Road report. The road to Middle Fork of the Snoqualmie River and to Taylor River is open and clear for the first 7 miles from Mailbox parking lot. It is even in better shape than 9031 to Bandera or the Pilchuck road in terms of potholes. At 7 miles there are trees down onto the road but easily passed. A bit further is a large road slump. It is well marked and Astrid the Amazon Subaru got past that easily, too. About 7.5 miles there is snow on the road. A truck ahead of me decided to turn around so I did too.

We never made it to the trailhead because the 15 mile dirt logging road from North Bend to the trailhead was so full of potholes we had to turn around-- after making it only 5 miles in 45 minutes. I do not recommend this road (Middle Fork County Road 56) for anyone without a truck or SUV, and even those folks were seen turning around instead of continuing up the road. We hiked this trail last summer but there seemed to be far more potholes this trip...

Enjoyed a family hike (with kids ages: 7, 10 and 13) to Otter Falls. The Taylor River Trail is very easy to hike but, quite long and rocky. My 7 y.o. was a bit worn out by the end. They loved finding the ""hidden"" falls by the cairns marking the trail. It was like a treasure hunt! The falls are massive (and Lipsy Lake is very cold according to my 10 y.o.) The falls act as a natural waterslide. The kids didn't go up too far for sliding though, as it is fairly steep. They commented they felt like Spiderman while climbing up. Overall this is a fun, kid-friendly hike - especially for older children who can handle the milage. It was 7 or 8 miles RT. The road to the trailhead is your typical rough, gravel road. No trouble getting through. Follow signs to Snoqualmie Lake to find this location. No problems to report on the trail itself either.

The trip to Dream Lake starts nicely enough as you hike (or bike) up the Taylor River trail. It's pretty level and enjoyable and the creeks that were fully flowing a couple months ago are now dry. We brought bikes which saved quite a bit of time at the beginning and end of the trip. At about 5 miles in, we came to Big Creek. We stashed the bikes and took a left turn up a boot trail. The first 3/4 miles is steep but relatively easy as the boot trail is easy to follow. Once we passed the camp site, the trail ended and the bushwhacking began. After some more climbing we whacked our way down to the Big Creek drainage. We hopped up the rocks trying to not get wet and after a while, we got to the bottom of the falls. They were flowing too quickly to get up the rock face, so the only option was straight up the slope to the right. We pulled ourselves up by whatever we could grab and eventually made it to the top of the ridge. There, it got a little easier and we found ourselves on another boot trail. The trail eventually leveled off and soon the lake was in view. We enjoyed our lunch at the dreamy lake and then headed down. We did quite a bit more wading through foliage, climbing over rocks and down little waterfalls, and stumbling down boot trails until we reached the bikes. Then it was a quick ride out. Whew, it's a tough hike...study your topo maps before you start out and bring lots of water!

Nordrum Lake, 20 miles, 2500’ feet gain and two nights. Drive Highway 203 to North Bend and take a left on North Bend Way. Turn Left on 468th Ave. Southeast and pass “Truck Town”, turn right on Southeast Middle Fork Snoqualmie River road No. 56. Drive to the end of the road and park at the gate. A NW Forest Pass is required to park here. The trail starts at the Snoqualmie Lake trail head and follows an old road bed along the Taylor River. After 3 miles Martin Creek is passed and the first of several beautiful waterfalls. The rotten planks of the Martin Creek Bridge have been replaced by a strong firmly planted wood bridge. At 4.5 miles otter creek runs beneath the trail in a huge culvert and a cairn marks a short path that leads up to Lipsy Lake and a small camp site beside the trail. Here Otter Falls drops several hundred feet down smooth granite to a big plunge-basin pool; on one side is a sandy beach area. Further down the Taylor River trail at 5 miles is a concrete bridge over Big Creek and another camp site beside the trail. Here Big Creek Falls flows down white granite into a deep pool. In a fast 6 miles, 750’ foot gain, is the junction with the Snoqualmie Lake and Nordrum Lake trail. On the beginning of the Nordrum Lake trail is a group of three camp sites. During our two nights at these camp sites we heard one person pass and saw no others. At present this trail is not maintained and is a rough, brushy, slippery and very steep scramble trail. At a 1/2 of a mile from the start of the trail is the first creek crossing which can easily be crossed by bolder hopping but the second crossing soon after is a ford unless a thin weakening log is preferred. The trail proceeds through forest passed a few blow downs, exposed boulders and slippery roots. In 1.5 miles the trail goes over a creek rolling down steep granite cliffs. At 2.5 miles the steepness lessens and crosses slippery granite slabs, here are views of the Taylor River Valley and Dog Mountain. A short decent leads to Nordrum Lake at 4 miles 1750’ foot gain, there are camps at the trails end. There is also room to roam around the lake and scramble to nearby lakes. This was a great early summer backpack on a versatile river road with plenty of creeks, lakes and waterfalls used by hikers, backpackers, mountain bikers and a sighting of the WTA trail crew, to a secluded Alpine Lakes scramble.