Trails End,Purcell Mountain #284,Purcell Lookout #285
Aug 02, 2004
- Type of Outing
- Day hike
- Read More in our Hiking Guide
- Hike: Purcell Mountain
- Region: South Cascades
- Trails: Purcell Mountain (#284)
- Avg Rating: 3.75
- Read More in our Hiking Guide
- Hike: Purcell Lookout
- Region: South Cascades -- White Pass / Cowlitz River Valley
- Agency: Gifford-Pinchot National Forest, Cowlitz Valley Ranger District
- Trails: Purcell Lookout (#285)
- Avg Rating: 3.00
Trail #285 and its continuation No. 284 to the Trails End lookout site is in excellent condition, having received recent maintenance. Not a single blowdown to step over. A sign at the trailhead alerts horseriders to a dangerous creek crossing for stock at high water. (No word about hikers potentially getting washed downstream early in the year.) This time the crossing of Davis Creek was easy, just one step. There is not much the trail maintenance crew can do against the rodents critters that continue to burrow tunnels in the soft soil on the steep meadow slopes along the upper end of the trail. Sinkholes in the trail are a continuing potential hazard. Watch your step in the open meadows! We counted 70 different species of wild flowers in bloom. FS Road #63 is in good shape. Fallen rocks at 2.9 miles from the paved road limit the navigable width of the road, but everything except a Hummer can get through. Note that the description in ""100 Hikes in Washington's South Cascades and Olympics"" 3rd Edition is no longer accurate because the hike now starts on FS Road #63. Spur 057 (old #6310) is closed to vehicle travel because the upper bridge across Davis Creek is gone. This adds 1.4 miles to the total length of the hike.
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