For a road update, see the Marten Lake report for this same day. After our adventure to Marten Lake, Bill and I decided to visit a much easier destination. The turn off to Lipsy Lake is about 4 miles up the Taylor River road and is cairned with rocks that say ""cairns"". The side trail is only 5 to 10 minutes to this great little lake with a waterfall which cascades down this incredible rock slab. One of us even took a nap at the lake - very pleasant and relaxing.

What a glorious day to be outdoors! The record-setting temperatures in Seattle translated to pleasant hiking along the Taylor River. But first I had to get there. The Middle Fork Snoqualmie Road is every bit as pot-holed as other reports indicate. There are also a couple of washout areas where the road is ridged down the center, sloping downward on either side. My Subaru had no trouble with high-centering, but low clearance vehicles might have to creep along through these sections. The road was not like this last year, so it must resulted from our record-breaking November rains. Being a Friday, there were only three other vehicles at road end. I had read the report of May 18, 2006 before I went, and was prepared to wade a couple of streams. But it wasn’t necessary. The few streams that crossed the trail were negotiable by rock-hopping. There were several blowdowns, but only a couple presented any problem on the way to Lipsy Lake, and those were minor. The sun was shining on Marten Creek, 3 miles in, by the time I reached the sturdy wooden bridge. I walked up a scramble trail on the west side to get some pictures of the falls. The falls were mostly in the shade at 11:30 a.m. To find Lipsy Lake, continue on 1.25 miles to a crossing of Otter Creek. You can recognize it by its drainage culvert, which is larger than most of the others. Start counting paces as you continue east. The May 18, 2006 report said the trail was 25 yards past the culvert. Harvey Manning, in “55 Hikes Around Snoqualmie Pass”, said it was “several hundred feet beyond”. But I didn’t have the book with me, and was searching at 25 yards. I searched for 5 or 10 minutes and found nothing resembling a trail. Finally, at 100 yards past the culvert was a small cairn, which ended up being directly below the ridge overlooking Lipsy Lake. There is no one trail heading up the slope, but several faint possibilities. You don’t need them. Just strike out from the cairn straight up the moderate slope and you’ll be looking down at the lake, and across at Otter Falls, in a couple of minutes. (The 100 yards from the culvert was all snow-covered, so I had to adjust for the shorter length of my stride, but I paced it off and I believe the 100 yard figure to be accurate.) There were only a couple of sections that were snow covered up to this point. After checking out Lipsy Lake and Otter Falls, I continued on to the bridge over Big Creek, where I stopped for lunch. The sun shone on the wide cascade of water, granting a nice view for a lunch break, in stark contrast to the concrete and steel of the bridge. Ahead were more patches of snow and some significant blowdowns to negotiate. I went as far as the junction to Snoqualmie Lake and Nordrum Lake, where the trail on to Snoqualmie had been obliterated by at least 6 tall trees across the trail, right near the junction. The road-trail continuing on to Nordrum Lake was snow-covered, but the hiking trail to Snoqualmie Lake (with its canopy of trees) was snow-free at this point. On my return trip, a bicyclist passed me, returning from having gone all the way to Snoqualmie Lake. He said it was completely frozen over, and that there had been a considerable amount of snow on the trail as he approached the lake.

Taylor River to Otter Falls/Lipsy Lake. Trail has minimal snow and blowdown but lots and lots of water. Several water crossings are not for the faint of heart. Bring extra socks. Minimal blowdown and snow on trail encountered.

This is a good choice for an early spring day in iffy weather when you just want to get the BLEEP out of the city. Irrationally exuberant potholes last couple miles of the road. NOTE: This old road is on the North side of the valley, so should melt-out sooner than a lot of other places. Substantial snow on last couples miles of old Taylor River Road, but firm, not a significant impediment. Some blowdown and water crossings but nothing corgi-proof. It's mostly fast & easy. Major bridges all in good shape, including a new one. At the old Snoqualmie Lake trailhead (signed), do not let the nest of blowdowns dissuade you. It's the worst (will soon be gone). Trail is mostly snow-free until close to the lake (not what you'd expect; there's snow on the old road but not much on the trail). There are some blowdowns but few of them mean business. We did not go all the way to the lake. Snow starts getting deep but it's firm. Trail is rough in places, rocky/rooty, water on trail, BUT it is surveyed and flagged for ambitious-looking trail work. Lots of old puncheon in picturesque stages of advanced dissolution -- some of it's completely gone. Gosh, does guvmint still pay real people to create real jobs? Hope some of us get our money's worth both repairing and walking this one. There's an ipressive cascade. This'll be really sweet when the work is done; see it before they improve it too much.

The Middle Fork Road is as muddy and pothole-ridden as ever. The last few miles have about a foot of wet snow but the tire ruts go all the way to bare gravel. For a brief blissful moment I had the parking lot all to myself but as usual, another party arrived at the trailhead within a minute of me getting there. Somehow I've shared trailhead parking lots with at least one other group on evey single hike I've done in the past couple of years. I've got to own the record by now. I hike alone. I like solitude. I allows me to think. It's also nice to be able to change into and out of hiking clothes in the parking lot without putting on a free show. I let this group go on ahead of me so I could take my time. The trail was completely covered in a few inches of wet snow. It made walking a slippery affair. I ducked off trail down to the river a few times to get some photographs. The conditions weren't favorible for anything except a breath of fresh air. The river was the best part I guess. Running cold and clear. The forest here is uninspiring. It's a long way to any lakes and they are currently under a blanket of snow. Still, nice to be outdoors.