I started the hike from the Windy Point trailhead and headed up the swithcbacks to the railroad grade. Volunteers were active on the trail and it was in great shape up the switchbacks and east to Windy Point. From there I continued on east in an attempt to get to Wellington. About 0.4 miles east of Windy Point, I started to hit snow and pretty soon it was solid snow about 1-2 feet deep. The hiking wasn't too tough, but I kept breaking through areas where streams were running under the snow. I turned around and headed back to the trailhead. I then attempted to drive to the top and come down Tye Rd to Wellington but that was blocked by 3-4 feet of snow right at the top of the road. Guess we'll have to wait a few more weeks before trying to make the full hike. More information and pictures are available here: http://studio711.com/cs/blogs/ben/archive/2008/06/16/14861.aspx

On the 98th anniversary of the Wellington avalanche disaster, the Cascade Curmudgeon and I hiked most of the Iron Goat Trail, skipping only the stretch from Windy Point to Wellington. We parked across the street from the Scenic TH in the plowed-out area by the Scenic area cabins, went up to the upper grade along the general route of the switchback that the CC helped construct last summer, went along the upper grade to the Martin Creek TH, and then back along the lower grade to Scenic. We needed snowshoes the whole time, and actually needed our ice axes in a number of places going from Scenic to the upper grade. There are lots of downed and broken trees and numerous slide areas. The snow was so deep that the tops of the mileposts came only to my waist. The big news is the climax avalanche that covered about a 250-foot swath of the lower grade near stream 3 that probably came down during the same several days avalanches closed Highway 2. It is about 30-40 feet high, full of timber and debris, and exactly over the area where the IGT volunteers had worked long and hard constructing a bridge. Who knows what condition the bridge is in now, and we probably won't know until June or July. It will take a long time to melt out. We scrambled over the avalanche, and on the other side could see tracks of others who had hiked in from Scenic and turned back. It snowed most of the day. We took our time, so we averaged a mile an hour to hike 6.5 miles.

The Iron Goat trail just west of Stevens Pass has many advantages for the beginning hiker. First, it is a former railroad grade, therefore, except for accessing the grade, no switchbacks or climbing is involved. Second, the trail is mostly treed, so it offers shade much of the way. Third, the regular enormous concrete retaining walls, collapsed tunnels, and snow shelter structural remains all offer a surreal experience. Watching nature slowly reclaim the area could remind one of temples in jungles. Fourth, the occasional vistas of the Stevens Pass valley, especially from the Windy Point at the 3 mile mark (pictured) are outstanding. The stretch of the trail is around six miles, but we hiked from the West end parking lot to the midpoint (Windy point) and then returned. One could hike around six miles to east end if you could get your car to wait for you there. I do wonder if the east half of the trail might not offer better views but less shade. Maybe next time we’ll find out. I do know that the eastern half contains this image from WTA website: http://tinyurl.com/yr4unl The trail near Windy Point also features a rather scenic open-air toilet for the exhibitionists among the readers. This trail required the $5 trail pass as do most trailheads in national forests. These passes can usually be picked up at nearby gas stations. The map offered at the start of the west end of the trail is terrible. A much better one is at: http://www.irongoat.org/images/IGT2007.pdf More info at: http://www.irongoat.org Someone’s photo account of the trail: http://www.gngoat.org/iron_goat_trail.htm

Trail in prime condition from Martin Creek to Windy Point. A few snow patches and a blow down to negotiate beyond to Wellington. Minor bridge out below spillway. No big problems.

I packed my rain gear on Saturday morning and headed down Highway 2. I drove up Road 6710 to the Iron Goat Trailhead. There was snow at the trailhead but the road there was easy to drive. As soon as I got out of the car snow started falling from the sky, much nicer than rain. I’ve wanted to check out this trail for a long time but today was my first time. The trail splits from this trailhead, I chose the upper trail. The trail was beautiful in the fresh snow. I took a lot of photos on the way and by the time I reached the second tunnel my camera battery was dead. I turned back there and hope to come back again with snowshoes later this winter.