Trip Reports

This hike will be our most extensive training exercise leading up to our Mount Adams climb. We didn't even notice the lower trailhead parking lot driving up or down the road. We parked where everyone else did; on the side of the road at about 2900', where the road becomes inaccessible due to snow. There is an obvious trail that starts on left side of the road, at probably 2950'. This trail leads you through the woods to the upper trail head parking lot. We put our crampons on at about 4000'. The base of the massive avalanche chute is about 4500'. We thought our lightning ascent snowshoes would help us in the climb up the chute, but were completely ineffective in the steep, slushy conditions. So the snowshoes became three pounds of dead weight for the entire trip. The crampons were nice, but not necessary for the trip up. You should have an ice axe for safety going up, and to use as a brake for the glissade down. We were passed by everyone going up. We had 45 and 40 pound packs. Any yahoo with a will can get up this climb, but it is very steep. We saw some people on all fours on the steepest inclines. We camped about a 100' below the summit. I shorted myself on camp fuel and was unable to melt as much snow as I would have liked for water, plus we had a cold dinner. I won't make that mistake again. Two guys passed by our camp on the way to the summit at around 7 PM. It rained a little in the afternoon, and was fairly windy during the night. By the next morning, the previously slushy snow had turned to ice. The glissade chute had become to fast in most spots to attempt safely. Our crampons became absolutely necessary for the trip down the avalanche chute. I tried the glissade chute in a not so steep area. I started sliding before I was really ready to go, lost control of the ice axe, and went speeding down the chute, flailing and out of control. I managed to stop without breaking any bones. My wife retrieved the yard sale of gear I had lost on my silde. We decided that glissading wasn't worth the risk and walked the rest of the way. (You Tube Mount Ellinor glissade if your curious)
http://www.youtube.com/watc[…]MqWFqzY&feature=related

After parting ways w/ Goober Canari & crew I decided to drive up to La Push & check out First and Second Beaches. First Beach can be driven right up to while Second Beach is a short hike. I hiked the 0.7 mile thru the forest to the beach. People have made art out of an uprooted tree along the trail by placing all manner of shells, etc in the roots. The trail has a couple of small muddy sections but is otherwise in good shape. When I reached the beach there is some driftwood to walk over, then I headed north to a natural arch. I did not head south to Teahwhit Head which is another 1.5 mile if you head all the way until it's impassible. Lots of people out beachcombing on this Memorial Day weekend (Sunday).

I had been up to granite mountain many times in the past. However my friends and I decided to go left and find Pratt Lake. Due to the snow coverage at the top of the basin, we lost track of the trail to the lake and ended up looking up at Granite Mountain.

As stated in previous trip reports for this location, a huge avalanche field took out a large portion of the trail towards the beginning. The detour has been flagged and goes temporarily up strenuous terrain. The signs up spring snow melt shows going up with bug currents in the streams. At the fork for Talapus and Olallie lakes, we began to lose track of the trail and ended up following other shoe prints and ended up at the foot of Grainite. I would wait to try this trail until late June or July. Still lots of snow.

Had to choose between Index Town Wall and Old Sauk River Trail. Picked the latter, because it was very cloudy and we would not have had the wonderful views on Index. When we arrived at trailhead the clouds parted and we had sunshine almost all the way. Trail in great condition. No mud holes, no water on trails. Lots of Trillium and Bleeding hearts. Waived to 4 groups of happy rafters coming down the river, which was a beautiful teal color. Great exercise. Great to be outdoors.

The trail is in good condition with lots of wildflowers (bleeding heart, twin-leaved spring beauty, vanilla leaf, buttercup, orange honeysuckle, false lily of the valley, false solomon seal, to name a few I know).

Somehow we missed the trail indicators (despite printing and trying to follow the description of this trail from this website) and ended up on Unmaintained Trail K3, which was in quite good condition and a lovely, if steep, woodsy trail. We ended up meeting the West Tiger Railroad Grade trail, and then after following it for a while encountered another poorly signed intersection (i.e. no sign) and accidentally took the Tiger Mountain Cable Trail down to meet West Tiger 3 trail and back to the trailhead at High Point. All told we think we hiked a 6 mile loop.

The take-home is that this trail isn't well-signed at intersections, so be careful. We never got to a vista, but did enjoy much of the hike, encountering few people until the West Tiger 3 trail.

Parked the car at the empty trailhead around 9am.

Except for the last few hundred feet to the summit (which required some off-trail travel), this trail followed an old road (open to motorized use).

The snow was gone all the way up to the summit, but I could see snow on the road past Iron Mountain.

Some wildflowers (Balsamroot, Glacier Lilies and Spring Beauties).

Encountered a group of dirt bikers, a group of ATVers, and a group of hikers.

Photos: http://picasaweb.google.com/eric.jain/IronMountainMay2012
Tracklog: http://connect.garmin.com/activity/182822823

We thought we'd do 2 miles of Scatter Lake Trail, since the Forest Service indicated snow at 2 miles in. But we misread a trail sign and headed toward Slate Creek Trail on the Twisp River Trail #440. And this turned out to be just fine. It was an easy hike through new terrain for us. A few creek crossings, one blow down that required a side trip through the brush and lots of song birds welcoming us to the woods after many months away. Total miles hiked: 4.5 as we turned around at the fourth creek crossing.
I spotted a western tanager mating pair, what a treat!

We went up Mt. Persis starting very early. The road to the trailhead is awful and I wouldn't recommend it for anyone without a high clearance 4WD vehicle (I drove my wife's Subaru Forester and it made it okay, I would not have tried it with my Honda Civic).

The "hike" is only 2 miles to the top but it's 2000 feet up in the first mile followed by a lot of snow hiking with a final 400 foot push up to the top. It took us a lot longer than your typical 2 mile stroll in the park. We used snowshoes and it would have been very difficult without them. Needed rain gear not for the rain but for all of the water coming off the plants taking over the trail. Needed poles especially for the way down in the very steep spots. Needed gaiters for the snow.

Saw absolutely nothing on top. Very cloudy and very low visibility. Good glissading and great snow in most places (except for one spot that seemed kind of sketchy). We took a wrong turn on the way down which ended up costing us a lot of time and energy (be sure to bring your topo map and compass - saved us today). Got muddy as hell on the climb down below the snow line.

I've seen pictures from this hike on clear days and the views are gorgeous. However, this hike isn't for the out-of-shape or unprepared. It's tough.

Full report with my pictures:
http://www.lemarts.com/2/post/2012/05/mt-persis.html

Twin Lakes is a nice early season hike in the Lake Wenatchee Area. I thoroughly enjoyed walking the 3.5 mile trail to the lakes on Sunday. The weather was glorious and the scenery stunning at times.

This trail packs in a lot of scenery in a few short miles. Starting from the trailhead at Napeequa Crossing Campground, the trail makes a short but brisk climb to a saddle next to a rocky point -be sure to take the side trail to see the great view over the White River valley toward Mount David.

Then the trail descends back to the level of the Napeequa River, losing most of the elevation that it initially gained. Now on the valley floor, tt passes by a beaver pond where there is an impressive view of the huge peaks and cliffs guarding the entrance to the trailess Napeequa gorge. Next, the trail passes through a cedar grove with some huge trees.

After an exciting crossing of the raging Twin Lakes Creek on a wet log, the trail begins a steep climb. For much of the way, it ascends a steep-sided gorge right next to the loud waters of the cascading creek. Finally, the trail gentles out, and you arrive at the peaceful shore of lower Twin Lake. The trail rounds its north shore, then crosses a short span of forest to arrive at the much larger Upper Twin Lake. Here there is an elaborate cabin and a weir on the lake's outlet stream to catch spawning fish. A platform atop the fish trap makes a fine place to relax and enjoy the scenery.

All snow is gone from the Twin Lakes trail now. Trilium and Glacier Lillies are abundant. Some blowdown on the trail. Section of trail in the gorge have collapsed and need repair.

Awesome family experience. My big girls 10 and 9 made it the entire hike. They enjoyed the mini water trickles moving through the forest, and also enjoyed the sound of the fast paced water as we hiked along the river. My youngest two 2 and 4 made it only through the initial flat hike and ended at a wonderful rocky river edge where we were able to take gorgeous pictures of the kids, and let them throw rocks and explore the forest. Fantastic day...will go back soon! Next time I will bring a pack and plan to stay longer!

Looking for sun on an iffy day we headed east of the crest for our dayhike.
We started out hoping to climb in trail 1308 to the Old Baldy ridge. However we hit snow after a few miles, and just after crossing the bridge, lost the trail. Not sure of our route finding, we decided instead to cross back to the west side of the bridge and climb up the snow to Kachess Ridge. The snow was easy to kick steps in and the only postholing was near logs. On top of the ridge we found sun, views and flowers. We followed the ridge south the the fire lookout and followed the trail down the southern ridge. The southern end of the Kachess ridge has no snow and lots of flowers, and could provide a snow free day hike to the top of the ridge. You just have to step over a small pile of logs that bars the way from trail 1315.

A nice day.

The brick sign was hidden by cars parked on the roadside, but the fact that they were parked there indicated that that was the trail head (no permit required). If you don't want to leave your car on the roadside, there is secured paid parking on the Paca Pride Guest Ranch a little further East.

The first section of the trail was in great conditions down through the quiet forest. Being an inexperienced hiker, I thought the trail ended at the river, where we stopped for a picnic.

The second section was along the river, starting on flat sand ground. I thought the mud would be dry after a sunny week, but there are marshes and streams around, so it was hard but not impossible to cross the puddles balancing on logs and rocks without sticking the shoes in the mud. The very orange algae puddle observed by Nocturnal on March 27 (trip report below) was still there. I saw some small yellow and purple wildflowers but not as many as I expected.

After scrambling up and down through a couple of streams with small waterfalls to the right, the third section starts where the river goes through the actual canyon. Unfortunately, when the scenery starts to get exciting, there is a big sign saying that that the trail is closed to all users beyond that point.

We saw everybody continuing anyway, which is relatively dangerous because there is no path anymore, you have to climb on rocks and loose gravel on an inclined surface. There are large boulders full of cracks that I'm sure will continue sliding down to the river one day. After the slide area the path becomes easy again.

Only around that spot we started to recognize the remains of the railroad, which was build in a very interesting way. People coming back said it was possible to go through the first tunnel, but recommended not to go any further after the second tunnel.

And I didn't even know there were tunnels! I just wonder how many more exciting surprises the rest of the trail has to offer!

Altogether the round trip took us approximately 2.5 hours.

It is still a bit early for this hike. In the first 2 miles snow patches increase in frequency and eventually cover entire trail at 3475ft. We initially made good progress wearing Microspikes. Unfortunately, we were force to turn around just before the saddle (mile 2)because there were no longer clues of where the trail was. On a positive note, we had the parking lot and trail to ourselves on Memorial Day weekend!

The seven miles of dirt road off of US 2 was manageable in a sedan despite lots of potholes. You just have to go a little slower.

The middle fork road currently was in great condition. I found once I cross the Gateway bridge across the Snoqualmie Middle Fork River the Pratt River Trail was closed due to trail construction requiring blasting. For at least early June expect the Pratt River Trail to be closed. Fortunately there was a WTA work crew that told me it was ok to go to Rainy Lake as the contractors were taking the weekend off. The trail to Rainy Lake takes off from the Pratt River Trail about 1/2 mile from the Gateway Bridge just after crossing Rainy Creek on a new bridge. Look for a trail on the left about 100 to 150 feet from the creek. The trail has a number of muck holes, water on the trail and some blow downs. Most of the blow downs are easy to cross or go around. The trail seems gentle with some areas of very steep climb. After 1800 feet elevation the old growth starts and the blow downs become harder to cross with some down the middle of creeks. I hit snow around 2800 feet making it impossible to follow the trail. It would have been wise to check the Green Trails map (No. 174) before doing the trip as the trail in the upper zone does not follow Rainy Creek. The GPS came in handy in locating the lake. The snow was at least 4 feet deep in sections based on the tree wells. There were a lot of creeks flowing in the snow. I was able to cross on snow bridges. The last part going over the ridge is steep with hard snow making it slow going. I did see short sections of the trail where the snow was melted in this section. I did not do the last 100 feet down to the lake do to the steep slope and hard snow. In summary, the trip through the woods is beautiful with a few nice views of the creek. The hike was slow going due to the snow and trouble finding the route in the snow. Be prepared to have the Pratt River Trail closed for blasting and construction.

Got a late start around 11:30am but managed to reach the top by 3. There were a few blowdowns that were easy to scramble around and some snow near the top that was firm enough that we didn't post hole in. We heard all kinds of stories about snakes on this trail, but never saw any. We did have an encounter with a pissed off looking mountain goat in the middle of the burned out area. Nothing serious, but he looked like he was ready to charge. There were parts of the trail that were a little over grown which led to scratched up legs by the end of the day, but overall it was a fantastic hike.

Was dropped off at the (almost full) trailhead parking lot just after 3pm.

Followed the trail, and then logging roads and dirt bike and horse trails all the way to Eagle Creek, where my car (and dinner) was waiting for me.

Nice views, and amazing wildflowers. Quite a few people on the first two miles, but hardly anyone beyond that.

The trail was dry and in good condition throughout, but could be difficult to follow on the way down to Eagle Creek (none of my maps were up to date).

Photos: http://picasaweb.google.com/eric.jain/SauerMountainMay2012
Tracklog: http://connect.garmin.com/activity/182821870

Some photos from the hike: http://www.flickr.com/[…]/

Nice hike, no snow on the trail. This is generally easy but the last section is quite steep and there are a lot of loose rocks which can be a little tough on the ankles, I'd definitely choose boots over running shoes for this one.

The falls are nice but there is very little space there to hang out, have lunch or rest. We went further back down the trail to have our lunch.

We got to the trailhead around 10:30 or so and the parking was full but some clever residents offer parking on their properties. There is one a few hundred yards before the trailhead for $10 and one very close to the trailhead for $7.

Ethan & I started out to walk part of the Manastash Observatory Road today, but being Memorial Day weekend there were lots of big horse trailer-5th wheel camps in the first mile so instead of fighting the crowds we went back to the old service road (not even a green dot road anymore) about 1/2 mile west of Ellensburg Pass that goes out east along Umtanum Ridge. This road climbs somewhat steeply for the first 1/2 mile, then just follows the ups & downs of the ridge crest gradually gaining elevation. We walked about 2 miles out to Pt 3882. There was lots of nice Thompson's Paintbrush as well as nice lupine & desert buckwheat, but much of the balsamroot was past. We had great views of the Stuarts and of Mt Aix & Nelson Ridge, but Rainier & Adams were lost in the clouds. It was windy & cool & only partly sunny, not great for photography, but we had the place to ourselves.

Dog Mountain is a steep one; but so worth it with the flowers at the peak.

There is plenty of poison oak on the lower slopes, but no rattlesnakes were seen.

The trail was a bit slick due to recent rains, and low cloud cover made for a cold and windy summit. No matter, I pulled on a jacket and hugged the dog for warmth while enjoying the view.

Go early to get a parking place at the trail-head, and expect a crowd. I came down the Augspurger trail and still had plenty of company. Earned myself a well-deserved fishwich at the East Wind Drive-In at Cascade Locks.

With a single day of sunshine forecast for the long Memorial Day wknd, we set out to get in some alpine views, without getting swept away in an avalanche. The lower portion of the trail has a few spots where blow-downs are an obstacle (see previous TR), but we didn't have much trouble.

Snow started right around 4,000 ft. Luckily the snow was soft enough to kick steps into the steep ridge on the way up, otherwise it would have been very difficult. Once we reached the ridge, the steep climb payed off as we were rewarded with views stretching down into Damfino Creek and out to the Coast Range of Canada. We continued up the ridge towards Welcome Peak with commanding views of Baker, Shuksan, Ruth, Tomyhoi and many, many, many more. What a great day to be in the North Cascades!

Went by on our way to Nordrum Lake- found quite a few people that had passed the falls and gave them directions as to how to find them. Added quite a few rocks to the cairn on the right on our way out so we are hoping that will help future hikers locate the turn. A better sign would be good- especially with how popular this hike is becoming! Trail is not overgrown- some trees to hop over and some water as usual but overall- much better than I had remembered it!

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!

Lovely hike with the gorgeous canyon walls, easy creek crossings, birds and other wildlife to see (including some big horn sheep(?) up high on the canyon wall). The only down side was the incredibly large number of ticks on ourselves and the dog. Even after very careful inspections before we headed home, we kept finding more crawling on ourselves and in the car!

There was a small fire about 2.5-3 miles up the canyon that looked like it had been started by lightning earlier. We helped Boy Scout troop 498 clear fuel away from the burnt out region around the tree that had been hit by the lightning and get some water on the flames.

Paid $5.00 to park up the hill. Took the road up and hit a lot of snow. Yax tracks and spikes along the ridge line. Great views from the top. Took Kamikazee trail straight down to save time (very steep). A good workout for my 1/2 trip around Wonderland.

Sun, light winds, & only a few people on trail at a 2pm arrival NEAR trailhead. Snow covers the road to the Pilchuck TH about 1/2 mile from parking lot. A well defined boot track leads more directly up to the lookout building than the normal Pilchuck trail. Beware of snowbridges crossing creeks around rocks and trees. Very straightforward approach, great ski & snowboard conditions.
The lookout is open in good condition and a nice refuge from the wind. The road to TH should melt out in the next week or two, but snow will remain on the trail for quite awhile. The TH bathroom is accessible, but needs some love as soon as the road melts out...

This was perhaps the most awful hike yet, on par with climbing to the top of Mount Pilchuck on a clear summer day. The trail was in quite walkable condition, forcing us to drag ourselves along, despite the auditory assault of the Stillagaumish River at the outset of the trail, followed by the rapids and unending waterfalls, both large and small, of 22 Creek and its tributary system. We could not escape from the rushing waters, occasionally exposing us to droplets of water that caught the sun or powerful waterfalls that exuded a sinister, aqueous mist. Ancient giant cedars (Thuja plicata, actually a cypress species) ominously loomed over us.

As we ascended, our eyes were offended by snowcaps and moutain peaks such as Three Fingers. Climbing farther along the trail, where we reached somewhat mushy but packed snow (poles were helpful) over the last quarter-mile, we averted our eyes from the snow-covered hillsides, intermittent wildflowers, and skunk cabbage that marred the trail. We reached the lake, and stopped for a few moments at the bridge across 22 Creek to use our cameras to document the visual insult afforded by the eastern flank of Mount Pilchuck towering over the partially snow-covered lake. We were witnesses to avalanches on the flank of Pilchuck, marked by thunderous booms followed by cascading spouts of snow. As the boardwalk was covered by several feet of snow, we were mercifully spared the loop around the lake.

To summarize: no buildings, odorless air, no sirens, no car horns, no yelling, no traffic lights, hideous views, and even worse company. At least there were cars in the parking lot (we did this in the afternoon, starting at 3 pm, and parking was available). We'll have to go back sometime this summer to see if Heather Lake is as bad as this one. The photos bear witness to the nature of our experiences. Other reports from May 26 provide the image of Pilchuck rising above and reflected in the lake, so I omitted it here. Gluttons for punishment, check out Thuja plicata in the May 2012 photo gallery: http://www.wta.org/[…]/view

With the great weather this weekend, I had to get outdoors. I did a loop hike starting at the Mason Lake TH to Putrid Pete's (P3), then a short detour to Webb, then Defiance, then down to Mason Lake and back to the TH on the trail.

I expected the connector trail and the trail to P3 to be more of a bushwhack since they are not official trails. I found these trails to be very well maintained. No navigation issue, only a couple of small blow-downs. The ridge to P3 is all melted out as mentioned in earlier TRs. The way to the peak was straight forward. There were no problems. The view from the top was great.

The traverse to Webb is almost completely melted out. The few spots of snow were small, very soft, and not an issue. The view from Webb was even better. In addition to everything you see from P3, the view to the West opens up. There are, what appear to be some serious cornices on the North side of the ridge. Stay on the south side.

The traverse to the saddle between P3 and Defiance is also melted out and straight forward. Defiance still has a lot of snow, so from the saddle it's a snow slog. The snow conditions were good. Not so firm that I was worried about sliding, and not so soft that I was postholing. The view from Defiance is excellent. Mountains in every direction.

Then I dropped down to Mason Lake and followed the trail back. There was only one area that was a bit iffy. The trail over the small ridge to the Ira Spring Memorial is still covered in snow in some places. The hill is steep, and the snow is firm so some caution was required.

I saw about 20 people on the whole trip. All but two of them in the firs 1/4 mile. It's hard to believe you can find such solitude with such great weather on a holiday weekend so close to Seattle.

Left the middle fork TH at 9:08am and everything was peachy until the first major river crossing. TONS of water coming down on both of the crossings- I would not attempt crossing it in the water... Found a large tree down the river a bit and bushwhacked back to the trail. Once we reached the stream near the falls- the trail was almost impossible to find due to avalanche debris. We ended up walking up the stream until coming across the falls then bushwhacking back to the trail (be sure to know route finding and bring a GPS! We reached the lake level but could not find a safe route through the snow (100 yards away from the lake :( ) So we turned back due to safety concerns. So close... yet still alive! This hike is not really hike able yet and I would strongly advise others to wait until the snow melts before attempting.

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.

Since it was Memorial day weekend, and there was still too much snow at most of the other hikes in the state, I had no excuse but to visit Enchanted Valley and explore the outdoors. It seemed as if others had the same idea. The parking lot at the trailhead was pretty packed on Friday night when we got it. We spent the first night at the graves creek campground, so we could rendezvous with the rest of our party (6 in total) as we all arrived at varying times.

We woke up next morning, packed up, and got onto the trail at about 7:30 am. We got to the valley (the chalet) a little before 2:30 pm. We moved at a pretty decent pace, but stopped for pictures, water breaks, and about an hour long lunch at pyrites creek.

The trail was in excellent condition. A crew had cleared pretty much all of the downed trees. There was only a little bit of water on the trail in a few spots. The only questionable part of the trail was the log bridge being out at pyrites creek. But, there was a notched log that was safe for crossing (you don't have to ford the river). It just required a little bit of balance to cross it. (For a pic of what the crossing looked like, check out Joshua Hudson's post right before mine). Snow along the trail was pretty much non-existant, with only a few tiny patches as you get closer to the valley.

We saw several bears and a few elk along the way (especially near dusk and dawn). After arriving in the valley, we found a campsite up in the trees because we didn't want to flirt with the slight chance of rain that was forecasted for the next day. There were a few bears always present in the valley, minding their own business and moving around everyone's campsites.

Because of the holiday weekend, the valley was packed! Good thing there are plenty of places to set up camp. The season ranger station was not open/occupied yet for the season. Of course, the emergency shelter was open. Get friendly with your fellow campers when sharing a bear wire... There were probably 3 bags on each hook over the weekend because of the heavy volume of people. There were also plenty of bear canisters placed at the base of the bear wires.

The weather was sunny and dry on the way in, fog rolled in during the night and next morning, and cleared up again in the afternoon on our way out! We hiked out about an hour and a half faster than when we hiked in. (didn't take as long of a lunch either)

This hike was great. Very flat and hardly any elevation gain. The trail itself was a little tough. We were walking through old river beds quite a bit and had to go over a few small trees that had fallen across the trail. It was a little muddy, but not too bad. There are bridges over a few of the waterfalls, but one did not have a bridge and was a bit tricky to cross.

If you are looking for Otter Falls you will not find a sign anywhere. Instead someone had made an arrow out of rocks pointing up into the forest. There was no trail, so we just followed where we could tell people had walked and ended up finding it. Getting up to it is not easy. You have to go over a lot of roots and up a hill that is not completely stable. If you can make it though, the views are amazing!

Overall, a great hike that I would absolutely do again!

**Directions to get there are very confusing. Basically what you're trying to find is the Snoqualmie Lake trail head. The 12 mile drive that you take is all on a gravel road with lots of potholes.**

Simply amazing trail. I have to say being this close to Seattle, This trail really surprised us at how remote it makes you feal. The begining of the trail is full of loose rocks, so take care. Eventually the rocks fade away and the trail becomes more comfortable. The first part of the trail is in in one word - Steep! (and it seems even more steep going back down) The trail is in fairly good shape up to the Waterfall. After the waterfall the trail sort of shows the lack of use over the past many years. The few small blow downs, washouts, stream crossings and snow feilds were only a slight distraction for us as we enjoyed the beautiful area. We went up about 2.5 or 3 miles and were turned around by snow. It was getting soft and we kept going thru. The trail appears to have at one time been very well mantained. Remains of board walks, and bridges were found at various parts along the trail. Right now the streams are running high, so take care when you encounter the many crossings. We will be back later in the season when the snow melts, to explore further along this amazing trail.

Thank you WTA for your recommendation to hike Beezley Hills Preserve in central Washington. Your criteria for a snow free, crowd free location was spot on! We hiked the 3 mile, old douple track jeep trail at the recommendation of the Nature Conservancy. We took it slowly and really enjoyed the wildflowers that colored the open sagebrush, enhanced by the smells of the desert sage, and the song of the Meadowlark. On our return we were fortunate enough to come upon a Bull Snake, and photographed it as it crossed our path and wound itself around the roots of a sagebrush.

There was still snow on the road but you could get to the trailhead. Snow was still deep but mostly packed and not too difficult. Lots of spray from the falls.

Did a night-run with my brother on Saturday, starting at 10pm. 1st time up Mailbox for either of us this season, and definitely had forgot how tough this hike is. Planning to be done by 1:30am, but that got pushed back to after 2am.

Trail is pretty standard right now, clear for the most part. Some light mud and water at some points, no problems. A little bit of hard packed snow towards the top just before breaking out into the open. It is slick and requires a little bit of care, but easily managed.

Most importantly, however, was that we had the greatest Mailbox find of all time. To whoever left those amazing snacks, we cannot thank you enough. Those were artisan, beautifully crafted with care and skill. Best I've ever encountered, thank you :)

Twin Falls is a short hike jam-packed with most "must see" scenic sights for those wanting to experience the great Pacific Northwest. Today the weather was perfect and the skies were blue.

Along the trail you will experience the views and rushing sounds of the South Fork Snoqualmie River - rocks, boulders and rapids. Huge moss ladden maples, many old cedars, chirping birds, native undergrowth, flowers and berry vines are all around. Switch backs with elevation gain add to the experience and anticipation of viewing Twin Falls.

An added benefit to this hike, you can get a different perspective of the falls from four different locations: at the first set of double benches, the side trail down the wood steps to see the lower falls, from the impressive bridge crossing the river and farther up the trail to view the upper falls.

It was expected to see a great number of people on the trail this holiday weekend. However, it was amazing to see so many families with small children - babies in backpacks, babies swaddled, toddlers running, jumping, crying, falling, talking and experiencing it all. The adult to child ratio was at least 1:1, without a doubt, surpassing the adult to dog ratio today.

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.

I accompanied Goober Canari, his son Mario, & friend JT on this 3 day hike. We started from Third Beach trailhead & proceeded thru the forest about 1.5 miles to the beach. Beautiful day out. We walked about 1/2 mile along the beach before heading back up on ropes & rope ladders into the woods & up & over Taylor Point. This stretch thru the woods was about 1.5 miles. Portions of the trail are quite muddy. We also noted a lot of floats of all various sizes, shapes, & colors along the beach & sometimes in the woods. Folks have made artwork out of many of them. We returned to the beach for a short stretch & then had to go up & around at Scott's Bluff. Returned to the beach at Scott's Creek. Took break there, cooled off in creek. We also had to go up & over a nameless point of land before continuing about 2 miles on the beach to Toleak Point. We rounded the point & camped along the southern stretch of beach. We were camped not far from a natural arch formation rock. I noted a lot of red paintbrush in bloom along the hillside & on some rocks. We later beachcombed before sunset. Saw several seals near Toleak point, including a white mother & pup. Also saw a couple of sea otters. Sunset was spectacular at Toleak Point. Later at dusk we saw some river otters going out to the ocean. Next morning we discovered which tree the bald eagles were nesting in right above our camp. Again sunny Saturday morning but clouds later moved in. We traveled a short distance down the beach & then inland. We saw a huge cedar tree along the trail. Also on this stretch we had to ford Falls Creek (not too bad) & Goodman Creek where we had to remove boots & socks as it was knee deep. When we returned to the beach it was fairly easy walking to Mosquito Creek. After a crossing of the creek on a unstable log we elected to camp up on the bluff. There are a few designated spots up there. Go to the second larger one if open. There is a table, hammock, several lines, a toilet nearby, & a rope down the steep embankment as a short cut to the beach to the south. The only downside is having to go back down to collect driftwood for the campfire. Our 15 year olds were troopers in getting water & firewood. The next day we continued on thru the forest. Right past our camp was a washout requiring a rope for a short distance. Later the trail became really muddy. Mario had a boot come off in the mud but recovered it. We then came to a larger washout requiring rope down and up. We were barely able to make it up, very slick. Later a couple went by above us on a rough bushwhacked trail. I would recommend using that if you can find it. After 3 plus miles of this trail we came to some steep rope ladders leading back down to Jefferson Beach. We took a short break, then continued on. We rounded Diamond Rock & the large boulder field right at low tide. A bit more beach walking to Hoh River where we saw civilization again across the river. Several guys fishing the river also.

Be prepared for a muddy trek on this hike as well as a couple of decent sized river crossings. Great trip with great group. Also recommend the Forks Coffee Shop/Diner for some good grub afterwards. Good time of year to do this hike as no bugs to speak of.

I went to Boulder Shelter for a single-overnight trip. Trail is good beyond Camp Handy and beyond the 3,500' marker. The first patches of snow are at 4200' and starting at about 4400' a number of drifts block the trail but are easily crossed. Approaching boulder shelter I met the real snow level. Camping at boulder shelter had to be done on the cleared ground inside - the rest of the area is all under several feet of snow.

The trail to Home Lake is buried and terrain contours just didn't cut it. The way to Marmot Pass is easy to navigate but there's a stretch of snow on the mountainside where the switchbacks run, and it goes from boulder shelter to the crest. The trail does leave the snow field and moves north according to my map but I didn't find it.

Super easy hike. Casual stroll reached the top in 50 minutes. Lots of traffic on this holiday weekend. Lots of kids (which is cool). Lots of dogs (that's cool too). Lots of dogs without a leash on (not too cool).

The trail was dry enough that this would be a nice trail to run during the week when there is less traffic on the trail.

Perfect weather to hike today. About 60F and mostly clear skies.
 

Headed up to Fourth of July Pass via Thunder Creek. Trail was in great condition until just above Fourth of July camp, where we encountered some patchy lingering snow and a couple blowdowns by the Panther Potholes. The tent sites in Fourth of July are completely melted out by now.

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.

Short, pleasant hike to a very nice view. Plenty of potential for ankle twisting due to rocky trail which at times was also a creek bed. After enjoying the view & flowers (see photo), we returned to the main trail and continued uphill, past some nice views across the valley of the John Wayne trail trestle bridge, until reaching a fast-moving, boot-soaker creek. I didn't want to carry our 25 lb. dog across, so we turned back. Passed a hiker who was coming down and said that there was snow not too far beyond the creek.

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.

Took advantage of the sun to tour the lower part of Tiger Mt #3. The route followed Puget Power Trail to Poo Poo Point Trial, then hang a right onto the West Tiger RR Grade. Took Section Line down to Nook Trail and back. The woods were multi-shades of gorgeous green bathed in light. But the real treat was the wild flower smell along the RR grade. Trail was dry except in the ravines along the RR Grade. Not too hard, great hike.

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.

We hiked from the park entrance up the old carbon river road, enjoying the old-growth forest & seeing how the river has changed course over the past winter. 3 miles up the valley, we headed up the Green Lake trail to Ranger Falls. The trail is in great condition, no blowdowns, & the falls are roaring with spring snowmelt.

Back down at the road, we walked another half-mile up the valley, then crossed the river to view Chenuis Falls. The foot-log crossings of the river are in good shape - thank you, trail crew!

As we hiked back down the valley, we also explored the side trail about one mile from the trailhead that leads to an old mine entrance. The switchbacks up to the mine are steep, but the trail is in good condition.
Early wildflowers are out along the trail - a lovely spring hike. THEM - Olympia.

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.

With the WTA information and all the trip reports for this hike, we headed out to discover Cherry Creek Falls. We did, indeed, find the falls and what an absolutely magical place! A Northwest version of Shangri la and an idyllic summer swimming hole all in one. The hike to find the falls was not easy, however. Like another reviewer, we managed to got in a loop initially, which added probably a mile to our adventure. We did finally find the right turn off the main trail (Note: a sign on a tree at this fork indicates something about forestry area to the left. Go right.), which after a brief uphill, turned into a long downhill leading to the junction where one turns left onto a very muddy little trail, just as described in the reports. What no one mentions, however, is that a ways down this trail one reaches a fork. We took the right hand fork (appearing to stay nearer the river)which proved to be a faily rough and overgrown trail, but took us to the large cedar tree by the falls. The left hand fork, which seems to go uphill and away from the river, is definitely the easier route and does indeed turn back into a road. This is the route outlined in the hike description and the one with the cairn and purple tape marking the turn-off to the camp site and the falls. So, beware the fork in the trail! Overall, the forest hike was delightful and the falls a wonderful reward for our efforts.

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