Trip Reports

A little background and much rationalizing ahead! I have been a Mtn. Biker for 20 years and I have ridden and raced all over the US and Canada. I understand that everyone must pay attention to where they're going in the wilderness. I also understand that we must all be mindful of our turnaround time when recreating in the late afternoon; I violated the latter of these rules on my Mtn. Bike ride on the lower fork Skokomish.

However, in my defense, the sign I blew past that would have had me riding back to my car in the comfort of sunlight was a piece of wood with black lettering approximately 10 feet up a Hemlock....REALLY NFS! C'mon, that's just plain moronic! I suppose if you're an equestrian sitting 5 feet up on a horse with you eyes at 6 or eight feet that is a proper sign placement. Or, if you are going for a gentle stroll you might,MIGHT, see that sign and turn right headed towards the fire road and to the safety and comfort of your automobile.

Ok, here is my review of this trail:

overall rating: 3/5 stars (all single track!)
Difficulty: Beginner/intermediate/advanced (be very careful of your speed this trail transitions from beginner to advanced in a matter of 100 meters)
Signage: 0/5 stars (pathetic and dangerous really!)
Views: 2/5 stars (you're in the woods 90% of the time)
Climbing: 3/5 stars mostly short power climbs of 50-300 meters, but you need to be fit to stay in the saddle!
Descents: 3/5 Be careful terrain quality and severe switchbacks will have you flying off the bike.
Trail maintenance: 4/5 (aside from crappy signage, the NFS is spending some real dough maintaining and rebuilding this trail system)
Crowds: I rode on a Wed (late afternoon) and saw not one soul during my 5 hour death march (1.5 hours of which was in the pitch of 9 pm)!

Hope that helps!

Ellis

Natches Loop trail can start at Tipsoo Lake, this way you hike facing Mt. Rainier for the second half. Out of the parking lot you go towards Tipsoo Lake, turning left and go up the hill, through some trees, coming out at HWY 410, and an overpass over 410 to start. The bridge is currently under repair, so you cross the hwy, and up to the main trail. This is a part of the Pacific Crest Trail, so you'll see some serious hikers. We went about half way, and then down to Dewey Lakes. This is about an extra 1.3 miles each way, and an 800 foot elevation drop, and then back up the 800 feet. Makes it a longer hike. Sept 1 was a foggy day, and Mt. Rainier was not out, so the lakes were an extra attraction. Many Washington Trail reports have this hike in their top 10 for scenery and wildflowers. Even with the fog this was a scenic hike. There were a few mosquitoes at Dewey Lakes, but when we got out of the marshy areas it was OK. This is probably our hiking group's favorite hike. Wildflowers out: lupine, valarian, paint brush, bistort, Rainieria, asters, several penstemon, spirea,several saxafrage,arrowleaf groundsel,false green hellebore, and anomones going to seed.

Left early from Vancouver, only about a 45 minute drive. Drizzled off and on all day. Very easy hike for kids as it is not very long to the falls. My two girls, 8 and 7, did very well and if it was a better weather day, we probably would have gone all the way up to Hamilton Mountain. Another day perhaps. Trail was beautiful, wide, and well traveled. Novice welcome as there is no way you can get lost on this trail. All kinds of berries to sample as well as tons of flowers all over the place.

The Wenatchee Range is one of my favorite areas anywhere in the world, and I’ve explored it extensively from the Teanaway side. But I always wondered what lies on the other, wetter side of Mt. Stuart et al.

Colchuck Lake has been on my list for some time and, time growing short before winter snows begin, I finally made the long drive over Stevens Pass to have a look. I’m duly impressed, but going only to Colchuck Lake just whetted my appetite to see more of the Enchantments.

Not that the lake isn’t beautiful – it is, but looking up toward Asgaard Pass, I could sense the riches to be had on the other side. So I’m planning to go back after the Labor Day madness and get over the hump.

Colchuck Lake is worth a trip in itself as it’s a scenic hike all the way to the lake, with lots of granite ledges featuring mountain vistas along the route.

Some logistics: the gravel road in is mercifully short, but with lots of washboarding. There is plenty of water along the way and no mosquitoes or other bothersome insects to contend with. If you go on a weekend be prepared to deal with lots of company.

Tuesday is promising to be rain so we bailed on the two day plan. Mt Forgotten was kind enough to permit us entry today. Cloudy from the get go. The clouds only lifted after our descent form the summit.

The new parking lot/trail head adds a mile plus onto the old trial distance. It doesn't seem to add much else other than more parking spaces. The trail has seen brushing in the recent past and is generally in good condition. There are a few spots above the falls that are sliding out. Also the trail past Forgotten Meadows is in rough shape in a few places. We chose to circumnavigate the mountain after summiting. This involved a fair amount of sidehilling but only mild bush whacking. We rejoined the main trail at the low point of the ridge line on the far side.

Forgotten Meadows would be a wonderful place for an overnight to make this a two day trip. There is water but it didn't look great. Sorry no pictures today, the batteries were dead.

I was looking for an easy trip with good distance and elevation gain. No trail is easier to hike than the Pacific Crest Trail. Wide and easily graded for the most part. I headed up to Snoqualmie Pass and found only half a dozen cars in the lot at 8:30 am. I was soon on the trail. I also found that it was only 40 degrees. I quickly zipped the legs back on my pants. I made good time reaching the 4 km (2.5 mile) mark in only 52 minutes. Down low the flowers were almost done. I met a few hikers already heading down. The sky was clear and as the sun rose the temperature climbed. I was in shorts and short sleeves before leaving forest and traversing the talus field below Kendall Peak.

There were some clouds but there were some nice views from the open slopes. I motored up the switchbacks and reached the climbers trail to up Kendall. Since the weather was supposed to deteriorate throughout the day I chose to go to the summit first. I saw one person up above and he was sitting on the summit when I arrived. Really nice views from the top. I signed the register and spent half an hour enjoying the views. The highest crest peak to the north had a coat of fresh snow. I noticed some frozen ground on the way up. One benefit was a complete lack of bugs. Worth a little cold weather.

I was on top before 11:00 and had plenty of time for a little more hiking. I dropped down to the trail and headed uphill. When I reached the ridge top I passed a group that had gone by me while I was on Kendall. A few ups and downs and I reached the Kendall Katwalk. Nice views over to Hibox, Alta, and Three Queens. Mt. Stuart was in the distance. I still felt good so on I went. I hoped to find a few ripe blueberries though I have seen almost none the past month. This has not been a good season for berries in most places. In fact, the berries I found are tiny and green and have no chance of ripening.

The PCT north of the Katwalk is my favorite section along here. At this elevation there were still flowers in bloom. The lupine was going strong. The trail traverses flowered slopes and across talus fields. There were a few more clouds now but it was still mostly sunny and comfortably warm without being hot. I figured I would go on to Gravel and Ridge Lakes for more lunch and turn around there.

One group was camped near Gravel though I did not see anyone at Ridge. I had a seat near the lake and broke out more food. It was 12:45 when I packed up and headed back. The best berry spots only had tiny green berries. There is no chance any of them will ripen this year. Back near the Katwalk the crowds began. Lots of folks were arriving. I spent a little time at the Katwalk before beginning the long hike down.

The grade is gentle and the downhill is never difficult. I reached the turnoff to Commonwealth Creek where two groups were resting. Commonwealth is a nice shortcut and is easier than climbing back up the talus field. I was out for some distance this day and took the longer PCT route both ways. I passed half a dozen groups heading down and had two groups speed by me. The last mile and a half the road noise was really loud. Louder than I recall.

Several very long and gentle switchbacks brought me back to the trailhead. One new and strange addition is a big picnic table on the trail near the start. The outhouse is well in sight. The noise of the freeway is even louder than in the lot. Bring earplugs if you want to picnic there. It was only 3:20 when I finished and the parking lot was now full. I hiked 13 miles with 3600' of gain and it was still and easy hike. Just what I was looking for.

35 photos have been posted at: http://www.hikingnorthwest.com. Go to "Trips-2010" on the left margin.

We started from the Third Beach trailhead around 1:30pm on Sunday and passed a number of weekend hikers and backpackers heading out of the forest. The trailhead privy was well stocked with toilet paper and hand sanitizer. The 1.4 mile trail down to the beach was mellow and fairly wide.

As soon as we got down to the beach we saw some dolphins and seals playing in the surf- not a bad way to start the trip! From there we continued down the beach and up the rope ladders (not for the faint of heart) to the next few beaches, ultimately ending up at the awesome campsite at Scotts Creek. It took less than two hours to get there and we settled in for the afternoon with an early dinner and walk south to check out the tide pools at low tide. There we saw dozens of purple and red starfish and green anemones. If you're looking to explore some tide pools, these were the best we saw on our short trip.

We woke up to a gorgeous day and headed south around 9am for some more exploring while the tide was low. We made it all the way past Toleak Point where you can look out and see Alexander Island after crossing Goodman Creek. The ladders south of Toleak had some wooden pieces missing making the climb a little spicier than usual. We only saw about 2 or 3 other couples throughout the entire day and otherwise had the beaches to ourselves. We saw a bunch of banana slugs, wildflowers, birds, one bald eagle, and some seals and otters throughout the day. The blueberries were just a week or so too ripe for eating.

We had turned around and had lunch back at the south end of Toleak Point around 1pm, just in time to beat high tide at camp. It was definitely helpful to have water shoes (Chacos/Keens,etc) as the rocks were slippery and we had to wade through the water a few times coming back. The point just south of Scotts Creek is impassable at high tide but there is an unofficial trail just behind it that we found and used with ease. We made it back to camp by 4pm just in time for naps and an early dinner. Since we had to get out early the next day, we packed up and hiked 1.5 hours back to Third Beach to camp for the night, arriving just before sunset. As we woke up to pouring rain, we were happy to only have to hike out 1.4 miles to the trailhead. Overall, a wonderful and very unique adventure!

Getting to the trail head was a bit frustrating because the sign to Rd 2150 off of Rd 21 is gone and 2150 is located 12.8 miles up Rd 21 not 15.5 miles as described. Once there it was a great hike with beautiful alpine vistas, mtn goats and plenty of marmots.

I went on a Cascadian backpack Fri - Sun to the Snowgrass Flat area of the Goat Rocks. We hiked the Snowgrass Flat trail to the junction with the Lily Basin trail and then walked out that trail for a mile or so to a bench above the little basin with water. On Sat we followed an intermittent boot trail up to the PCT and headed north. I was feeling pretty wimpy and after a quarter mile or so I pooped out. The others went on to the summit of Old Snowy while I leasurely explored the meadows back toward the junction of the PCT and the Snowgrass Bypass trail. The others came by as I was finishing lunch and we walked together to the junction, then they went on towards Cispus Basin while I made my way across the meadows & over the little ridge back to camp. Fri & Sat had been partly cloudy with lots of sun, but on Sun morning the west side was more socked in with clouds lowering & lifting in & out of the Goat Lake basin, though we mostly had blue sky overhead. Brenda really wanted to hike out via Goat Lake, but I was still feeling to wimpy for that so she and Eric went out that way while Ethan & I waited an hour, then went out the way we had come in. The flowers along the Lily Basin trail were starting to be past, but were very nice up by the PCT. Brenda & Eric reported that they were also very nice at Goat Lake & above. There was vertually no water along the PCT north from the junction with the Snowgrass Bypass trail and only a couple of places along the Lily Basin trail. Many folks seemed to be spending some time searching for a campsite with available water. The weather was sunnier than we expected and the cool temps kept the bugs away. Despite the number of other people in the area, we never felt crowded.

This hike was much more challenging than I anticipated. The trail is very steep all the way up, you don't get a break until you reach the top. There were surprisingly a few young kids and dogs on the trail. Also on our way up we saw people making a stretcher for a woman who had fallen down the hillside. I really wouldn't suggest this for beginners.

The trail gets narrow, steep, and very muddy. It was difficult getting down to Blanca Lake because all the slippery mud. Before going on this hike, be sure to look up weather conditions. We went on a cloudier day and it was very chilly at the lake. Conditions would have been much better on a sunny day.

But despite the weather and mud, Blanca Lake was beautiful. We got to the lake in about 2.5 hours and back down in a little less than 2 hours. The lake is a beautiful aqua color, well worth the strenuous hike to get there. We stayed about 15-20 minutes for lunch and pictures, then headed back. Probably since it was a Sunday, there were a good amount of people on the trail. I would definitely recommend this hike! Just make sure the weather is good.