Last day of my Marblemount stay, needed something to do on my way home.  Wasn't feeling up to climbing, thought I'd see how snowy these 2 trails were - not at all!

I drove a couple miles past Beaver Lake TH to red-letter signed Lookout Tree trail on the R.  I had grand ambitions of fixing the trail across the slide area and joining these 2 trails together again.  Took my new shovel to the trail end but could not find a decent way to get over to the dirt.

The far shore looked so inviting for getting to the same place, I have used it many times.  I decided it was not worth the trouble to hack through the bushes, people will just have to take off their shoes.

I walked back to the car to exchange the shovel for the rake.  Cleaned up the big mess of branches near the start, raked the whole thing, clipped.  Some mud, otherwise trail is now in great shape.  So much better than when I first found it I think last year. 

Back at the car again, it was only 3 so I decided to hike the Beaver Lake trail.  Drove back to the TH, no other hikers on the trail.  I climbed across the broken bridge and all the way to the end where I could see the gap between the trails from the other side.  The part past the view platform is still in good shape, except one massive tree fell recently straight across the trail.

The road to the trailhead was clear, with just a small amount of compacted snow in the parking lot. The first ~10 minutes of the hike has intermittent patches of snow on the trail (maybe 4-5 inches deep, compacted). Since the trail is not steep here, it was easy to navigate these patches without microspikes or any special footwear (outside of hiking boots). 

The skunk cabbage is nearly ready to bloom.  The yellow leaves that surround the smaller spike of blossoms are starting to open up.  I'd estimate that in about 2 weeks they will be blooming. 

The trail is clear until you get to the big bridge that crosses the lake/marsh.  This is now where this hike ends, unless you scramble over the broken (but passable with a little effort and low water) bridge and continue on the trail.  The last .5 miles down to the creek bed has a couple of fallen trees to cross. At this point, a significant washout has rendered the rest of the trail fairly unnavigable, but at low water it's possible to follow the creek bed to the river where you'll find some nice views of snowcapped mountains. 

Even if you end at the bridge, this is a lovely off-season day hike, good for dogs and children. 

Beautiful little hike, but I did not expect there to be six inches of snow on the trail. If you are going in the afternoon you can walk in other people's footsteps, but might want to bring snowshoes if you are going early in the morning given the weather report for the rest of the week. I stopped short when I reached the lake because I wasn't wearing waterproof pants, so I didn't want to risk slipping.

Though the weather and time of year had me thinking this would turn out to be a more interesting hike, the trail condition, precipitation, and temperature were fairly unremarkable for a Washington winter in the mountains. There were a few downed trees necessitating a few big steps and a clamber, but as a whole, the trail was clear, not washed out, and pleasantly flat. 

The trailhead parking lot is neat and small, with a latrine in good condition, though stinky as one would expect. A few signposts at and near the beginning of the trail give some historical context of the trail being a former rail route for logging trains, though other than a general flatness to the path, there were not any huge visual clues about the trail's history. 

Almost the entirety of the trail was gravel or well packed dirt, and except for a few wet spots where water had pooled or trickled nearby, there was a minimum of mud. These few muddy spots were easy enough to avoid, as well as being small enough to simply trudge through with minimal muck collected on the hem of my pants. 

There were a few downed logs across the path, most small enough to step over or around, and some of the larger ones had been notched to make a step. One more recently fallen large tree necessitated a hand on the trunk and a hop. Additionally, a 15ft steeply sloped portion with a notched log made the need for the use of both hands and a modicum of flexibility, so less agile folk may have a challenge, though I found it to be a nice mix-up.

The trail ends abruptly at the Beaver Lake, as a large tree has smashed through the bridge, rendering any further progress unadvisable. The bridge is safely blocked off, and provides a nice viewing location for the three beaver lodges in the marshy lake.

Overall, an uncomplicated yet interesting hike. 

The bridge is out!! Let me start by saying I am a fairly out-of-shape, novice hiker. The trail itself was easy enough for me, but there were some obstacles along the way. The muddy spots didn’t bother me, but the fallen trees were a little bit challenging as I am 5’2” and not super flexible. It was the 2nd tree with a cutout that proved to be the most challenging, especially on the way back. That might be more of a me issue as I am short and afraid of heights.

We made it to the marsh, but the first bridge had been taken out by a tree, and there was no way across other than swimming. We had a nice lunch on a log near the bridge then headed back. It was disappointing that we couldn’t go further, but it was a beautiful day by the river, so it was still a pleasant 3 mile round trip hike.