Road, diverting for about 1/3 mile on a wide-trail detour around the massive washout from the November 2006 floods.

Turning off on the Ranger Creek Trail, ascending amongst even more magnificent old-growth trees, the impressive Ranger Falls are accessed, up-close and personal, via a short sidetrail about a mile up. Another short mile brings you to a good log-bridge over Ranger Creek, with Green Lake a few hundred yards beyond. The lovely forest-bounded lake is completely melted, with snow remaining on the steep slopes above (one tiny snowpatch remains near the lakeshore, well off the trail).

After descending the Ranger Creek trail, we walked a further 3/4 mile along the abandoned road, followed by the short trail to the base of Chenuis Falls. The bridges across the Carbon River are in, and the falls running high and impressive. The views upstream to the snowy lower ridges of Rainier from the open Carbon River flood-course here were most impressive.

A few muddy spots and a few drainage problems. The worst (none very bad) were along the detour around the November 2006 road washout.

This is one of our favorite mid-spring hikes.

We made our annual spring leg-stretcher up to Dosewallips campground - a delight despite a few oddities due to the holiday weekend.

The road to the trailhead (that is, where the road has washed out) was in tip-top shape, no potholes. Unfortunately a group of young folk saw fit to pitch their tents smack at the trailhead, and I'm sure I saw some empty beer bottles thrown down along the river bank. Don't get me started on their latrine. Quite disturbing.

The next 5 miles along the river were quiet and scenic, as always. Ran into a kind national park trail crew member fixing the path through the slide area. At the campground, all was quiet. Only a few tents (presumably belonging to the trail crew) but no people and we had the place to ourselves (plenty of robins to keep us company). As we hiked out, plenty of parties were making their way in.

Each year, this trail grows a little less like a road, a bit more like a wild riverside trail. It's a worthwhile trip this time of year, when the water rushing through the chute is so dramatic, and the vanilla leaf is coming into bloom, and you need a bit of distance under your legs to help prepare you for the miles and miles that lie in store this summer.

A friend and I decided to talk a short hike with my dogs up to Stanleys View Point. Starting from Snoqualmie View Point Trail Head. After 1 mile we encountered a bear. It was in the bushes, but it jumped out , almost as if to be challenge the dogs. He/she came face to face with them had a stare down & scrambled across the trail, sat down in the bushes and watched me leave. We tried to call the number posted on the sign " if you see cougar or bear please call" that number is NO GOOD. We called 2 times. I called & left a message with the city.
The bear had stripped all the bark off about every 10th tree along the path.
Other than that. Nice hike & pretty views
For new hikers - I've walked up this before all by myself, this is a first for me. Normally this doesn't happen

Arrived a little bit after 8am and there were only five other cars in the parking lot. For the first 1.5 miles I did not see anyone else, which was very enjoyable with the constant flow of the water near the trail. As I was going up, there were frequent spots of water flowing down from the snow melt. Because of this, expect to get your shoes a little wet as you trek up. The trail was snow free until the last half mile, but even then it was pretty easy to hike, I did not have any hiking poles and made it fine.

The view was fantastic and the lake is still almost completely covered with snow. On the way back down, the bugs started to arrive but they were not to bad. There were at 30-40 groups going up, many with dogs even though THIS IS A NO DOG TRAIL. Many were letting their dogs run around free, very annoying and disrespectful.

Finishing the hike around 1030, the parking lot was full and cars were almost parked to the main road.

Left my garmin gps in parking lot being nice letting someone into my parking spot. I left it on the ground near some rocks at end of lot closest to the road.
If found my email craig_lapr@yahoo.com , gladly pay a reward.

  We hit the trail at 8 on a beautifully sunny day. The air was cool, the traffic was light, and the mosquitos were still sleeping, a perfect start. My 4 year old son loved splashing in the mud and puddles on the way, and was ecstatic when we reached the snow. To my surprise there was a good five feet of snow packed in the higher areas, more in some places, but getting quite slushy. The trail wasn't too difficult to follow, as it was dirtier than the other pure white snow around. Expect some slips and falls for the little ones; I failed to bring the right shoes for my son. Many spring flowers are starting to poke their way out into the dappled sunlight to bring yet another smile to our faces. I recommend arriving early as there were at least 30 cars parked when we left, and only one other when we started. I highly value this trail and think it's a wonderful step into Spring.

Great hiking conditions today. No snow on any part of the trail, this trail is very rocky. The waterfall is amazing and very beautiful. After viewing the falls we took the trail further up the Mt. That part of the hike is very steep and you need to give yourself plenty of time to continue to the top of the ridge. Lots of people on the trail after 10am. I suggest you go early.

This was the only trail in the Lake Kachess area that I haven't done, so decided to give it a try. I was not disappointed, and in fact I had a great time seeing the second flush of wildflowers popping up now after the early bloomers like Avalanche Lily and Trillium petered out. The flora here is unique, growing in the transition zone between the wet western and dry eastern Cascades. Many wildflowers, some quite rare, here grow in abundance not seen anywhere else.

After the requisite break to admire the spectacular vista from the cliffside viewpoint (well, it would be spectacular if not for all the highways, power lines, and clearcuts along I90) I headed on. A few minutes further on the trail steepens, then steepens some more, and remains so all the way to Domerie Divide. It's a real workout, with some 2400' vertical rise in just 2.2 miles, and had me huffing and puffing toward the end.

A few hundred yards from the ridgetop (about 3900') there suddenly appeared lots of deep snow, and the trail disappeared underneath. But it was easy to bushwhack to the top to admire what would have been a nice look at the peaks in the Teanaway area if it hadn't started clouding up. A few minutes later it started to sprinkle so I decided to bail out. Going down was much faster!

I stopped for lunch a little way down the trail at a clear area rife with Yellow Bells in full bloom and admired the views of Easton Ridge and Mt. Baldy. As I ate lunch I watched a trio of crows mobbing a predator hidden among the trees. Very entertaining.

Though it's a generally pleasant hike, it will appeal mainly to wildflower entuhsiasts and those wanting a little early season altitude (4900' at the divide).

The trail and approach road are in good shape. Now's a good time to go since this area gets very hot and dusty in summer and wildflowers shrivel and disappear.

Icicle Ridge provides a good workout, excellent views on the way up East over Leavenworth and excellent views up the Chiwawas and Tumwater Canyon from the ridge lookout. Wildflowers are in bloom from bottom to top. We went right at the ridge to the end point overlook. Other trip reports have indicated that there is snow on the trail up the ridge. Great early season hike. No blowdowns, No bugs.

Climbed Mailbox this morning. I arrived at the completely empty Parking lot at 6:15am, got to the top at 8:10, back to car 9:45am. I saw no one going up, but I saw 14 people, and 3 dogs coming down.

The trail is in pretty good shape. There are a few (less than 10) mud holes on the trail at various spots. Some near the trailhead, and a few higher up. All of them are easy to step over or around. There was no snow on the trail below the breakout at 4000 feet. The summer route that climbs from 4000 feet to 4300 feet is still buried in snow. I had to do the winter section (straight up the rocks) through this area. There is also a snow patch to the left of the rocks that was climbable this morning. It was hard crusted and easy to create steps. I took the snow patch part of the way around the snow bound summer route.
Above 4300 to the top the summer route is clear of snow. There is some snow at the top, but the Mailbox and sun porch are clear of snow.

The trail is clear to Trout Lake with camps and privy melted out. Between Trout and Copper Lake there is a lot of water on the trail and 5 blow-downs. There are a couple of snow patches around 2900', then more serious patchy snow around 3300'. The snow becomes solid around 3600'. There are a few patches that are somewhat steep to traverse.

I've included two photos of what I think are the most difficult spots to navigate. The photo with the bridge will pose more of an issue. To drop down to the bridge it's almost four feet, with about 3.5 feet to get up the other side. I was able to do this but am not recommending it. :) There probably is a snow bridge farther up stream but I did not check it out. Fording is possible but the creek is very full right now. I did not see a way to cross on rocks or logs (without serious risk).

As you can see the lake is just starting to melt out, so for those lusting for the high country it's going to be awhile. :) Currently there is anywhere form 4-8 feet of snow at and around Copper Lake.

Cheers!
S-H-A-L

We started at the parking lot for the Taylor River Trail at 10:00 AM hoping to reach Snoqualmie Lake ~ 15 miles round trip. In .4 mile, took the right fork to Snoqualmie Lake. There were streams crossing the trail in several places prior to arriving at Otter Falls and Big Creek Falls at 5 miles. Had lunch viewing the beautiful Big Creek Falls in the sunshine. In ~.8 mile after Big Creek Falls, we followed signs left at the fork to Snoqualmie Lake for another 2 miles up hill. Crossed several more streams. All streams have rocks to step accross so it's possible to do the hike without getting your boots wet; however, the trail is muddy in many places. Approximately .2 mile before the lake, we encountered snow, but carefully picked our way forward and reached the lake. Trilliums are blooming all along the Snoqualmie Lake trail and there are a couple of spectacular waterfalls on the way to the lake.

This is a relatively short hike (about 5 miles in our case as we did a Boy Scout loop hike to start) to a very scenic falls and rain forest.

We started at Camp Sheppard and walked a loop trail (go through the amphitheater to get directly to the falls trail), we did not plan on but added a nice 0.6 mile addition to our walk.

The actual trail starts just after the Boy Scout amphitheater and plods steadily up hill to the falls. We took a lunch break just before the falls and then did the rest of the loop with several photo stops.

The trail is well maintained but going up hill using the eastern most portion of the loop gets you to the falls the quickest and is also the nicest trail section.

After the falls we encountered several scree slopes with rock stairs which were not as much fun as the pine needle carpeted trail up to the falls.

RT took 4 hours with lunch break and several photo breaks. Lots of water coming over the falls so this is a great time to see them. There are 3 to 5 blowdowns on the trail that need to be shimmed over or under but we all did these without problems.

Beautiful day for a training hike and my first double hike. I started out at Rattlesnake Ledge as a warmup hike. Arrived at trailhead at 8AM, only four other cars in the parking lot. Trail was wide open and in amazing shape. Virtually completely dry, except for a small portion after the first big switchback (a bit past halfway to the ledge). At the ledge, met two other people who were enjoying the view. One was a bird watcher and i suggested to hike up to the third ledge (15 minutes further up the trail) Was back at my car by 9:30 and headed over to Mount Si.

Arrived at Mount Si Trail 20 minutes later to find several dozen cars parked and people milling about. Began hiking about 10:00am. Trail was in amazing condition, no snow at all, except at the very top there were a few patches on the trail that heads over to Haystack. Found the two benches near haystack and sat and enjoyed the view of Seattle, Bellevue and the Olympics for almost an hour. By the time i started back down the trail a minimum of 30 people were at the top soaking up the sunshine. On the way down i passed a minimum of 50 people (closer to 75) that were assending the trail. At times, there was a log jam of people coming up, so patience was needed and the rest appreciated as people passed. When i reached the parking lot, four rows of cars were parked.

As i began to drive back down Mt. Si Road, the sky's opened up and it began to pour.

Overall...both trails at Rattlesnake Ledge and Mount Si are in amazing condition.

Total hiking distance: 12 miles
Total vertical climbed: 4310
Total hiking time: 5hours 15 minutes (not including time at the top)

On a side note...I am thinking about starting up a hike for charity and would like to call it the Mount Si Rattlesnake Challenge, one reason i did the hike today was to test my endurance. If there is anyone that is potentially interested in helping run a charity hike, or participating in a charity hike...please contact me. The earliest i would think a charity hike could happen would be late summer/early fall of 2013. I am happy to share more details about this potential charity hike with any fellow hikers.

Enjoy the trails!!!

We took the road to the DNR Teneriffe falls tail, then up from the last switchback onto the climbers trail to Teneriffe (the Kamikaze trail). This is more of a scramble than a hike, and you should be equipped properly with boots, traction devices, poles and, based on today's conditions- probably an ice axe. New snow had mostly obliterated the path that previously lead to the summit, while some area that were snow before were melted (based on a trip 2 weeks ago). We made our own path up, carefully kicking steps into the wet, slippery snow, and ended up somewhat west of the actual trail, and then somewhat east of it on the descent. I used my ice axe a couple of times as the descent was hazardously slippery with the fresh wet snow on top of previous hard-packed older snow. It's a lovely view from the top and I adore Kamikaze falls. A great trail, but not for the timid or untrained!

Index Town Wall is a wonderful short early season snow free hike but it is every bit as strenuous as hikenwineguy described in his trip report. The trail is steep and narrow and getting overgrown on the lower levels. There are several blowdowns that are easily stepped over and my hiking partner and I cut and cleared a good many. There are 3 junctions. The first two are pretty clear as one fork is blocked off. Also look for the blue diamonds high up on the trees. The 3rd junction is right in the face of a rock cliff. Look for a pink ribbon high up to your left. That's the way to go.

This is a great time to climb this trail. The new growth is just budding, the little ferns are uncurling, and fresh green sprouts are poking up in all their healthy hopeful exhuberance. The flowers are tiny but very nice - starflower, bleeding heart, honeysuckle, and delicious miner's lettuce. This lettuce here is sweet and bursting with chorophyll, not bitter or acidic like some.

At the top of the ridge there is a wire fence across a rivulet. Turn left to follow an abandoned road through beautiful forest carpeted with fresh green mosses. Turn right and go up the rivulet to the viewpoints. On a clear day Mt. Baring, Mt. Index, Merchant Peak, and Perseus Mountain are all in their glory and today was special because they still had their snow.

After a knee punishing climb down, enjoy a delicious coffee at the Espresso Chalet just up highway 2 from the junction into Index.

I got to the trail head early in hopes of beating the crowd on this popular trail and I was not disappointed. I was car number 4 when I arrived shortly after 9 am and 2 more cars arrived while I was getting ready to go. On the way up I saw only one person and had the trail to myself. At the lake there was a small group and a few more arrived while I was there. The trail was busy on my way back down so don't expect any solitude unless you go early.

It was a great morning for a hike on this mossy, green trail with lots of sunshine filtering between the trees. Twenty-two Creek was loud and full with runoff and its many waterfalls were a sight to be seen. Further up the clear skies offered great views across the valley on the switch backs and the lake basin was bright with lots of snow still lingering. The lake remains mostly frozen but is somewhat thawed near the outlet. I was glad to have my sunglasses at the top. The trail presents no major hazards at this time but there are creek crossings and a few feet of snow cover the last 1/2 mile or so to the lake. The snow is soft and I did post hole a couple times going up and once going down. My poles were handy on the snow but you could make due without. I love this beautiful trail and all its big trees, a great hike and close to home in Lake Stevens.

Where: Trail head at N. Mill Rd and N. Fairwood Drive (not Lane), Spokane.
Directions: From downtown Spokane, go North on N. Division St. Turn left on Hastings Rd. Turn right on N. Mill Rd. Turn left at N. Fairwood Drive next to the Woodhaven Apartments. Park on N. Fairwood Drive (watch for the "No Parking" sections on this street) and walk 50 yards to the adjacent small gravel parking lot and trail head. (If you have purchased a WA State Discovery Parking Pass, you can park in the small gravel parking lot if you display your pass on your vehicle.)

Description: The hike begins with half mile gradual descent down to the trail that parallels the Little Spokane River during the whole hike. After the initial descent the trails are only slightly hilly. Of course that means that the hike ends with a half mile gradual up hill walk back to our cars. This 4.5 mile roundtrip trail is out and back (not a loop).

Note: There are no restroom facilities at this location. The closest restrooms are in the retail stores/strip mall at Hastings Rd and Mill Rd.

Recommended for ages 7 and older due to the 4.5 mile distance and ascents. These trails are not designed for strollers.

We started at the small parking area on the right up about 2 miles from Longmire and just before Cougar Rock Camp Ground road. It's 1.1 miles to Carter Falls from here and 2.7 miles to Narada Falls. You quickly reach the sturdy footbridge across the Nisqually. The trail is easy to follow and in good shape. There are small patches of snow as you get close to Carter Falls. The 700 feet to Madcap Falls has a bit more snow but is worth it. After that there is even more snow, it's melting fast and had us post holing so we decided not to got farther.

I hiked the loop at Whistle Lake. It was serene, but not interesting. I headed for Deception Pass and hiked the Goose Rock Perimeter and Summit trails, which are very interesting.

The wildflowers are blooming in abundance. Today's beauties include Paintbrush, Camas, Vetch, Stonecrop, Coralroot, Orange Honeysuckle, Cow's Clover, Wild Roses, and Wild Rhodies.

The views of Puget Sound and the Olympics from Goose Rock Summit are stunning. And the view of Baker from the Perimeter trail is great as well.

There were many people at Deception Pass, but only a few hikers on the trail. That's just the way I like it.

Great hike! Trail is completely clear of snow, blow downs, and mud free! The Trillium are all dead now at the beginning of the trail but some still remain at the highest elevation point along Brach Creek, meanwhile enjoy the sporadic Rhododendron, Bleeding Hearts, Yellow Wood Violet, Vanilla Leaf, Bear-Grass, and False Solomon's Seal. The Big Creek Camp is also open now so there is plenty of parking.

Wonderful day hike up to Teneriffe Falls. Arrived at trailhead about 11am only to find 4 cars parked. Meet a nice young couple at the trailhead and talked to them about several local hikes (Index Wall Trail, Mt. Si, Dirty Harry's Balcony, Rattlesnake Ledge, etc...) Weather was partly sunny with a few showers on the way up the trail. The first mile was up the road beyond the gate...made a right at the first junction and continued another mile up the trail...these first two miles were an easy grade and the trail was dry and clear besides a few blowdowns. The last third of the hike, the last mile is where most of the elevation gain occurs...rocks dominate the trail and the few showers made for some slickness...poles and good boots are a good resource to have for the last mile. Along the last mile there are about 20 switchbacks and several places to view the falls from. Altogether, a wonderful hike to see an amazing falls. If you want to do lunch or stop, about 15 minutes up from the "teneriffe falls" trail sign, there is a nice, large, almost flat area to stop...enjoy your break, snack and falls...at the top the viewing is much more narrow and steep. Along the switchbacks there are several places to see Mount Washington and Rattlesnake Mountain.
Car to top about 1.25 hours...top to car about 1 hour

We did a five mile round trip hike along the Spokane River after crossing the bridge and heading right. Bugs moderate, less than expected fellow hikers. The Balsam Leaf Arrowroot flowers were finishing blooming, other wildflowers moderate.

Trail dry, clean and an easy hike. Plenty more here to see.

Ben, Tim and I planned on camping on the old mining road just before Bridal Falls. We started from the car with our packs loaded and a six-pack of beer in hand. The little rain was nothing to keep us from enjoying ourselves. Ben was in charge of leading us to the campsites as Tim and myself had never been. After climbing up stairs about a mile towards Bridal Falls he then determined that we missed a turn. Good thing none of us were in a hurry. After turning back and finding the correct turn we arrived to our campsite. Ben immediately started to gather wood while Tim and I enjoyed a beer and leisurely looked for good timber. I had packed a 3-hour fire log to help get things started, which certainly did exactly that. After the wet wood started to dry up and our fire grew we began to set up camp. After a few drinks and some stories we headed to bed around 11. The sound of the waterfall was more soothing then my real life ocean noise alarm clock -okay I don’t actually own one, but you get the idea.
Ben woke up just around 7 am and the rest of us quickly followed. After a nutritious breakfast we packed the summit bag and began the ascent to Lake Serene. I struggled to keep up for the first half of the switchbacks in part do to the high amounts of liquor consumption the previous night. We encountered some small bits of snow on the trail once you hit the meadow, which is basically the highest elevation you will ever get to.
The Lake was still 95% covered in snow and ice but you could see the hue of blue through the uncovered sections. We ate our lunch/snack and headed back down the trail. We were fortunate enough to enjoy a little bit of sun on the hike as it burned through the fog. The hike was overall pretty and the volunteer work is pretty amazing. They rebuilt a bridge just last year after the old one washed entirely away.

Brought With: Boots, Trekking Poles, Gaiters and Micro-Spikes.

Recommend Bringing: Trekking poles are about the only thing that was needed to complete the hike.

Our group did this hike in a bit of drizzle but we were sheltered by the trees most of the way. We hiked the loop beginning on the Woody trail and then on to the Boundry Road and on to the lake returning on the road to the Greg Ball trail and back on the Woody Trail.

Overall the trails were in surprisingly good condition considering the past four days of rain. We did run into a major flood on the road into the lake. The road to the northeast side of the lake was flooded for about fifty yards and up to about a foot deep. We turned around and took the approach to the southeast shore. In all we put in about 10.5 miles doing the loop.

Near the upper falls we began to get a whiff of spray paint and ran into a guy who was using a spray can of graffiti removing solution to remove markings left by anarchists and others up there.

Uncertain weather and high gas prices suggested a close-in hike today. So I roamed around the east side of Cougar Mountain, starting from Harvey Manning Park, a small green space tucked away in the Talus development. I began my hike on the unmarked Precipice Bottom Trail, which traverses through a series of lush little ravines with tumbling creeklets. Issaquah Alps Club volunteers have recently constructed a rustic cedar log bridge over the second ravine - nice work! Beyond this ravine the trail becomes much more rough - it is an unimproved remnant of the old Manning/Footsore-era trail network. Winter storms had created a lot of blowdown, which I tried to remove using my small folding pruning saw. But a lot more work is needed to repair the damage. Past the worst blowdown area, the trail turns steeply uphill to reach the junction with the Precipice and Big Tree Ridge trails.

I continued hiking uphill on the Big Tree Ridge trail, which has been improved by the IATC and is now in great shape. Midway up, there is a pleasant flat area shaded by big douglas firs that is equipped with log benches that positively demand a rest stop.

At the next junction, I followed the pleasant Red Cedar Trail, part of King County's Cougar Mountain park. I believe this trail was a WTA project -it's well built and maintained.

I continued the trek by hiking a bunch of other trails: Surprise Creek, No Name, a portion of Shangri-La, Protector, Tibbetts Marsh, and finally West Tibbetts Creek trails. All these trails are well cared for by King County. I saw trail machine tread prints on the Tibbetts Marsh Trail- looks like King County is doing some heavy maintenance somewhere, probably farther up the Tibbetts Marsh Trail, which suffers from muddy clay soils.

The downhill walk on the W. Tibbetts Trail was pleasant as always. The forest here is open and sunny, and there are micro-vistas into the lush ravine of Tibbetts Creek.

Next in line was the Bear Ridge Trail, also in good shape. I stopped for a bit to marvel at the Fantastic Erratic, a huge fern covered boulder. Hey, there's not much big time scenery at Cougar Mountain - I'll take what I can get!

At the next junction, I veered left onto the new Talus Bridge trail. This newly constructed path is well-built and in excellent shape. After crossing a sturdy bridge over Tibbetts Creek, the trail led me into the Talus development, where I hiked on streets to get back to Harvey Manning Park.

All in all, this was a enjoyable little ramble on some of Cougar Mountain's lesser known trails.

The hike is the way it is described in the description and trip reports.

Relentless throughout with no break in between. Trail was fairly dry and fine.

We started at 6 pm, reached top at 8:10 pm, getting down took much longer, as it was quite dark, and it was good we remembered to take flashlight.

Take poles, have sturdy boots or shoes, water and lots of spirit and trip is worth it.

I wanted to tick this off my list, and now its done.

Kash

Did someone mention that this trail is steep?

We arrived at the trailhead just after 9am and were on the trail shortly thereafter. My hiking companions made the summit about quarter-to-twelve with me joining them about twenty minutes later.

It was a mostly cloudy day, but there were magnificent views around 4000' looking back west and south. A few hundred feet below the summit we had the choice of a scramble, or a snow field. My companions started on the snow but made their way over to the rocks as the snow was pretty well frozen. I opted for the rocks all the way up.

On the summit we signed the box and the register, threw some groceries down our throats and enjoyed the snow flurries that were swirling around. Not too much to see other than the inside of the cloud we were in, but still a great feeling of accomplishment.

It took us around two hours to descend, opting for the snow this time (we post-holed through to the underlying rocks a couple of times, resulting in scraped shins, so do be careful as the snow will be getting more unstable).

There was plenty of mud and some standing water on the trail from the recent rains, and the roots were very slippery.

Very glad to have this peak in the bag though. It was my first venture in the Cascades (I'm an Olympics person to date).

As far as equipment, the only thing I wish I had brought were my poles, they would have been great on the descent. Other than that, we went pretty light; water and snacks.

Enjoy! We sure did!

Hike #57 - http://60before60.wordpress.com/ - Lookout Mountain - to the old fire lookout on top . . . and back.

Wild flowers and spectacular mountain and valley views as the trail climbs up Lookout Mountain make this such an enjoyable hike. We encountered a little snow along the trail below the summit - but patchy and nothing we couldn't get through. Once on top, the view is 360. We sat up there and enjoyed lunch before heading back down.

The gravel road leading to this trailhead did not seem as bad to me as some of the previous trip reports have stated. Sure, it's narrow, potholed, rutted, washboarded and curves steeply up around the side of a mountain without any guard rails, but even driving my old (OLD!) Volvo wagon, as long I took it easy and went slow we made it without any problems. There was no other other traffic along the road, and we had the entire parking lot and trail to ourselves.

The wildflowers were absolutely incredible. Once back at the trailhead, we lazed around in the fields of flowers on the hill behind the parking area just to enjoy them a little more. Early spring seems the perfect time to do this hike.

Whistle Lake is one of my favorite hikes for finding very early spring wildflowers. The climate around Anacortes is tempered by the nearby ocean so it's usually far ahead of the interior bloom season.

Another interesting aspect of this hike is the unique variety of flora here which includes species rarely, if ever, seen in the mountains, like the Oregon Fawn Lily and the magenta and gold Checker Lily. Geeky note: There is a lot of confusion about the so-called Chocolate Lily, which common name has been applied to several different species of lilies including the Checker Lily. This is a classic example of the dangers of using common names as opposed to scientific names. For the record: my picture is Fritillaria affinis (formerly known as F. lanceolata) aka Checker Lily aka Chocolate Lily aka Mission Bells aka Rice-root aka Purple Fritillary). The other "Chocolate Lily" is Fritillaria camschatensis aka Kamchatka Fritillary aka Indian Rice aka Black Lily. You get the idea.

The Whistle Lake trail is really many different trails centered around Whistle Lake, all part of the Anacortes Community Forest Lands. For more information see:

http://www.cityofanacortes.org/parks/ForestLands/index.htm

and for an excellent map:

http://www.pnt.org/maps/Whistle Lake.pdf

Using this map, my route was trail 20, 204, 246, 204, 21, 22, 205, 20. You can see how it's pretty much a necessity to have a copy of this trail map when hiking here. There are a few map signs around the area, but they are few and far between.

All the well-groomed trails are easy going with little elevation change, so it's not a challenging hike. It's more of a "just wanna get outta the house without stomping through deep snow" hike. But Whistle Lake is beautiful and well worth the effort, particularly for wildflower enthusiasts looking for something different.

I finally, after a dozen attempts with companions unfamiliar with the trail, figured out how to reach the ridge from Waterworks Canyon... but not until AFTER I scrambled up the steep and rocky hillside (and after looking at least one snake in the eye, whilst clambering on all fours amongst loose rocks, all the while testing my balance).
A number of us scaled the hill towards the low saddle on the right from the canyon below. We had heard that once you reach the ridge it was smooth sailing to the top of Mt. Clemans. Thirteen of us eventually made it to the top, and basked in the sun and views from above. Of particular interest were the massive gardens of bitterroot waiting to bloom any day! We spied a faint, yet distinct trail heading up the ridge. One of my hiking companions was unable to make the dicey scramble; I saw her retreat to the canyon trail and begin pacing the length of it, having given up further attempts at the climb. Instead of setting the summit as my goal, I decided to find a high spot just south of the saddle, have lunch, then pick my way back down to meet my friend, so we could at least walk out together. Everyone else would be hours in reaching the summit and returning to the vehicles. I chose my lunch counter wisely... by mistake! From my vantage point, I could see a faint, though fairly established trail. It was marked with a sizeable cairn at the saddle, and angled down and deeper into the canyon from where we left it to climb the hillside. It was a straight shot, crossing some rockslides and disappearing into brushy areas here and there, but it appeared an obvious route. It was worth a try... anything to avoid the treacherous descent of that crazy steep hillside. It took minutes to follow the path down, and to my surprise the bottom was also marked with a sizeable cairn (though difficult to spy unless you were looking for it). Thank you to whomever built these cairns!!! Now I will know how to make the summit from this ridge... putting an end to my frustrations with guessing. Even if you just reach the saddle, the views are amazing and the bitterroot is always worth the effort.

Recently, we had a chance to return to the Olympic Peninsula to check out a popular hike that promised moderate elevation gain, old growth forests and the company of a river. The Lower South Fork Skokomish River Trail #873 managed to provide all this and more.

This popular hike has some of the best of the Olympics flora and fauna and is well worth a visit. Not surprisingly, the trail attracts hikers year-round as well as mountain bikers and equestrians, so expect a little company. The hike is approachable for hikers of every skill level, and while the initial 300ft hurdle might be a challenging for some youngsters, most of the route is a decent trek for kids. When we visited, large winter blowdowns made the hike a little more difficult, but we anticipate much of this will be cleared as summer gets into full swing.

Check out the full report here:

http://www.hikingwithmybrot[…]-skokomish-river-trail.html

Jer

A friend and I hiked up to Pyramid Peak to view the annular eclipse. The elevation rises quickly, but it's manageable at a reasonable pace. The washout section on the other hand, as others have stated, is not to be under-estimated. A fall would mean significant injury. The path across is washout is presently in very rough shape. The path is non-existent in some sections; no trail width to speak of, just steep soft sand. Grabbing on to rocks built into the side of the hill becomes necessary to hop over these sections. During our crossing it was rain/misting, making matters worse. After reaching 3/4 the way across (just like the user before me described), sizable rocks began to fall from above and we opted to cross the washout down lower. We ended bushwhacking down the side of the washout, crossing near the bottom and bushwhacking our way back up. Very steep, very tiring, but worth not risking life and limb over a quick crossing at the top. Same ordeal on our way back too. The washout path needs to be re-graded before it's reasonably safe to cross.

This is a hike for the bird lovers! Birdsong everywhere, bluebirds were the highlight for me, but the lark song was beautiful all the way up. We stayed overnight in Grand Coulee, and did this hike in the AM. It was cloudy and cool, but didn't rain until we started down. There is one 'spiderman' section halfway up that would make this unsuitable for small children. Older ones will love it! Wander around at the top and look down on the hawks and swallows hunting along the cliff face. We walked the east side of the loop for a long ways, saw the deer herd and a few marmots.

Yesterday I took my friend out hiking for her birthday. There were no big views due to the rain and fog, but the trail itself was very pretty in these conditions. There were no other cars on the road up to the lower trailhead, but we did see two white-tailed deer.

There are two options to the upper trailhead: the first is the obvious wide road trail that the WTA page describes. You follow it to the "Upper Mt Ellinor Trail" sign, where you turn left. From there to the upper trailhead is an easy walk. We saw ptarmigans and bunnies and enjoyed the foggy views of the surrounding forest. The trail from the upper trailhead to the top is pretty slippery due to packed snow/ice. My friend's waterproof clothing wasn't very waterproof, so we turned around before reaching the summit. I'm looking forward to returning another day.

The second option is a 1.9 mile trail through the forest. Only the top third or so is snow-covered. At the top, there is a sign for it just above the upper trailhead. It opens out immediately above the lower trailhead, right as the trailhead joins with the road trail.

Bring: poles, gaiters, ice axe for glissade from summit.

After deciding that Camp Muir was too rainy and fogged out, we searched for a good lowland hike on this rainy Sunday.

Driving up Westside road for a few miles, we came to the gate indicating the start of the washed-out area. We hiked for about twenty minutes up the road until we came to the Tahoma Creek trailhead on the right-hand side. A sign indicated that the trail was not maintained, but we found it extremely easy to follow. Cairns indicated the easiest way through the rocks in the drainage area, and the trail portions through the woods were well trodden.

We decided to make the suspension bridge our final destination, stopping to take a few photos and spit off the side. An easy 2.2 miles back down the valley and we hit the road again, hiking out to the car.

Another early morning hike and glad we did it early as it started to sprinkle just as we finished around 10:30am. The trail is in great condition. The waterfalls are in full force. Last 1/4 mile is still under snow as is most of the lake. We used Yaktrax to go over the snow. Pilchuck stands majestically over the lake. We also saw some waterfalls trickling from the mountain face. That was quite a sight. Probably another month before the whole lake melts out.

Stats:
Time to Lake: 1:20
Car to Car: 2:25
Elevation Gain: 1350ft
Distance: 5.4 Miles (RT)

This is a great leg stretcher on the drive through Central WA, and a great hike for kids! I wish we would have known about this when we were doing the 'over the river and thru the woods' when our children were small. The views are great and the caves interesting. It looks like there has been some vandalism on the wall and we did not see any petroglyphs until the last cave. If I say where the wrong person might read this report and that one would be gone, too. Look in a not so obvious place.

A wildflower wander! There are lots of flowers iin bloom, some of which I was able to ID with my book. We walked to the 2nd ridge and back and did not do the loop, as we had a full agenda on our mini road trip. This is well worth seeking out this time of year. It was cloudy and showery, great for desert walks and picture. There is no defined trail except the old jeep track, I wish it were more defined, mostly to keep the flowers from getting trampled. I used Turner & Gustafson for ID.

Trail is in reasonably good shape. A few tiny patches of snow on the upper parts. Campsites and north shore of lake are snow-free. Lots of campers this weekend, some generously leaving behind their cans, food scraps, and underwear. Thanks!

Nice view of Baring, which I only got up as far as the notch at 5500' where some very steep, soft snow, rain, and lack of an ice axe and gloves turned me around.

Another sunny Saturday and I felt like heading up for a view hike. I wanted a fairly short drive and settled on an old favorite, Mt. Baldy. Located on the ridge to the west of Lake Cle Elum it provides great 360 degree views with no higher peaks nearby. It is also a very seldom hiked trail especially when there is still snow. I took the first Easton exit coming from the west. A left over the freeway, another left, and a right on the Kachess Dam Road. It immediately turns to dirt. .80 miles to the still officially unsigned (small yellow paper sign on a tree) right turn then .60 miles to the trailhead at the end. As expected there were no cars when I arrived. I was on the go right about 9:00 am.

Wildflowers started immediately. Some trillium and calypso orchids. I spent some time photographing the calypsos as I doubted I'd see more. Wrong. This trail is littered with blooming calypso orchids right now. Walking a quarter mile up the trail will let you see a hundred or more. I've never seen so many on one trail before. That slowed me down a number of times. The trail to Baldy is only 8 miles round trip so I had plenty of time to stop for photos. It is one really steep trail, especially the last mile to the top of the ridge. Silver Creek is really roaring right now with spring snow melt. The bridge near the dam/waterfall shakes from the power of the water. It was freezing cold along the creek but warmed up fast as I gained elevation.

The first few miles have a wide assortment of blooming wildflowers. Not a profusion but pockets of color in spots all along the trail. In addition to all the trillium and calypso orchids I saw vanilla leaf, false Solomons seal, Indian paintbrush, violets, spring beauty, glacier lilies, some chocolate lilies about to open, and more. Much more color than I was expecting. I did not know where the snow would begin so I brought microspikes and and ice axe. The first proved helpful though not absolutely necessary and the latter stayed on my pack. There are two big logs down that you can crawl under and a couple more that you can go around. The trail is in very good shape.

After the very short road section the trail goes up in an old clear cut. Some views out here. More wildflowers too. Back in forest the way switchbacks up to the junction with the Easton Ridge Trail. The junction is on a flat ridge. I went left on the Domerie Divide Trail. The route is flat for a ways. The first small snow patches were in the forest here. I stopped at the lookout spot. Views down to the waterfall on Silver Creek and up to the ridge where the old beacon is. Below is Lake Kachess. Behind it is Amabilis Mountain. I could now see Mt. Rainier. Not a cloud around it. The trail remains flat a short way then begins to climb. I lost the trail at the first bigger snow patch but found it again quickly. After that it was snow free once again.

At the open slope where I had seen many chocolate lilies on an earlier trip I stopped to scan the hillside. The brown lilies are very hard to spot. I'm sure I had walked by them on other visits. I was about to give up when I found one then two and three pods just about to open up. Should be just a day or two. After 3550' of gain on the Old Mt. Si trail just a day and a half earlier my legs really felt the steep section. It used to be a motorcycle trail and in places just goes right up the fall line. "Fall line" is accurate as I have fallen on my rear a few times coming down it with some loose gravel on the steep slope. Without any snow the going was still pretty easy though slow.

At 4500' a big snow patch covered the trail. Soon after it was buried by up to several feet of snow. The snow was rock hard and I almost stopped to put on the microspikes. Since the ridge top is at 4900' I chose to just keep going. Soon I reached a familiar open spot just a few hundred feet below the ridge. Mt. Baldy was in sight from there. Now in the open the snow was much softer and easier to kick in solid steps. At the ridge top trail junction I would guess there is still 4-6 feet of snow. A left turn goes to Thomas Mountain. I've done that one once on snow and once on dirt trail. Baldy I have done much more often. The ridge to Baldy is one mile with a number of ups and downs. For the most part you can just stay on the ridge top.

I chose Baldy and immediately dropped down. The snow is well enough consolidated to keep you from post holing much. In some places the wind blown snow makes for 6-10 foot near vertical drops. None proved to be a problem to get up or down. There is one spot where I had to descend on thin icy snow to get around a rocky point. It should be bare in less than a week. I put on microspikes to climb steep hard snow back to the ridge top. On the return it looked like one could scramble right over the rocky point and avoid the ice. That was about it for difficulties. Otherwise, it was just a slog through trees and in the open along the ridge. As I neared the summit of Baldy I stopped to remove my microspikes and heard voices. To my surprise there were two folks and two dogs on top. They came up the other end of the ridge via Domerie Peak.

We had a nice chat while I ate lunch. Some clouds were drifting in but it was plenty clear to see from Hinman and Daniel to the north through Mt. Stuart and the Teanaway peaks to Mt. Rainier. Between the bright sun and a cool breeze it was pleasant on top. I arrived at 12:20 and stayed until 1:00 pm. Below the summit I donned microspikes for the whole way back on snow. Not necessary but helpful on the icy spots. One benefit of hiking above a major interstate highway and several small towns is that I had a phone signal for the entire trip. A nice safety feature on a solo snow scramble. The trip back along the ridge was uneventful.

Down below the ridge in forest I left no tracks in the hard snow coming up so I just headed straight down a ways then let my GPS lead me back to the bare trail. I could have hugged the ridge but this was easier as it allowed me to microspike down the harder snow avoiding brush and downed trees. I was soon back on the trail. When I reached the flat ridge and overlook point I was surprised again to find two hikers heading up. Four people is the most I have ever seen on this trail. Still not exactly a crowd. I reached the trailhead at 3:50 to find five other cars. Silver Creek seems to have been more popular this day. The west bound ramp is closed for repaving so I had to go east before I could head west. Traffic was no problem and I was home by 5:30 pm.

This remains a favorite hike. Good forest wildflowers down low in spring and desert flowers on the ridge after the snow melts. No bitterroot, balsamroot,or scarlet gilia just yet but great flowers in the first few miles. The ridge walk is fun in summer but altogether different on 5 feet of snow. Fun both ways. My GPS logged almost exactly 8 miles round trip with 3800' of gain. I think the elevation is a little high. I'm logging 3600' of gain. Still a great workout with views as well. A great way to spend a sunny day in May.

I have posted 40 annotated photos on my website located at: http://www.hikingnorthwest.com. Go to "Trips - 2012" on the left margin.

The East Bank Trail is a great early season hike to get some good miles in. I continued on with the Desolation Peak Trail to see where the snow level was.

The only real issue along the way is blow-downs. From the TH to Devil's Junction Camps there are 60+ downed trees. A few of those can be tricky to get over/under, but none should limit anyone's access. From Devil's Junction Camps to Lightning Cr Camps there are 80+ downed trees, of which most are spindly new growth. Again, none pose any real issue. The Desolation Peak Trail has an additional 20-30 downed trees.

The trail could be brushed out in places, but the annoyance is minimal.

As far as fording creeks goes, the only ford at this time is Roland Cr. It's a very simple ford (there are downed trees as well, if comfortable). There are several other creeks that may require fording depending on temps, recent rainfall, and of course time of day. But none will be difficult.

On Desolation Peak patchy snow started at ~3700' and became solid at ~4100'. Continuing on there were spots where the trail was snow free, but then quickly reverted back to being snow covered.

Lastly, I did pick up 6 ticks on this outing. 4 just south of Devil's Cr and then 2 more on the first 2 miles of the Desolation Trail.

Cheers!
S-H-A-L

Just a couple weeks ago, the dirt road to the Welcome Pass trailhead was still holding snow, making it impassable, even in 4WD. But it's all gone now.

The summer trail started off pleasantly enough today, but things changed quickly. Not far up the trail, lots of deadfall / blowdowns slowed our progress. It was like a war zone in some sections. We did some trail maintenance, but most of it would require a chainsaw.

At one point on our ascent, I noticed a small dead tree right in the middle of the trail. It was really odd, and I even mentioned how strange it was to my wife, but we continued up the trail without much thought. A few minutes later, I thought more about it, and I decided to check it out on the way back down.

We encountered the first patches of snow at about 3,700 feet. Some of it was avoidable. But by 4,000 feet, snow pretty much covered the entire summer trail. And that happens to be where the trail becomes steeper than hell. This is where we donned our crampons ... and we were glad we brought them. I also switched from poles to an ice axe.

Most of the snow-covered ridge up to Welcome Pass is rather steep. Much of it ranges between 30 and 40 degrees, but for at least 50 feet or so, we ended up climbing a 43-degree slope. So glad I brought my axe, as I wouldn't have attempted the slope without it.

The snow, by the way, was pretty consolidated. Great for cramponing.

With the rain picking up and the views diminishing to nothing, we decided to turn around at 4,800 feet.

On our descent, we came across that odd tree again. To our surprise, it turned out to be a widow maker. It was about 4 inches in diameter and about 8 feet tall, and it had fallen with such force (from so high) and in such a vertical fashion that it actually impaled the trail almost a foot deep. When we came across it, it was sticking straight out of the ground. Lucky no one was around to get hurt!

Even though we didn't gain the pass this time, we enjoyed the climb ... and we got to hear the "drumbeat" noises of the ptarmigans (around 4,000 feet and up).

We chose to hike on a Sunday in which a chance of rain was predicted. It rained!

The parking lot was easy to find with many spaces to park. There were restrooms onsite as well.

The beginning of the hike was easy, wide trail at first then narrower for the first half or first 2/3 of the hike. We crossed over many little mud puddles, mini-streams, bubbling brooks so waterproof shoes are recommended. (Also as the trail winds along it becomes more and more rocky so my stiff and sturdy hiking shoes saved my ankles.)

When you get to the last .5 miles of the hike (there is a marker at this point, things start going up, with maintained stairs all along the way. When we got up to the top we were not prepared for the mist of the falls so we did not get to stay long at the viewpoint, it was wet!

With two little kids, it took 1.5 hours to go up and 1.25 hours to come down.

Trail is in great condition initially. The first section up to the Iron Horse Trail is clear of snow and the streams big and small are swollen with snow melt. The next mile or so after the crossing the Iron Horse trail continues free of snow. After that it is snow all the way with 2-3 feet still on the ground by the time you get to 3200 feet. The last mile or so traverses 6 areas that slope steeply and are free of trees: these are quite hazardous and slippery even with spikes.

The lake itself is partly free of ice. I took a photo of one of the dogs with my cellphone camera - I cloned out the leash just in case anyone is wondering whether I was ignoring lease laws :-)

Weather was light drizzle and I pretty much had the trail to myself once I passed the Iron Horse Trail.

Check "Bruces Walks" YouTube Channel on getting to this location from the Seattle area, the YouTube uploads will expand in time:
http://www.youtube.com/[…]/UCaeUkaZE9EQkKrIjGv_HGmA?feature=watch
Please feel free to bookmark, embed, share this link with others. Let them know where you are going or where you have been. 10+ Lite Walks and Hikes available in the Ellensburg, Kittitas Valley, Central Washington State area, video clips are a little over a minute in length.
The walk was good. It is obvious that going up the bottom of Robinson was not an option after the flash flood of 2011. It had rained the day before which made getting out in the low 60s on this mid May day very pleasant. The cool temps kept the sneaky Rattler and Bull snakes in seclusion for this trip. Heed MFTgal’s note below.
This is also a very popular area for recreational horseback riding.

This trip did not actually follow Tr# 1033, which is totally under snow.
Commonwealth Ck --> Cave Ridge --> S. Ridge Snoqualmie --> descend E, traverse ENE, then regain the ridge at Snoqualmie's ENE sub-summit --> follow ridge to Lundin --> descend into upper Commonwealth Basin --> out via Commonwealth Creek. I think this route requires good snow cover. Might last another few weeks.

WARNING: Avalanche danger just the previous week was quite high (photo)! Always check http://www.nwac.us/forecast/avalanche/current/zone/6/ , even in the late spring!
Mountaineering trip, not a hike. Ice ax. No crampons (might be handy if frozen hard). Snowshoes were not very useful today. Snow conditions excellent-to-perfect.

Take Exit 52 from I-5 (1st Snoqualmie exit), turn left under I-5, then park immediately. The PCT/1033 trailhead road is still completely under snow. More snow than I've ever seen here.
Start early. I left trailhead at 7:30 AM, and snow was firm and mostly frozen all the way to Snoqualmie Mt. summit. Ice ax was REQUIRED to cross the double-log bridge across Commonwealth Ck in the morning; steep stream snowbanks were frozen hard; dog needed assistance. The second stream, which you need to cross almost immediately, had only one thin snowbridge at that place; perhaps more snowbridges upstream. Crossing the double log was much easier late in the day when snow was softer.

7:30AM Leave trailhead
9:30AM 4700' basin at base of S ridge. NO OPEN WATER at the basin outfall (I was counting on it)! Had to ascend nasty steep terrain to get water at the one stream coming off the S ridge. Not recommended!
11:30AM summit. Snow was not softening much. It was getting soft by the time I left summit about 2:30. Good dlissading and insignificant postholing on the exit.
6:15PM back at car (via Lundin Peak S slopes and upper Commonwealth basin).

From summit, descended the S ridge briefly, then glissaded E. NOTE: you have to be careful about this; if you leave the S ridge too low, you can encounter the steep cliffs that line the basin between the S ridge and Cave Ridge. That would be dangerous! I left the S ridge at the first opportunity, glissaded a few hundred feet to a wide-open, easy bench, then headed NE to the rib running SSE from Snoqualmie Mountains' NE sub-summit. Climbed back up to Snoqualmie's NE sub-summit, and from there, it was easy (sometimes steep) snow travel NE to Lundin.
Experienced climbers without an awkward dog could traverse Snoqualmie's ENE ridge much higher -- skip the glissade -- traverse as high as you can until you reach the ESE sub-summit.
Much depends on how much snow, and what condition. This route would have been suicidal last weekend. We glissaded a recent avalanche deposit.
Commonwealth Creek's upper west fork forms a big basin between Snoqualmie and Lundin Peaks. I descended this, straight South. Lots of foot traffic following the Right (West) bank. Leads right back to the lovely double-log bridge.
Without good, heavy snow cover like there is now, I don't think I'd want to do this traverse from Snoqualmie to Lundin. If it'snot in-shape, just descend the S ridge back to the basin and climb back up to the Guye/Cave Ridge saddle and go out the way you came in.
I've never done Snoqualmie from the Alpental parking lot. I think the Commonwealth Basin route would be more interesting.

Its a great family trail, not much elevation gain and no pain. Day was rainy so we didn't want to go too far.

Parking is a major challenge, so my advice is either go very early or after 2 pm. I can imagine the noise and traffic it causes to the residents there.

Trail starts out flat, after 0.5 mile or so, keep right to continue to this trail.

Rocky and narrow part starts about 1.6 mile or so, and then it stays like that. be careful with kids in this section.

There is plenty of water in the fall, and the view is fantastic. Its a pleasant little hike and can be done with families.

Kash

Ben and I arrived to the trailhead just around 8am, which is nothing unusual for us. The weather was cloudy and we danced around the rain for almost the entire trip up. We took an almost immediate right turn and cut straight up an "unadvised" shortcut in hopes of cutting off some of the long monotonous logging road. As we broke off the logging trail and onto the trail we could now find ourselves actually enjoying a workout as we gained elevation. The snow didn't start becoming noticeable until just at the top of the second chute. This was right around the boulder field -well boulder field during the summer. We then carefully followed the footsteps in front of us only post holing through the snow a couple of times, which was minor.
We put it into overdrive as we started up the scramble, which had a few spots of snow coverage but didn't warrant the use of micro-spikes. As we came up to the top of the first false summit the snow was pretty prominent and follows you to the top from here.
We made it to the top ate a sandwich and started to head back down. The cloud cover and cold breeze with a light sprinkle was enough for us and we descended back to the car. We found it much easier to run down the boulder field, which was covered in snow. In avoidance of the rock scramble we saved our knees and about 20 minutes of travel time.

Brought With: Boots, Gaiters and Micro-Spikes (which we never used).
Recommend Bringing: Trekking poles may be helpful.

We started up the Little Si trail and at about 1/2 mile, took the second entrance to the Boulder Garden Loop Trail. Here is the deal; if you like going up steep inclines but don't like going down as much, like me, take the second entrance to the Boulder Garden Loop Trail, climb like a mountain goat for about 3/4 mile. You will reach the high point of the loop trail where you will see the Mt. Si. old trail going up on the left. Now go up Mt. Si. It is steep in places, but if you made it to the cutoff, you should be fine. There are no blowdowns and you won't lose the trail. When you come back down and get to the loop trail, head to the left. It is probably 1 1/2 miles back to the first entrance of the Loop Trail off the Little Si trail, but it is graded for a grandma and you can walk it out in no time. Plus the boulder garden will be on your left as you are coming down.

I went out to Cowiche Canyon for a couple of hours Fri afternoon. The red osier dogwood & choke cherry are in full bloom and all the trees & shrubs have leafed out. The creek is a medly of green & white. I saw a few other flowers, but the balsamroot is largely past and the lupine hasn't bloomed yet. The hillsides are still green, though, so it's a beautiful time to be in the canyon.
On Sat afternoon I walked what we are calling the Rocky Top Loop from the Rocky Top trailhead on Cowiche Mtn (not Snow Mtn Ranch proper). It's not well marked yet, but will be by early June. The balsamroot was largely past here as well, but there was some nice lupine & Oregon sunshine and lots of beautiful thyme-leaf desert buckwheat.

We left the lower Devils Gulch trailhead around 9 a.m. staying to the right at the Devil’s Gulch/Mission Ridge intersection. We made our way up and down slight to moderate hills, across 3 creeks that got our feet wet and another where we walked across logs. The creeks were not too difficult to cross but my pants did get wet mid-way up my calf (I am 5’5’) and were little too fast for my 40 lb dog to cross on his own. Throughout the day I ran into a half dozen bikers, 4 ORV, and a couple day hikers. Overall the trail was quiet and beautiful with wildflowers, views of surrounding hills, refreshing streams, and lots of birds, squirrels, and chipmunks. We arrived at the Upper Mission Ridge/Devils Gulch intersection and my stopping place for the day around 1:30 p.m. There is no water (well not a fast moving water source) after the fourth crossing, which I am guessing is ~2-3 miles from the above intersection. If desperate for water there is a small stream further up the trail towards the upper Devils Gulch trailhead; however will likely dry up during the summer months. A flat, well-used (lots of litter) campsite is a little ways up from the intersection (stay left). Other campsites are around if you do not mind camping on a slight hill. I had at least one deer/elk bump up against my tent around midnight and a Barred Owl called nearby.

Day 2 I decided to take the Mission Ridge trail back to the car. The idea that once you go up you gets to go down on the way back does not exactly apply to this trail. This trail goes up and down and up and down. However, while I felt this trail to be a bit more difficult than the Devils Gulch trail and with no water source I thought it to be more scenic. One moment I was walking along a ridge surrounded by wildflowers, the next in a dense forest, and the next in a more open forest environment.

A great loop hike that can be completed in a day or spread out across a couple of days. Because it is a popular biking trail be prepared to move out of the way at a moment’s notice.

Tried to get some takers on this trip, I can understand the reluctance, it's a long drive but oh what a nice trail.

Trail starts down low, in dense forest but doesn't waste any time gaining elevation. It's about 2100' in the first two miles. Yikes. Down low it was awesome...saw lots of chocolate lilies. A bit higher up in the open...gazillions of Balsam Root colored the hillside yellow. The trail is frustrating at times. It's a bit steep at times and narrow but boy in places is the trail narrow, steep and out sloped all at the same time. You'd tumble a ways if you slipped on the hardpack...

About 2.5 miles up the trail the grade eases up a bit, the trail now high enough that there is some relief and views of the surrounding peaks. Lots of snow still up high!

GPS said that at 2.7 miles I crossed a stream and entered the burn area. The 100 hikes book says "dense forest" but that forest is long gone. Just charcoal colored burnt snags as far at the eye can see. Still pretty sooty too. Several small trees down across the "trail", easy enough to step over. On the way out I spent some time snappy off branches trying to make it easier to travel.

At 3 miles I the snow was like BAM...consistent. At first only about 2-3 foot deep...then more like 5 or 6 foot deep. I could hear running streams under the snow here and there but the "trail" was easy enough to follow by making a bee-line for the saddle SW of the butte. Snow was pretty well consolidated (I didn't have snowshoes or microspikes).

I had the trail to myself the entire day. I was surprised to not run into another person all day. Nice for a change. I got to a bit over 3.5+ miles in and found myself staring down into a log and snow covered gully of sorts. I was already punching through the snow. Traveling alone...new knees...I just didn't want to risk a slip and getting myself banged up. Who knew when one of the post holes could be one where I'd sprain an angle, gash my leg, tweak a knee. Seemed safer to call it a day and enjoy the sun while it lasted...and it was clouding over fast.

I backtracked to a nice viewpoint back in an area that wasn't burned for lunch enjoying the solitude. Then it was a quick trip back down to the car.

Full photoset here: http://www.flickr.com/[…]/

Stats: about 7.25 miles, 2550' gain (round trip).

This fantastic Spring hike should be an annual event. It’s less than 2 1/2 miles to the lake and most of that trek is through ancient forest with giantic Red Cedars. At 2 miles you do exit the forest and traverse an open slope with great views. Today the hummingbirds entertained us with their courtship ritual of climbing steeply into the air then diving rapidly back down to the ground, making this walk through the Vine Maples a delight. 4 feet of snow surround the lake and snow is still present the last 1/4 mile to and from the lake so hiking poles are recommended. Marshmallow pillows of snow still remain on Lake Twentytwo creek as it exits the lake, reminding me that summer hikes are just around the corner along with campfires and s’mores.

This was a really fun and spectacular hike, being enjoyed by tons of people on a beautiful day. We were able to park near the lower trailhead. The hike to the upper trailhead begins along a snowy road but was mostly along a snow free ridge, which seems not to be the usual trail listed in the trail description. The snow becomes deep and solid not long after the upper trailhead. Snowshoes and crampons are not required, as it is possible to follow the hard packed steps kicked into the snow, but some time at the stairmaster on the gym would be advised as preparation, and hiking poles are useful. The summit views are expansive.

Be sure to bring rainpants, a rain coat, gloves, gaiters and an iceaxe for the long, wild glissade down.

5 hours round trip, including time for lunch and views on the summit.

A beautiful day in the Ingalls Creek valley. We went as far as the Falls Creek Trail junction. We encountered no snow except for a single, easily crossed, level 25-yard patch shortly before the Falls Creek junction. All the campsites at Falls Creek Camp (at that trail junction) were snowfree and appeared to be dry.

Wildflowers were getting good. Balsamroot good toward the start, and Paintbrush (ranging from orange to yellow) starting to bloom all along the trail. The first few Lupines just beginning to flower. A few Calypso Orchids somewhat farther on. Several spectacular Trillium displays around and after the 5 mile point, sometimes intermingled with Glacier Lilies. Nevertheless, except perhaps for the Trillium and Glacier Lilies, the best wildflower displays are at least one, and probably two, weeks in the future.

No real problem deadfalls; most are just stride-acrosses; one or two will slow you a few seconds, but no major clamber-overs. Just a few muddy spots. No difficult sidestream crossings. There are a few short stretches of trail that could use some drainage work, especially just before the viewspot about 4 miles in.

This trail has numerous good camp spots in the first few miles; many were in use by families with small kids by the time we hiked out about suppertime. Good lunch spots at the aforementioned downvalley view at about 4 miles, along the creek near the Falls Creek confluence, and along the gravel bar at the Falls Creek trail ford a half-mile or so farther.

Barclay Lake is always a good early spring hike, a sentiment apparently shared by the dozens of other hikers on the trail today, with cars filling the TH parking lot and overflowing a quarter mile down the road. The road is in excellent shape, snow-free all the way to the TH.

The hike is also in good shape, thanx to a WTA crew that cleared several huge Doug Firs that had fallen across the trail. Two more blowdowns still block that trail near the lake, but I believe there is another WTA work party scheduled to clear those as well. Thanx to the volunteers that did all the work. Other than the blowdowns, the trail is in good shape.

I passed seven or eight tents set up along the lakeside on my way to Eagle Lake, so it was definitely not a place for solitude seekers, who should try it on weekdays.

The "trail" to Eagle Lake is really a bootpath that is particularly difficult to follow this time of year, obscured by a winter's-worth of needle fall. Though marked intermittently by red surveryor's tape, it is still challenging because: a) The trail is very steep, rooty, rocky, and brushy, with lots of forest debris to further obscure the way. It is not maintained except by hikers' boots. Think Mailbox Peak on steroids. b) There is a long traverse of a huge rockslide that can be dangerous for the unwary, who could easily fall between the car-sized boulders (guaranteed to hurt!). There is nothing vaguely like a trail through the chute, just a few cairns here and there. Some of the cairns are misleading as well, sited off of the main "trail". Some of this section requires some elementary scrambling technique.

But, if you can make it to the top, you'll be impressed by Eagle Lake nestled at the foot of Merchant Peak and the enormous and aptly named Paradise Meadow area.

I didn't make it that far, though I was surprised at just how far I did get. There was very little snow until I finished crossing the chute, where the snow suddenly became 4-8 feet deep in the woods. I struggled through it for a while but finally gave up just before Stone Lake due to many deep tree wells and quickly rotting snow bridges that sometimes conceal rocky streambeds deep underneath. Very dangerous stuff, real leg-busters.

So if you still want to see Eagle Lake, and have good pathfinding skills, wait another two or three weeks.

Amazing falls with no strain whatsoever to reach there or come back. Very short sweet and beautiful hike. No problem whatsoever to reach it.

We went to Mt.Walker hike and hit this after completing the hike.
Be careful about the GPS co-ordinates given, you don't need to go as deep as it takes you. You will hit the falls 0.8 miles before the given GPS co-ordinates. The signage is very good, please follow it.

I'm surprised that with 50,000 other folks up there yesterday (May 19th), that no one wrote a trail report. I may have exaggerated a bit on the numbers but not by much.

Three weeks ago I was still cross-country skiing up Amabilis Mt and now its back to Mt Si. It was a slow trip for this guy but I did get up to the bench on the ridge (Haystack to the right and way-trail to Tenerrif to the left.

There was still a bit of snow in the basin above the rock staircases. Ate my early lunch at around 10:45 and headed down. At I hit the top of the lower staircase, I was actually taken aback by the sheer number of folks sunning themselves on the rocks. Must have been about 50 people and as I headed on down many, many more were on their way up.

Pretty dry conditions along the entire trail but I guess a week of dry weather and 80's or near 80's does that.

The trip down was uneventful and allowing those heading up to continue their pace, gave my knees and hips a brief rest.

I guess it's time to beat myself back into some kind of shape.

Enjoy the mountains...........

(aside, you'd think now that they charge us for parking here, they could fill the car-eating potholes)

We started at 0840 in the gorgeous sunshine. This was a perfect start time as the trail was quiet. But on the return, it was a madhouse! We stayed on top for about 1.5 hrs and we had a nice 10 minute window with the whole thing to ourselves.

The trail was dry and easy to follow with easy creek crossings and the views were fabulous.

It took us approx. 1 hr and 35 min to get up there and 1 hr and 10 on the way back.

Great day and great workout!!

Our group of 6 Mountaineers set out at 7:30AM from Tibbets P&R in Issaquah to take on Mt Teneriffe. Starting at the School Bus Turnout trailhead in blue-sky weather, we hiked the road for about 3 miles before beginning to encounter snow, then walked through patchy then constant snow (though well consolidated) up to road-end. Glorious views from the road across to Mount Rainier, the I-5 corridor and Rattlesnake Ledge/Lake. At road-end we could see the peaks to the north. From road end the trail continued steeply up, in solid snow through the trees. We followed sparse bootprints but no routefinding problems - just had to follow the ridge to the top of a hill, down the next saddle, and up to the top of Teneriffe about 7 miles from the start. Microspikes proved very handy on the steeper sections (and were even handier later). From the summit the views were fabulous, up the Middle Fork Snoqualmie drainage to Hinman and Daniel, north to Glacier Peak, south to Rainier.

We decided rather than hiking the road back the way we came we would follow the unmarked trail down the ridge to Teneriffe Falls (formerly Kamikaze Falls). Heading back down a short distance, the track then headed off on ~260 degrees bearing steeply down. I don't know how we would have kept from serious slipping without traction! The snow ended fairly quickly on this side, and the trail turned out to be a very obvious beaten down boot track but steeper than steep, with increasing ankle-turner rocks and roots as we descended. Finally about 2 miles from the summit we arrived at Kamikaze Falls (with the commensurate mob) and followed the much better track from there on down about 3.5 miles to the parking area. The ridge trail past the falls saved about 3 miles in total but would have been quite brutal to go up.

  A great weekend for a hike so I decided stay in The North Cascades and hike The East Bank of The Baker Lake Trail#610. I left at 6:00 am and got to the trailhead at 7:30 am just as the sun was breaking over the mountain in the parking lot. There was a half a dozen cars there most looked like overnighters. The trail is at the end of Baker Lake Road. It is approximatley 26 miles from Highway 20. The last 11 miles or so is gravel but the road is in great shape.
 Be aware that signs say the gravel portion of the road will be closed from June 15 to July 15th. There will be no access to park at north end of Baker Lake during those 30 days. I believe it will not affect any of the bigger camping areas such as Boulder, Swift and Shannon Creek Campgrounds. If you want to hike this trail do it before then.
 The weather was nice but some what cold this morning but it warmed up quickly once I got on the trail. The trail starts in the far left corner as you pull in to the parking lot. After about a mile on the trail you come to a fork where you go right to cross over the bridge that spans the Baker River on The Baker Lake Trail#610 or go straight on The Baker River Trail #606. This is one of the bigger bridges I have seen built to give access to a trail but it allows for great views of Baker River.
 I was heading to Noisy Creek Campground which is approximatley 8 miles round trip from the parking lot. This camp site is a hikers campground only. The trail follows along the Baker River for a short time but starts to climb very slightly to stay along the hill side and out of the area of the river that might flood when its at its highest level. There is lots of old growth trees along the trail especially Western Redwood Cedar. There are still flowers in bloom but they are fading quickly. There was trail maintenance work done here last year and I believe there is some planned this year also but this trail is in relatively good shape up to this campground. There was no down trees crossing the trail at all. There are several creeks to cross so bring your hiking poles to help with balance unless getting wet is of no importance to you. It took me 2 1/2 hours to get to Noisy Creek at a leisurely pace. A very nice camping area nestled in some old growth next to a small bay the Noisy Creek flows into. This is a very nice hike and should be put on your list to do if in The North Cascades. I recommended you do this hike in April or May before the mosquitos come out because they are really bad around Baker Lake in July, August and September. Check out videos of this hike or over 170 other hikes I have done in Washington State on my youtube channel at lmm3181 or click on these direct links.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tkeLaxrWx9A
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3lW0gG1mbpE
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nH7KyX21kDE
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pw9OH63KTzU
As always get out and see this great state and enjoy your hiking.

Take Care
Mike

It was a gorgeous day and the trail was pretty dried up after 2 weeks of solid sunshine. We were on a hunt for wildflowers, but it seems to be passed wildflower season already :-( The trail was not crowded, with only two other groups (both with dogs).

For the directions, do follow them exactly as written, otherwise it is easy to get lost. I would amend them at the end, once you cross Hannah Creek (the biggest creek you come to) you almost immediately turn right. Somebody had built a rock cairn that pointed us towards the path, otherwise we would have missed it. There are other paths that branch off from this along the way, but stick towards the creek and then you will finally be able to hear the sound of the falls, which will lead you to the fire pit and the falls.

We got a fairly early start this morning, as we were camped only twenty miles away. We parked in the day use area, which is way at the far end of Steamboat  Rock State Park. There are three trailheads, one across the road from  each major camping area and one across the road from the day use area.  The three trails converge at the base of the ascent to Steamboat Rock.

As noted in Bauer & Nelson's Best Desert Hikes Washington (Mountaineers, 2004), the first 0.15 miles is a steep, rough, rocky ascent through a cleft.  The trail then levels out and crosses a broad plateau or ledge, gaining some elevation before splitting into two forks going to two different bluffs.  We went right to the easier, larger bluff, hoping to see the deer herd which lives there.

Once at the top, we circumambulated the edge of the bluff in a counterclockwise direction, first looking down on Steamboat Rock State Park below us with the inner waterways that surround the peninsula. We walked north to overlook the beautiful, intricate waterways at the north end of Banks Lake.  At about that point, we saw some pinkish flowers in clusters (buckwheat?), some right at the edge, and also a rock rose. 

We continued around the back (west) side of the plateau, which does not have a well defined edge but rolls away in grassy undulations.  The trail was very faint on this side. We saw two marmots on a rock, and we had a distant view of the main part of Banks Lake to the west.  

We thought we had gone far enough to be near the starting point of the loop, so Slow Loris checked his GPS.  He had not set a location point when we reached the top, but he had set a lap, and the GPS showed that, so we followed the arrow on the GPS through a trail which at this point was so faint that it was no more than a suggestion of matted grass, continuing until the arrow on the GPS converged with the number 1 marking the lap change.

The descent was slow, difficult, and harrowing, not only at the initial 0.15 miles, but at several stretches of trail from the very beginning of the descent.  These stretches were steep, and the trail was littered with loose gravel on powdery dirt.  We were glad we had our poles.  In places we scooted in a sitting position, always watching for rattlesnakes; younger hikers seemed to have little trouble, however! 

We enjoyed the views from the top but decided that the descent was too dangerous.  We had been curious about this hike in the past and are glad we did it this one time but have decided not to do it again. 

Second trip to Mt Si this year. Got to the parking lot at around 6:45am and already there were 6-8 cars. The parking lot was beyond full when we got down at around 11:30am.Got much better weather this time and as a result the views were spectacular at the top.

Tried to go for the haystack but decided against it after a bit of a scramble. I wasn't finding a good hold with my boots. The rock seemed unusually slippery. Maybe I'll try again the next trip and find a better route or follow someone who's done it before.

Stats:
Time to Peak: 2:05
Car to Car: 4:35
Elevation Gain: 3500ft
Distance: 8.0 Miles (RT)

My dad and I did a overnight hike into the Enchanted Valley this past weekend.

We had perfect weather for the way in. Sunny, clear and in the high 60's.

We left the trailhead around 8 and arrived in the valley around 3:30. Could of done the hike faster, but we were taking our time and took a ton of pictures.

The trail is in very good condition.

Workers have cleared all blow downs for the first 4 miles. All other blow downs are easy to get over or around.

Wildlife is really out this time of year. We saw 2 small herd of elk (maybe 10 head in each, though I'm sure there were more we could not see), as well as 4 bears on the way in (2 of them 25-30 feet away and 2 of them 50 yards or more away) and 2 more in the valley. All the bears seemed mostly friendly and were more interested in the grass and bugs they were eating, than us.

There are a ton of creek crossings on the trail in but the only 'difficult' one is Pyrites Creek. The main log bridge is out, but their is a small log bridge that has been notched for safe crossing. It is narrow, but very cross-able.

As for snow, there is very little snow before Enchanted Valley, only one or two spots, of maybe a couple hundred feet long each that cover the trail.

The valley is mostly clear with spots of snow here and there.

A half mile past the last Enchanted Valley bear wire snow picks up but is melting pretty quickly and you can still get an excellent view of Anderson Glacier without too much trouble.

There are a couple of bears in the Valley. Two of them spent the evening wandering around our camp and visiting other people in the valley.

The rain stayed away until we crossed the bridge on the way out of the valley and then it rained for the next 13 miles. At least we had one dry day in the rainforest.

We took a long weekend to visit the little-known Wenaha-Tucannon Wilderness in southeast Washington. The nearest big town is Walla Wall, whose historic downtown is a nice place to stop for a meal. After parking at Panjab Campground on the Tucannon River road, we started our hike on the Rattlesnake Trail. This trail quickly led us to an intimidating ford of the snowmelt-swollen Panjab Creek. Rather than fording the creek, we crossed it on some large logs just upstream of the campground entrance, then took a rough streamside path donwstream to regain the main trail.

After the ford, the Rattlesnake Trail launched itself up a ridgeline badly burned by a fire. Fallen logs and brush provided frequent obstacles, and we briefly considered turning back. Above the 3700' mark, the trail fortunately become quite a bit better, though still steep. On a hot day, this trail would fry the soles off your boots - luckly for us the weather was cool and breezy. The trail took an entertaining route up the ridge, switchbacking past a succession of knobs and ledges of basalt, open grassy slopes, and groves of mostly fire burned trees. The views became increasing impressive the higher we climbed.

At 5000', we reached a plateau covered with meadows alive with white and purple wildflowes, and pictureque groves of pines and fir that had escaped the forest fire. Patches of snow watered the meadows and springs. All in all, a charming area, despite damage from the forest fire. As the sun set, we arrived at Alnus Spring and made camp.

The next day, we continued along the faint and little-used Rattlesnake Trail, which followed the gently rolling ridgeline past more meadows. Near Red Fir Springs was a hunter's camp in a meadow - a nice spot, except the springs themselves were in located in a horribly fire-scorched forest. More snow appeared as we climbed above 5500', and the trail became frequently wet and muddy. A long, wildflower-strewn meadow, a setting suitable for badly sung "Sound of Music" reenactments, led us to a 4-way junction with the Panjab and Mt. Misery trails.

We pondered trying to hike to Oregon Butte, the local high point with a great view, but decided not to do it because of heavy snow in that direction. So we instead headed to nearby Dunlap Spring, still buried in snow, and made camp in a grove of trees on the ridge. Then we explore the Mt. Misery Trail for a few miles, finding more lovely meadows and a massive hunters camp located near Bullfrog Springs. This trail was snowy and muddy in many places, and a GPS unit proved helpful for navigating the snow- covered areas. This area will be much nicer to hike in a few weeks, and the flowers should be spectacular.

The next day, we followed the Panjab Trail, which quickly descended from the meadow country into a deep canyon. This trail is one of the most popular in the area, especially with horse riders. We found it well-maintained with most blowdowns recently cut. However, horses tend to be hard on trails, and there were mud holes and deeply eroded areas to contend with. Fire damage was visible here, too, but plenty of live trees remained to provide shade near the creek.

Note if you arrive late at the trailhead and have time for only a short hike, you will find few camping opportunities in the canyon, due to the steep terrain and brushy, fire-damaged forest. The only usable campsites are located near the Turkey Creek Trail junction. There is a nice-looking spot in a forested flat a quarter mile before the junction, and a smallish site right at the junction. Upstream from Turkey Creek, there is absolutely nothing in the way of camping sites.

At length, we crossed a steel bridge over the raging Panjab creek, and arrived at the Panjab Trailhead, well- developed with parking, an outhouse, and major horse infrastructure - feeding troughs, loading platforms and such. Horse riding must be big here, but we saw nobody around on Monday. Hunting season may be another matter: take note if you arrive here in September.

A pleasant 2 mile walk down a deserted forest service road took us back to the Rattlesnake Ridge trailhead and our parked car.

road is open to trailhead and trail is in good shape, but wet in spots. hit solid snow after leaving forest close to where meadows open up to ice caves, which at the moment is simply a massive snow field. lots of waterfalls streaming down above. beautiful.

Departed Seattle around 6:20 AM and arrived at Paradise Inn around 9:30 with two friends. 2/3 or 3/4 of the lot was full so good time to arrive. 37F and clear sunny skies. Cold enough in the morning for hard snow pack and some folks where cross country skiing up hill. No cramp-ons used. Hiking with trekking poles, hat, shades, and SPF 45 (used and applied three times during the hike) & wearing dry-fit long sleeve, vest, parka (in pack on the way up), Sorel boots, and snow pants. Consumed 2L of water and had one 20g Protein bar; having 3L would have been better and a second 20g protein bar.
Could hear two slides and visually caught one of them; no danger along main trail yet always cool to hear/see. Take the time to turn around and enjoy the view... this hike could see Adams, Helens, and Hood. Word for the day was magnanimous. Left phone in car so no photos... sorry.
Arrived at Camp Muir 2hr 40mins later (last of the three), 30F, and clear skies all around aside from the storm front one could see approaching. Rested for 20 minutes then began decent.
Decent was easy (minimal slip and slide) and took just over one hour and thirty minutes. Remember to breath deeply when you get a nasty cramp... The snow was noticeable slushy and happy to have the snow pants by the time we hit Panorama Point. by the time we hit the Paradise Inn Parking lot getting out was like playing frogger with amount of people and cars... not really yet glad people were out enjoy the national park.

The park was really busy on Mother's Day this year, so we decided to put our hike off a week and we were glad we did. The temperatures today were much more comfortable for hiking, and it was a beautiful day. The trails were not too crowded and they were in very good condition and dry due to the recent several days of dry weather. The falls were spectacular, possibly also as a result of the recent warm weather's causing rapid snow melt.

This hike is so close to Seattle, in Olallie State Park right off of exit 38. We got our Discover Pass at REI ($30) before heading out.

We found the trail easily, it is a well-maintained trail although it is not marked. Hiking up the trail, we saw trillium, scouler's corydalis, bleeding heart, and yellow wood violet in bloom. We report no rattlesnakes, but we did see a cute wee garter snake slinking off. The trail climbed for two miles across easy footing, not a lot of roots and gravel pits to negotiate. We climbed up through a new forest past some sport climbers hauling themselves up rock faces. The hike is very pleasant and after two miles you come to an obvious lunch spot with great views. We turned around at this spot after resting- if you continue up, you will encounter snow and the hikers we saw going past this viewpoint had snowshoes slung over their shoulders.

This was an easy, pleasant hike-- this would be a great after work hike.

Trial still closed.

Very well maintained hike. The path is very dry. There was no problem getting to the top or to any other view points. Very good and doable hike. Just make sure you are warmed up before hitting the hike as gradient starts pretty quickly with no reliefs in between.
Follow the exact GPS co-ordinates given and you will be able to get to it with no issues. The trial itself goes into the woods immediately.
Trial starts with a moderately high gradient and continues with almost the same gradient all through to the top without too many reliefs.
You will reach the North view point after 2 miles of hike. Definitely continue to go to South view point which is flat and 0.5 miles of walk.

Left home a little after six to get to the trailhead before the crowds. Arriving a little bit before eight there were only six other cars in the parking lot, PERFECT. Starting off the hike the temp was 45 and my fingers were a little cold the first mile, making me wonder if short sleaves was the best option however once the climb began the coldness disappeared. Turned off to the falls first which was beautiful, lots of water flowing down this time of year. Enjoyed the view all by myself for a good five-ten minutes before heading back down to the main trail. As I kept plugging up the trail it was realized that the bugs were actually pretty light. As arrived near the top, the trail began to get muddy from snow that has melted, I would say between 1/4 and a 1/2 mile from the lake. Then there was some snow the last 200-300 feet to the lake, but nothing to serious. Was able to enjoy the view of the lake all on my own at the lunch rock for about twenty minutes, which was still completely covered in snow, before heading down. On the way down, easily passed 60-70 groups of people heading up with more then a few letting their dogs run around without a leash! Please leash those dogs! The bugs were heavier on the way down, but considering it is in the middle of the woods they were not to bad. Finishing the hike a little before noon, the main parking lot was overun with vehicles and so was the lower lot.

If you waant some sollitude, I strongly suggest arrive 8 or earlier in the morning.

This is one of my favorite May scrambles and accompanying me today were Ike and the Transporter. The road to the trailhead is rough as previously reported. I was glad I wasn't driving. Thanks Ike! It seems to get rougher every year, but we managed to park at the last junction/waterfall place. From there it's just a hop, skip, and couple of jumps to the trailhead or what passes for one. There were a couple of cars parked here and some at the road end. It's worth noting that the four wheel drives were parked down below and the passenger cars went the farthest. So, I guess the road can be driven by those who don't like their cars very much. We were soon on the track leading up through the clearcut on ball bearing rock and over logs and other assorted stuff. I do think that the trail is markedly better than the first time I did this over 20 years ago, but it's still a knee buster and getting brushier all the time. We didn't hit snow until shortly before the talus field, but it was pretty constant after that. It was early enough for us that it was icy in places, especially the places where you don't want it to be, but we found a safe way through some steep snow sections and then popped out on the summit ridge. From there it's a slog to the summit. Previous reports recommend snowshoes and ice axes. That may be true on warmer days, but the snow is very consolidated now and it didn't seem that ice axes would be very helpful either at this point. However, I'd recommend microspikes or at least yaktrax in the shady steep places, although by afternoon everything was soft enough to forego traction devices. Views from the summit are fabulous this time of year in every direction, but there was a icy breeze today so lollygagging wasn't on the agenda. Still, we bundled up and enjoyed a leisurely lunch. The trip down was pleasant aside from the multiple spills I had from the ball bearing rocks on the latter part of the trail. On the negative side, there were several groups of people target practicing along the road, which has been happening on a lot on trips lately. I don't remember this so much in the past, but it seems like every trip I've done lately has been a shooting fest for the camo folks. I don't want to begrudge anyone their recreation of choice, but I still find it interesting that there is so much of this going on everywhere. Are we becoming a mecca for the survivalist gang? It's also interesting to me that most of these people are families with kids in camo and the whole bunch shooting and, well, it's just strange. In my opinion. Still, a great time was had by all, although we skipped dinner since the culinary wasteland that is Hwy 2 was uninspiring. Home for chili and beer!

Started hiking around 11am, just a few cars in the main parking lot.

The short interpretive loops near the parking lot were in great condition, with newish-looking benches and signs installed every few feet.

Did a quick side trip down to the river; the trails after that were all well above the river and offered few views of the river.

The Hobbit Trail had quite a few blowdowns, and some muddy spots. Almost missed the hobbits when we went off-trail to detour around a large blowdown.

Followed the North Trail back, but there were so many blowdowns, we ended up walking along the road for a while.

Many wildflowers were blooming, and there were still few bugs. Encountered just a handful of people, most near the (closed) interpretive center.

Photos: http://picasaweb.google.com/[…]/FederationForestStateParkMay2012
Tracklog: http://connect.garmin.com/activity/179933559

Wonderful spring hike. Reached turnoff to FR 70 at 7:00 am and were greeted by two elk grazing by the side of the road. There are a few spots where there is water on the trail, but nothing difficult to avoid. Greenwater River is spectacular now with heavy spring melt. Both Greenwate Lakes lived up to their names and were quite green! We took the right fork to Lost Lake but ran into solid snow about 1/4 mile later and headed back down.

First time I hiked this. Started out at the trailhead at 11:30am and took the lower creek route. Trail was in good shape until about the last mile and a half to the lake. Major windfall and blowdown issues and missed the first switchback to the lake. Followed a wrecked boardwalk to a waterfall and lost the trail. Headed back and found the switchback at a blownover rootball. Continued to the lake and basin was pretty much melted out. Wanted to explore more of the lake than I did, but a lot of windfall and blowdowns. Trail crews need to work on the last part of the trail and the lake. Took the upper route back, but would recomend the lower route, much more interesting. Was back at the car by 4:30pm. Good early season hike.

It’s well worth swinging by Falls View Campground near Mt. Walker to cap off a day of great hiking. This would also be a perfect hike for very young children -- short with lots of diversions! We did this on our way home from Mt. Zion and were pleasantly surprised by this nice little 1.5 mile loop to Falls View Canyon along the Quilcene River.

The falls themselves can be viewed right off the parking area, about .1 from the trailhead. I wish you could see them from the river as they are really pretty spectacular, especially now with lots of water. The canyon loop trail starts to the left of the sign.

It is a lovely, very well maintained little trail. The rhodies are just coming into their glory. Also blooming now are miner’s lettuce, sea foam, false Solomon’s seal, Oregon grape, wood violet, bleeding heart, star flower, and the salmonberry on their way out. The entire way is lined with tons of ferns (I saw at least 6 varieties) and lichen floating in the breeze from the trees. There’s a very nice spot to sit by the river with a streamlet falling in nearby. We enjoyed watching an ouzel catching insects against the green, green water slipping over the colored rocks below. What a pretty spot!

Pics are at: http://www.flickr.com/[…]/

Snow starting at around 3800 feet, right before the turn off to Mason Lake (2.3 miles). Still a lovely hike though with some trillium starting to pop up and nice views of the mountains on the other side of 90 along the way.

Perfect day for this hike. Nice trail, flowers blooming. About 2 miles up, we ran into a very aggressive mountain goat. He bluff charged us twice before we headed back down. He began pursuit (not bluffing anymore!) but stopped after our screaming took off. We ran into some other hikers heading up and decided to try it again thinking that we'd be okay as a group. When we reached the spot where we'd seen him, he was gone. We saw a large male goat on the other side of the river and assumed he was leaving the area. We continued up another mile or 2 before heading back and to our surprise, there was our not so friendly guardian of the cliff. He charged us again! I have to say that, although we had read the sign at the trailhead, throwing rocks at this guy never crossed our minds as we high-tailed it down. We ran into several other hikers having the same experience around that bend. Definitely chalking this up as one of my all time top ten favorite hikes! Be careful... I am quite sure he would have loved to see us rolling down the mountainside and, although we're giggling now, this could have ended much differently.

Took our Scout troop of 11 yr old scouts to see the tunnel and were dissappointed to find it fenced and closed.

Snow was still packed on many parts of the trail.

Took advantage of the one good day this weekend to hike on up Mt. Teneriffe.

The trailhead was full of cars when we arrived at 10:45; ended up paying the $10 to the enterprising family just down the road. Alternative was to hike almost another mile.

Hike was uneventful up to Kamikaze Falls. Water flows were down from a couple of weeks ago when a couple of our group got a later start and couldn't summit.

We scooted up along the falls to the narrow trail that follows the rock wall. From there it's nothing but up, up, up. Roots, rocks, the full gamut.

With a few breaks along the way, we made it to the ridgeline; the trail is a bit ambiguous in spots, but it's clear that your path is simply to follow the ridgeline upward.

Eventually at about 4,000ft the trail turns over to snow. Best to have traction devices, as the steep climb is harder in anything less. Poles helped one of our group who didn't have extra traction. The trail meanders along the ridge, evidently goes a bit off the normal track as we found ourselves in some tight spots that just didn't seem like the main trail, but it didn't really matter. It's all snow anyway.

We made the final push the summit about 3 hours and fifteen minutes after we left our cars far below.

Though hazy, the view was spectacular. We could just make out Rainier and Baker.

We had our lunches and headed down, glissading over a few of the more open stretches.

Access road is blocked by snow 1-1/2 miles from trailhead. Snow can be largely, but not completely avoided by walking on the melted out shoulder of the road. Once passed the trailhead parking lot, the trail is snow free. There are two blowdown logs on the trail, one easier to climb over than the other. Colt's foot and trilium are out.

Those fortunate enough to live over here may already know about this falls - a worthy destination for a morning or afternoon.

Well-constructed granite stair-steps wind up the hill beneath an imposing boulder face, and staggered ponderosa pines provide an inviting canopy for birds. On this day the falls were positively over-spilling their bounds, and the creek crashing somewhat incongruously between the trunks of second-growth trees. Hand rails assist on the steep parts and adorn the bridges with curlicued style, and benches beckon at every turn.

Washington certainly excels in its waterfalls.

If you're looking for a short, steep hike with great views, Dirty Face Ridge is a good option.

The trailhead is just .15 miles past the Tubal Cain parking area, on the left side of the road. It is marked with a sign for the Little Quilcene Trail. Getting to the Tubal Cain parking area was not a problem and there was no sign of any snow on the road anymore.

The trail doesn't waste much time and is steep from the get-go. Lots of rhododenron in the first mile. I hit the first compact snow/ice patches at about 1.5 miles and 4,900 feet. Once up on the ridge, the stretches of snow become longer and deeper, although it wasn't difficult to go around them on the melted out portions of the ridge and keeping track of the trail wasn't a problem.

At 2.1 miles and 5,170 ft. I had to turn around as I was pinched for time, and from this point on the snow appeared to be continuous. The junction with the Mt. Townsend trail was still about .2 miles ahead. An ice axe wouldn't be a bad idea if you were going to try to go all the way to the top within the next few weeks.

The views on this trail are remarkable - Buckhorn and Iron Mountains are in view much of the time to the south, while to the west you have a full view of Tyler Peak, Baldy, and Gray Wolf Ridge.