Kim and I did two short hikes in one day. First to Rockport State Park along Highway 20 in Rockport then south through Darrington to the Beaver Lake Trail which is opposite the Whitechuck boat launch. My first visit to Rockport State Park. The loop trail around the perimeter and the one mile double loop just south of the highway added up to about 4.5 miles. Lots of huge old growth trees and a plethora of spring wildflowers in bloom. We saw trillium, skunk cabbage, spring beauty, red currant, yellow violets, bleeding hearts, salmonberry, and false Solomon's seal and more. Trails all in good shape with just a few muddy spots. The Beaver Lake Trail was also in good shape. Very recent drainage work has been done. Some mud but not bad at all. More trillium, yellow violets, skunk cabbage, and more wildflowers in bloom. Two easy trails with very minimal elevation gain. A total of just over 8 miles hiked for both. The old growth trees, variety of wildflowers in bloom, and easy access of highways make for great spring hikes. My full trip report with 56 annotated photos is at the link below the photos.

Beaver lake was an enjoyable little hike. Trillium, woods violets,blooming salmon berry stalks, ferns, fiddle heads, and skunk cabbage are noticeable along the sides of the trail. We saw evidence of woodpeckers. Ducks landed, skimming the water and then took flight again. I'm guessing they were Harlequin ducks. Beavers thumped the ground sounding a warning alarm of our arrival on the way in and again on the way out. The beaver dams and evidence of their logging/building efforts were fun to observe. The trail was in good condition for the most part. You will get your shoes a little muddy for sure. Three or four small trees have fallen and cross over the trail. It didn't take much effort to get over them. Two places seemed like they could be harder to cross if you had toddlers or an elderly person with you. One is along the river, in a narrow Sandy stretch. ( see pictures) the other is a muddy section where you have to choose to gush in mud, or go down a small steep decline. You could easy pass these areas. You'd need to assist someone who isn't as steady over these two places. Loved the bridge over the ponds.

Our day was spent roaming the Darrington area visiting a few former fire lookouts. The trail 783.1 (which split off of trail #783 when a river bank collapsed) took us to an old cedar which was used as a crow's nest. This cedar's crown has long since broken off but it remains very large. Spikes adorn one side of this former lookout that the worker would use to ascend to work. After satisfying our needs for fire lookouts we visited the other half of this trail (#783). It was muddy but overall quite fun. We saw significant beaver activity, wood ducks, and evidence of deer. A few spring flowers, trilium, bleeding heart, and skunk cabbage presented themselves. As always it was fun to see the efforts of humans upon the landscape. As usual, nature was having the last laugh:)