By the time the fog burned off and I figured I better get out and enjoy the last of the sun, it was early afternoon. Too late for the mountains - the foothills will have to suffice. I wasn't even going to do a trip report, BUT ...

I found another balloon - a pink one, so old the writing was gone. Awhile ago, I made a promise to report them every time I find one to bring attention to the fact that they don't just disappear when you watch them float away. They usually land somewhere in the foothills; although I did find one halfway up Pilchuck once. We've all grown accustomed to seeing trash on the trails and logging roads, but the balloons really look out of place when I find them out in the woods. They last forever...

So if you don't want any more of these garbage trip reports, don't let your garbage float away.

Took the kids to the north end of the forest to looks for the gorge.  We wandered a bit and couldn't find a good observation point but the waterfall was neat to see.  I had to keep them close and they could only look from the side because no way was I going to take my three year old on the log where you can view the entire falls.  There were some old fire pits and nails to watch out for by the falls, but they loved throwing rocks in the river.  We found a descent beach spot for lunch and enjoyed the sun until my son fell in the water and was soaking wet.  I'll include the only photo I have that's less than the 5MB limit, but believe me when I say the waterfalls were pretty cool to see.

Wednesday night date night and we drove outside Monroe (after picking up tasty takeout from Route 2 Taproom) to where the hubs likes to go rockhounding.

We parked our car at the DNR gate next to the bridge over Youngs Creek and ate dinner intermittently with getting up for views down at Youngs Creek rushing underneath.  This was my first time here so I am not sure what it SHOULD look like but it sure was a beautiful sight watching the white rapids pour through the carved rock canyon. This was not the official falls but sure seemed like a worthy stop.

After we ate, we walked up the gated forest road, keeping right and gently climbing up towards a cliff wall on the map.  I can't complain it wasn't a "real" trail because we had it all to ourselves!

I didn't run a track but my guess would be it was about a 2 mile walk since it took us about 45 minutes at a leisurely pace to get to the viewpoint.  We just stuck to the main road aiming for a highpoint on our right. The road climbed more steeply then took an overgrown bootpath out to the cliff where the light came through the trees.

There was a nice view of Mount Rainier to the south and the surrounding hills of the Marckworth Forest.  Our elevation was about 860 feet.  Turkey vultures swooped in the wind above us, thankfully not an omen for our trip.

The real excitement came on the way out as it was clear someone was target practicing despite the signs indicating that was a no-go.  Thankfully, he was just on the road and after hollering out, we were able to pass by unscathed.  I'm guessing that is not a normal occurrence and he expected to be alone (even though our car was at the gate).  

All and all a nice wander and I would highly recommend it for solitude!

Update to directions:  At the Stillwater Store on highway 203, the road is “Stillwater Hill Rd”, this becomes Kelly Rd.  Stossel Creek Rd is a slight right at a “Y”.  

The WA Discover pass is required in the Marckworth State Forest.  

When I arrived a pick up truck was driving up the gated road, and unlocked the gate and drove through.  As stated, the road appears well used, so avoid blocking access to the gated roads when parking.

The trail into the forested marshes is easily discovered.  There is a small sign “0.5” (probably mile marker).  This may be a different trail than described in the guide description, this trail does not seem to have been a road.  The trail skirts Swan Lake with several access points to the water.  Not sure if this is a fishing area? the short trails to the shore are reminiscent of fishing holes.  The trail crosses the creek outflow from the lake.  This day there was a rushing stream, too wide to jump, and too deep to cross without waders, but a downed tree of good size over the creek worked as a bridge.  After crossing the creek the trail did look like an abandoned road.  The creek widened to marsh, from the road/trail there were occasional peaks at the marsh but no visible water.  Soon the trail connected with a paved road.  Two walkers informed me the road is access to a water reservoir and is gated.  The road exits at Kelly Road, and is a popular bicycling destination.  Walked up the hill on the grassy shoulders, and passed an area of croaking frogs filling the air with their music.  Next some kind of facility, probably water related, with a sign that due to the corona virus no visitors or tours were allowed.  The walkers had informed me the road is gated with no access for anyone shortly, so turned back, looking for any possible trails continuing along the wetlands.  There was a dirt road, appeared well used and not particularly peaceful, so returned to the same trail.  From this direction, before crossing the stream, there was a road/trail that might be the trail to Swan Lake in the trail description, but decided to stay on the same trail.

Returned several days later for more exploration.  This time found a trail into a logged area on the left side.  A short, well used trail cut the switchback on a deteriorating logging road.  This area is being re-planted and there are boxes of sticks and yellow netting used to protect the small trees along the route.  There are at least 3 different trees being planted:  cedars, Doug Fir, and some kind of pine with long needles.  The varieties are grouped together,so one area has cedars, another fir, and another pine.  It would be interesting to know if this is being replanted for commercial purposes (it seems then it would be all Doug fir or hemlocks) or re-forested for recreation.  The road/trail became increasingly overgrown and eventually un-passable.  Next time I’ll head up the road past the trails at the valley crossing.  There is also a gated road on the left of the parking spot.  When returning to the parking area saw a couple off road motorcycles and some pick up trucks returning from further up the road.  Where I was hiking is very quiet (other than frogs!) so if there is an ORV area, it is far from this hiking area.  The gated roads have signage prohibiting motorized vehicles, but hikers, dogs and horses are permitted.

 Lord Hill was packed yesterday! Didn't even stop. But since I now have a legit excuse to avoid the crowds, and with another nice afternoon in the forecast, I decided to take a break from my never-ending search for toilet paper and head for the hills. Mt. Elwell to be exact. Loaded the bike in the van and headed for Marckworth Forest. (the topo just says "Elwell", so I added the mountain part.) 

Here's what I've discovered about e-bikes :  First - they're freakin' heavy. (This comes into play later when you're pushing them.) Second - you now gotta watch just how much juice you have left. And it eats it up incredibly fast on a steep logging road. Those little bars begin falling like tin soldiers. In fact, the tiny 500w motor doesn't help at all after much of an incline. So you hop off and end up pushing the stupid thing. (most of the way to the top, it turns out. It was splendid on the way down, though.)

Anyway, I successfully navigated the maze of roads, and arrived at the top of Mt. Elwell without even realizing it. Checked my map to be sure my scale wasn't off by like, 100%, and decided this was it. Well.  Umm... yeah. Just a tad bit underwhelming, if you know what I mean. But I decided since I'm here, I might as well find the true summit so I can cross it off the list. So I stumbled uphill through the clearcut and thrashed around awhile, until I found a spot that seemed to be at a point where everything went downhill. It's a stump, actually, but I figured this must be the top. Searched a bit for the summit register, but there was none to be found - so I built a small cairn on the stump to mark the spot. This will have to do until it is officially recognized.

Had my sit looking through the haze at downtown Seattle on the horizon, and contemplating the events of recent weeks. I pictured myself playing the harmonica like Nero as I watched the city below crumble into chaos, the smoke from the fires rising to blot out the sun. Civilization as we know it reduced to fighting over toilet paper. Who would have thought that a tiny virus would lead to an absence of this common commodity, and the demise of humankind?

Oh, c'mon. Y'all need to calm down. Nero didn't have a harmonica, and Seattle is not on fire. That didn't happen - just Elwell and the e-bike. 

P.S.  - Well, damn. This is a first. No pics for you! Seems all the pics I took are too many MBs, so you'll just have to imagine it. Picture a logging road that ends at a slash pile, and a clearcut filled with scraggly young firs. (I'm not selling it very well, am I?)