Squire Creek — Thursday, Oct. 8, 2015

North Cascades > Mountain Loop Highway

This a very nice but somewhat rugged hike just south of the town of Darrington. Because the entire hike (to the boulder field) is below 3000 feet, this area can be accessed during the shoulder season when most of the high country is covered in snow. This hike was more popular before the road was blocked by a huge landslide back in 2002. The access road is permanently closed 2.2 mi from the original trailhead so the journey is a bit longer than it used to be. Over the past 13 years the closed road section has nicely converted to a single track trail. The access road starts at the southwest edge of the town of Darrington (Darrington Ave). It consists of 1 mi of paved rd and 2.5 mi of decent gravel road . A few small branches will brush against your vehicle so it's not great for cars with fancy paint jobs. The road/trail traverses the slide area at 0.4mi. The alder on the slide area have grown to 20 feet so it's difficult to get a wide view of the slide zone. There is a short path that give you access to Squire Creek in the slide area. This is the only creek access that you will see on the hike. The road/trail very gradually gains elevation while traversing relatively uninteresting 2nd growth forest for the next couple miles. At 1.6 mi you come to a creek blowout with granite boulders and a nice slot view across the valley. There is no water running currently. At 2.2 mi the trail crosses a creek on slippery rocks. This one would be difficult with high water. A few hundred feet beyond the creek is the original trailhead with the sign still standing. At 2.7 mi is a fairly wide view across the valley from an avalanche field. The signed wilderness boundary is reached a couple hundred yards further. You finally get to enjoy an old growth climax hemlock forest once you cross into wilderness. At 2.9 miles you see the first big cedar trees. A large one next to the trail had a circumference of 27ft 7in (Almost 9 ft in diameter). At 3.4 mi is the biggest creek blowout that I've ever seen. Its probably 200 feet across and 40 feet deep. The continuation of the trail on the far side of the blowout is about 100 feet down slope (currently marked with a pink ribbon). At 3.7 mi the trail becomes much steeper while it traverses an excellent old growth cedar forest that spans from 2000 feet elevation to 2500 feet. At 4.1mi (2500 feet) the trail gets really nasty. There are lots of mud holes, downed trees, roots, ledges, and some brush to contend with in this section. This part needs a major revision. A boulder field with excellent views of Squire Creek Valley, Three Fingers and Whitehorse Mtn makes for an excellent final destination at 4.5 mi and 3000ft. I think that its a little over a mile further to reach 4100 foot Squire Creek Pass. I turned around at the boulder field so I can't comment on the final segment of the trail to the pass. A one way hike from the Squire Creek trailhead to the Eightmile trailhead would be an excellent journey. Just be sure not to get stuck if the creek is too high to cross during the spring melt. RT to the boulder field with nice views: 9 mi with 2000 feet elevation gain. This trail would be a great choice for WTA's abandoned trail resurrection program. If you hike this trail, please be prepared to do a little trail work along the way. This place could use an army of Trail Angels. Clipping back brush and removing rocks and branches would be much appreciated by all.

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