West Fork Miller River

Now is a great time to hike the West Fork Miller river trail, the flowers are coming out and the water is roaring. There is less water on the first 1/2 mile of the road, due to some thoughtful drainage work that someone has done. On parts of the road, vine maples make a green tunnel to walk through.

The two creeks that drain Coney Basin now require fording - unlike 2 weeks ago when they were a rock hop. I put on some thong sandals and waded the first creek (halfway to knees) and wore them for 100 yards or so to the next creek, where the ford was a little more challenging (knee deep and fast).

I went as far as Cleopatra Creek, which looked to be more or less a rock hop. I noodled around Cleopatra Camp, and explored up the hill from it where I saw a mountain hemlock freshly stripped of bark from the ground to about 6 feet up. The claw marks on the stripped trunk looked very fresh. Big bear.

On the drive out, a bobcat dashed off the Miller River road in front of my truck.