My daughter had the day off work today so we decided to hike up to Garfield Ledges. Even though we started out with clouds in the sky by the time we arrived at the top the view was beautiful. This is a lovely easy hike if you just need to get out for a short hike. I normally start at the Middle Fork parking lot to get about a 3.6 mile hike. Such a nice relaxing lunch at the top and we only ran into a couple of other groups of two up there.

We camped at the Middle Fork Campground over the weekend of June 15th-June 18th and hiked a few of the trails nearby during our stay. We hiked the Oxbow Loop Trail on June 16th and hiked both the CCC Trail and about .5 miles of the Garfield Ledges Trail on June 17th. 

The Oxbow Loop Trail is a fairly self-explanatory loop around Oxbow Lake. The best views are available from the .2 mile spur trail that is accessible from the overflow parking area (the second signed parking area if you are driving in from North Bend). The trail has a good variety of up and down but is currently overgrown in several areas and could use some brushing. Other than that, I did not observe any  obstacles of note. There is access to the shore of the Snoqualmie River and we decided to stop there for lunch. 

Since we were staying at the campground, we used the CCC Trailhead access near site #13. The CCC Trail can also be accessed from the Middle Fork parking area by walking directly across Middle Fork Road. This section of the CCC Trail is about 3 miles long and ends at another trailhead along Middle Fork Road. This section of the CCC Trail is in good shape with no obstacles to note. Much to our surprise, all the creek crossings were bone dry and therefore easily crossed. Thanks also to the WTA crew on the CCC Trail doing some brushing, bridge cleaning and rock projects! 

Lastly, we hiked to the first viewpoint about .5 miles in on the Garfield Ledges trail before inclement weather blew in late Saturday afternoon. The trailhead is located at the end of Middle Fork Road. The last bit of the road to the trailhead is not paved and crosses a bridge before you arrive at a large parking lot and picnic area. There are several large potholes on this section of the road, but if you don't want to deal with them, you can park at the paved Middle Fork parking area and follow the Middle Fork Connector Trail located at the NE corner of the parking area. That trail will lead you right up to the bridge and you just walk over the bridge to the trailhead. 

We arrived at the Snoqualmie Lake Trail #1002 parking lot around 0830 hours. The road getting there was not bad, but once you get closer and onto the gravel road, it is pothole city. The potholes are full of water, so it is hard to determine the depth of the pothole, so take your time driving around or over them because they are pretty significant. We watched a Lexus bottom out pretty hard. The parking lot only had about six vehicles parked when we arrived, but it was packed entirely after our hike at around 1300 hours from Otter Falls, and since it was still early in the day, why not go on another hike? So, we got into the car, drove to the next lot before the bridge, and decided on Garfield Ledges. It was a little challenging to find, for it was my first time in that area, but we found the trail. When you see The road going up to Goldmyer Hot Springs, the trail is adjacent from the beginning of the road, and the Garfield Ledges sign is located up a little way on the trail (just look up). The weather was wet, but once we got through hicking Otter Falls, the weather cleared up and gave us a beautiful view. The trail is well-maintained; prepare for the ultimate stair stepper once you're almost to the top. Overall the hike was easy, with some huffing and puffing for me, but the view was worth the short distance of the hike.

Edelman and I did a couple short hikes out on the MFS road today--this one and Oxbow Loop (see other report). We'd never been to Garfield Ledges, and since we are about to move to Bellingham (i.e., will be exploring new territory), we decided to check it out before we leave. It's short but sweet, and I was glad that we tacked on the .5 mile Middle Fork Connector each way. The Connector is a really pleasant trail in itself, with several pull-outs where you can sit and enjoy the river, but it also allows you to park at the spacious and non-pot-holey Middle Fork Snoqualmie lot (rather than baha-ing across the gauntlet of gouges that lead to the Garfield Ledges lot and Dingford Creek road). The TH is near the entrance to the parking lot. Back to G.L.: it's steepish, but short, and the view is interesting. On a clear day, I'm sure it would be even more interesting! A brief overview of the history of the area is posted at the top. Flowers on our route included bunchberry, bleeding hearts and vanilla leaf. We saw 6 hikers today. The lot at MFS was pretty full for such a misty/drizzly day, but we love to see it--Northwesterners embracing the moisture-fest! Outhouses at both MFS lot and the Garfield Ledges TH were stocked and in decent condition. RT trip was 3.2 miles. Happy hiking, Everyone!

- Pothole just before and after the bridge near parking. Had read and knew about it and yet missed this. Just requires going slow that I forgot to do. Luckily its a very small section.