Today I celebrated hiking 10 years in the PNW by getting poured on in the Middlefork. 

I got a very late start and was considering a few options in the area, but ultimately decided on returning to the CCC, a wonderful short hike near the Middlefork campground. This trail never lets you down. I've worked on this trail. My partner and I were married off of this trail. Always lush, quiet and low key.

Beginning from the FS 57 entrance close to High Moss Cliff, I took my time walking in and had a good break at the creek opening about a mile or so in. The trail meanders another mile and a half or so to the campground however this is always a welcome stop point. I observed a variety of banana slug slithering about the dry creek rocks. Listened to a few birds and the wind. No frogs to be seen unfortunately; this time around. 

Turning back, since it was close to 7pm, I reflected on how grateful I feel to have the privilege to explore the incredibly special and beautiful lands across this state of Washington. It seems to never get old, even though I do.

RT 3-ish m/350ft   

Had the trail to myself until the turn around point then had 6 people with bikes and dogs come past. The parking lot was relatively empty. Salmon berries were everywhere.

I've been wanting to try this hike for a while and today was the day.  I was inspired by Pika Seeker's report from a couple of days ago and took a detour from the main trail almost right away to find the viewpoint beyond the Nordrum Lookout. The "Lookout" itself has no views and there are no intermediate views along the way.  Approximately 1.6 miles and 1,450 feet elevation gain after leaving the main CCC trail, I was rewarded with a beautiful view overlooking the Taylor River valley (and a crazy steep dropoff just below the viewpoint - be careful!) Certainly not a quick or easy detour but it was worth it and I don't think I've ever seen so much Pacific coralroot along one trail before.

Back down on the main trail I savored the minimal elevation gain over the the rest of the hike.  The CCC trail is shady, lush, lined with ferns, and the salmonberries were ripe and abundant!  There are only partial views the rest of the way until the very end of the trail (at which point you are less than .25 miles from the main Middle Fork road).  However, I enjoyed the wildflower hunting and came across some Pinesap, Red Columbine, Goat's Beard, Queen's Cup, Little Pipsissewa, Twinflowers, Pacific Ninebark, Bunchberry and few others.  I did not see anyone else during my entire hike.

After the hike I stopped by the  Middle Fork Gateway Bridge to check out the river and then wandered down for a snack at one of the picnic tables with a gorgeous view of the river and Garfield Mountain!

10 miles, 4 hours and 30 mins, 2,300 feet of elevation gain

Today's goal was to check out the legendary Quartz Ridge Trail and the site of the old Nordrum Lookout. The hike starts on the upper CCC Trail, and heads up the mountain just past the Middle Fork Campgrounds. There apparently used to be a low fire lookout here. (There's an excellent trip report about the history  from trip reporter George & Sally if you go back a couple of years in the trip reports.)

It's a nice trail to the lookout site. There's a sign on a tree listing the dates it was active. This is reminiscent of some of the old historical remnants in the Issaquah Alps. All that's left are some cables, foundation blocks and such.

Beyond that the trail continues with a quick dip through a creek gully, and then somewhat steeply up, although there are lots of short switchbacks that make the elevation gain easier. It was obviously well maintained at some point.

At around 2500' there's a turn off marked with sign for a viewpoint overlooking the Taylor River. The view is pretty nice and there's a place to sit. It's also a great turn around point. 

Above the turnoff to the vista the trail turns more or less into a climber's path, and it's great to have route finding skills and GPS if you continue up. There are several good viewpoints at around 3200' and 3400.' Today I followed it up just a bit past 3400' at which point the route finding became annoying and I turned around. 

In some old trip reports folks had mentioned there being flagging on the way up. I didn't see any of that today. It's also remarkable how quickly bear grass can obscure a trail.  

Today's hike was 6 miles and 2480' of elevation gain.

Hey… today was a solo hike up one of my favs, the Upper CCC.

Got to the Middle Fork Campground lot about 9:30. Several cars and folks getting on gear. They must have gone the other way cause I had CCC all to myself. This hike is great for quiet solitude - saw just one biker and on the way out two pairs of folks going in. 
This trail has tons of lovely plants right now including: Solomons Seal, Lilly of the Valley, Salmon and Thimble Berry, Huckleberry, ferns and moss of all kinds and of course a beautiful surrounding forest trees. 
Birds I heard today included Pacific Wren, Black Throated Gray Warbler, Robins, Chickadees, Golden Crown Kinglet, Northern Flicker and while eating a quiet lunch, an Osprey flew overhead making its distinctive call. 

I hiked from the TH 1.25 miles to the big cedar snag, then beyond to the various stream crossings (most are completely dry and the couple that aren’t are simple to cross). Onward I went all the way to the intersection with the Middle Fork Road. That’s about 3.4 miles one way. 
Turned around and ate lunch just above the road, then headed back to the car getting there by 1:15. 
I’ll be back!