This was the first of 3 easy hikes we did on this Valentine's Day! The TH is 9 miles from Darrington on the Mt Loop HWY. There is no TH sign, but turn right at the arrow beside the HWY and park in a large area off the HWY. (FR22 and the bridge across the White Chuck is on the left side of the HWY.) After about 1/2 mile on the trail there is a small area where the trail was destroyed in the Nov 2006 storms. There is a fallen sign stating, "trail is no longer maintained beyond this sign". The washed out area was easily walked.The trail to the lake is muddy in many areas and the tread is worn in other areas; however, the trail is very doable and very enjoyable until coming to the end at the impassible slide near the Sauk. We may not have made it to the slide itself as we were just beginning to view the river again in an area where there were many trees across the trail. It hardly seemed worth the effort to work our way around the trees when it appeared we were nearing the slide area. There are many old-growth cedars on both sides of the trail after passing the lake. These 2 areas are flagged with pink ribbons which somewhat detract from the beauty of the trees and the lush, green forest understudy of ferns and mosses. There were several blooming skunk cabbage shortly before the bridge which crosses the lake. The hike s 4 miles RT.

This was our second hike of the day. In the Hike of the Week website Craig Romano refers to this as The Lookout Tree Trail which is the rest of the Beaver Lake Trail beyond the washout after the lake. The TH is 2.3 miles south of the Beaver Lake TH. There is a small turnout at the TH with room for 2-3 cars but no obvious sign until you're out of your vehicle. The trail is 1.5 miles RT, loses 200ft at the onset and brings you to more beautiful cedars. One of these cedars is signed 15" in diameter. It is now dead but once served as a lookout near the former site of the old Sauk Ranger Station. There is a fir across the trail near the beginning, but otherwise the trail is in fairly good shape.

We chose this hike today because there hasn't been a trip report for almost 3 years. We left Bellevue at 930AM and were hiking by 1120AM. (We followed the directions in Bob Mooers' book "Winter Hikes" that we bought in 1998 when we first moved here. Hike #40 "Beaver Lake Trail".) There is no visible MP 6 marker on the Mountain Loop Hwy as indicated in the guide book. Instead, look for the arrow sign on the right across from the White Chuck Boat Launch as you approach from Darrington. This is just before the pavement ends and just after crossing the Sauk River. Trailhead parking area is smallish. The converted railbed/trail starts off wide and smooth, paralleling the Sauk River. After a scant 1/2 mile, the first washout appears, with the old rails sticking out from the bank. It is easy to cross, so we forged ahead. After crossing a trestle-like foot bridge over a marshy beaver pond (is this the lake???) we came upon some old growth, the area marked with pink & blue ribbons. After this spot, the trail is quite overgrown, with lots of tree fall to climb over and under and occasionally at the same time! Then at 1.6 miles we approached the major unpassable washout that is marked at the TH map. (Craig Romano's trip report from 2007 says this is passable. It is not passable now.) The river makes a wide bend here, and we watched a few eagles from this vantage point. We turned around and headed back to the car, after about 2 hours of leisurely hiking, so we could drive down the road to where the trail comes out and hike down to see the big cedars that Bob Mooers mentions. 2.3 miles down the road to a small turnout and "hikers only" trail sign and we were hiking again. The trail descends quickly and there is more tree fall that begs for a chain saw at less than .1 mile in. At the bottom of the descent, the big trees await. And the biggest, 15 feet in diameter with its own sign, has been dead for a long time. We expected to see a living biggie, as this fact is not mentioned in Bob's description. There are railroad spikes up the back of the tree for someone's lookout perch. We kept going, hoping to get to the lake. And then in a scant 1/2 from the road is another sign "Trail not maintained beyond this point" - and there we were, at the big unpassable washout we left a short while ago from the other end. Yet this time, we heard more eagles as we approached. Bill saw a juvenile fly across the trail into the thicket so we stood still and watched. Sure enough, 1, 2, 3, 4 of them flew across the river. Two baldies, two juvies. Then we watched some more and two more flew across to follow their friends. Wow, 6 eagles in less than 5 minutes. And then we headed back, passing a partial skull of a possum, we think. And as we approached the big cedars again, we heard a sound - a dead thud - not like a gun shot or anything natural to the woods. Bill said it sounded like someone busting out our car window, but thankfully he was wrong. We were back to the car (with all windows intact!) in less than an hour. This was not a rhythm or distance hike, but a perfect winter hike to get outside, smell, breathe and enjoy the fresh woodsy air. Even with breaking the hike into two parts, it was worth the drive. And it begs for a little maintenance. Some of my pictures are too big to post (1.1-1.4mg each) - bummer! Total hiking mileage was about 4.2 with negligible elevation gain.

The hike along Bare Ridge to Bare Mountain gains at a relatively gentle pace and is snow free at the moment. However, the 100 Hikes books leave a bit to be desired. First, this trail gets very little traffic and less maintenance. Second, the instructions in the book are confusing at best and wrong in several instances. Let's start by getting there. The sign on the Mountain Loop Highway never mentions Bare Mountain and you have to drive up into the entrance before you see the FS 4020 marker. Look instead for the Ashland Lakes markers. The road is in good shape to the Ashland Lakes trailhead. The first mile is on abandoned forest road intersected by small ravines until it crosses a bridge. From there it gently rises, using lots of puncheons and turnpikes until it gets to the big rock high point. The book says it drops 500 feet to the Pilchuck River source but that must be a misprint. I'd be surprised if it is 50 feet. From there the trail is rough and overgrown, sometimes obscured. It climbs steadily with no views and there are lots of blowdowns and broken trees. Barbella and I cut as many as we could and tossed them off the trail but there are more than two gals with a corona can handle in one day. We got to 5.5 miles before turning back. There are no good views or places for lunch along the way, so we bushwacked up to a crown of rocks to get at least a dry place to sit. Could not see any lakes promised in the book and the trail makes no attempt to break out of the forest to overlook the valleys. We did take side trips to Upper Ashland Lake and Beaver Lake. Both are very close to the main trail and mostly boardwalk. Very easy to reach. We hope next time to approach from the Sultan trailhead and maybe see the Cutthroat Lakes.

Good news sort of-The Beaver Lake Trail survived the deluge of November of 2006. There is a small wash-out at .6 mile which can easily (kind-of)be negotiated and one bigger wash-out at .75 mile that can also be walked around. The rest of the trail-the beaver lake bridge and giant cedar grove are intact. The trail will definitely need some rerouting-but it shouldn't be too difficult.