Arrived by 8:30 on a beautiful Saturday morning and was able to get a spot in the small pull-off area at the trailhead. Was on trail by around 8:50. The trail is in really good shape, and the many creeks crossing the trail were fairly simple to cross with a little bit of rock-hopping skill. Didn’t hurt that I wore my Goretex boots so didn’t really care if I accidentally missed a rock!

Plan was to go all the way to the turn off for Green Mountain (about 6 miles from the trailhead) but I found a nice rock at 5 miles with a good view of Russian Butte and decided that was enough. Only saw a handful of other hikers (maybe 7-8) but I saw lots of wildflowers in bloom (stream violet, bleeding heart, trillium, salmonberry) and was even treated to a very nice concert from a hermit thrush!

Got back to the trailhead at 12:20 and it was full, along with the nearby pull-outs. Apple watch had me at 10.09 miles and 1,062 feet climbing.

One doesn't hike this trail for panoramic views or gorgeous waterfalls. But if you like gently rolling and winding trails, with moss covered trees and rocks catching the dappled sunshine filtering through the trees, with lichens, fungi and ferns (guilty as charged) then this might be a good choice.  These woods are famous for the collection of moss on the trees (especially the maples) that makes them look like giant stuffed apparitions.

The trail starts at the Middle Fork trailhead just on the other side of the access road. I got there at 8:15 AM (early for me), missing much of the morning rush hour.  The single pit toilet was shabby, but relatively clean and stocked.  The lot was nearly empty, but then it was a Friday morning.  On the trail before 8:30.

The trail warms up nicely on the level, with an immediate immersion in green moss.  After passing the campground on the right and a couple of switchbacks it intersected the CCC road heading off to the left. The road climbed gently, passing through a nice alder wood for a while where I enjoyed the early morning sunshine on the white tree trunks.  The elevation gained here paid off.  Once I entered the coniferous forest the trail mostly wound around on a level, with minor dips and rises. The ground is covered with mosses of many types with ferns popping through the moss and many red huckleberry bushes, still several weeks from leafing out.  Old man's beard (actually a lichen) hung from branches, sometimes glistening in a patch of sunshine.  I saw no flowers (still winter) and just a few birds.  Oftentimes I hear the pretty song of the Pacific Wren, but they are very elusive.  This time I caught sight of one who was intently watching me while alerting everyone of my presence.  

The map shows two "dangerous stream crossings" along the trail. Last time I was on this trail we were stopped by the first swift stream at about 2.4 miles from the parking lot, choosing to turn around there and eat lunch next to the water.  The flow was moderate today and I noticed that several large rocks had been strategically places to hop across.  It was easy to cross today (using my poles for security) but may be very different in the middle of a heavy snowmelt event.  The second crossing, about a mile further on, was dry today.  There was water running under the rocks.  

I followed the trail to its end point on the middle fork road about a quarter mile west of the Lower CCC Road trailhead which has a small parking lot.  There is a large curve around a rock outcropping separating the two trailheads.  The one for the upper trail is hard to see from the road so I included a picture showing it closer.

Totals for this trail were 7.6 miles round trip and just under 800 feet gained.  I was back at the car about 1:00 which allowed me to miss the afternoon rush hour going home.  Bonus!

Only three cars in the Middle Fork parking lot by the Gateway Bridge when I arrived. I headed across the Middle Fork Road to begin my hike on the CCC Trail. When I had last done this hike a year ago there were several inches of snow on the ground, none this time. After going by the junction with the side trail going to the Middle Fork Campground, I was soon up to the section of the trail on the old roadbed at the junction with the trail going up to the site of the former Nordrum forest fire lookout tower. Further along the trail enters a nice conifer forest area with moss covered ground. About 200 yards before getting to the giant Red Cedar snag, I decide to check out the cabin I had found off the trail about four years ago.

I headed off trail up through the forest that does not have much underbrush, so is easy to hike. When I got to the steep hill side I needed to go up, I found a less steep route on a 45-degree slope. After going north uphill, I then headed west along the contour of the slope and was soon at the cabin site on a small bench area. The cabin is now in worse shape than when I saw it 4 years ago. The roof has now fallen down. No one had been up to it to do any repairs or other work. Looks like it is now abandoned. Someone had built it illegally on Forest Service land. Since I was last up to the cabin, someone else had been there and had broken open the door. Who ever built it had brought up a lot of materials, many of them pretty heavy to pack up the CCC Trail, then cross country to the cabin site up the really steep hillside. Things like lumber, sheets of plywood, rolls of hog wire fencing, many plastic heavy duty storage containers (some containing boxes of nuts & bolts, screws and other hardware, one was full of jeans) and even some 6-inch PVC pipe. The cabin itself is about the size a king size mattress. The inside was filled with large containers, plus many water and juice jugs. I even saw two new bear spray containers. Plus, it seemed kind of odd place for a cabin location since it was not near any water source like a nearby creek. There are several creek crossings on the CCC Trail. After checking out the cabin, I hiked back down a different route. This one was steeper, but easy to get down using my trekking poles. There is no trail of any kind going from the CCC Trail up to the cabin.

Once back down the CCC Trail I continued my hike past the giant Red Cedar snag. I went as far as the big rocky creek crossing with a lot of water flowing this time of year. You can get across it with some big boulders. I had lunch by the creek as two women hikers and their two dogs came by heading toward the Middle Fork Campground. The CCC Trail is in good shape. Only three downed trees across the trail that will need to be cut out. One Western Hemlock missed hitting a bridge near the junction of a side trail that goes up to a rock-climbing area. I used my trekking poles to get some of the fallen limbs off the trail as I went along. Since I had last hiked this trail, some of the foot bridges now have new side rails.

Only saw two animals on my trip, one Douglas Squirrel on the CCC Trail near the big Cedar snag and a Coyote walking across the Middel Fork Road between the Oxbow Loop Trail and the Middle Fork River Bridge on my drive back home. I had seen a Cougar and a Black Bear on other trips. Made for another nice day of hiking up the Middle Fork Valley. George

Started from the trailhead that is 9.4 miles down Middle Fork Road from 468th Avenue (also known as the Pratt Balcony trailhead); this where the CCC Trail meets the Middle Fork Rd for 0.1 miles. 

From the parking lot, go northeast for 0.1 miles until you see the trail reenter the forest and the CCC #1264 sign. Be warned: 0.3 miles in to the trail, Bessemer Creek is raging with the recent snow melt and rain, making it impassable. We searched upstream and downstream and could not find a safe crossing for our party. We instead returned to the parking lot and went on the CCC Trail to the southwest.