Did some rainy day hikes on Sunday: Ape Cave - road snow free and open to parking lot (however parking lot itself is gated off) Toilets were in rough shape and lots of garbage everywhere - especially in the cave - how sad - return trail mostly snow covered but easy to follow Curly Creek, Big Creek & Lower Lewis Falls - as impressive as anything I saw in the Gorge the previous day. Hwy 90 completely snow free. Rush Creek Falls - This waterfall was listed in ""A Waterfall Lover's Guide to the Pacific Northwest"" by Gregory A. Plumb. It is reached by a rugged bushwack of 0.3 miles from County Stockpile 2-7 on Road#51 (The stockpile - literally two giant mounds of gray stone - is on the right hand side of the road just past mile marker 3 - 4.2 miles from the junction with Road#90) If you go there you will see a large pile of tree stumps, get past them and you will see the remnants of an old road. If you look closely you will see the first of about a half dozen sparsey placed pink flags. These lead you across the old clearcut and to the lip of the ravine. You can't see the river but if you keep heading downhill you can't miss it. We managed to get to the falls and back in less than an hour (including time for pictures). The falls were equally impressive as any of the others listed above and there really should be a more established route to find them. Hopefully this post will help generate some interest in this area. Happy Hiking David&Karen

The trail is in good shape but there's a lot of water. A few times we had to get creative to cross the swollen streams that cut across the trail. We encountered snow about 1/2 mile before Otter Falls but were able to walk on it without any problem. The snow lasted for about 1/4 mile. Otter Falls was spectacular. The abundance of water I'm sure made it even more impressive. We had clouds, sunshine and rain but the temperature was fine and we thoroughly enjoyed the hike. I think that now is a great time to do this trail if you're wanting to get out in the mountains.

We were surprised to have no snow here at this time of year....there was a lot of blow down but it was mostly smaller branches...an easy two miler with beautiful views

MARCH 31, 2000 – TAYLOR RIVER TRAIL #1002 Green Trails Skykomish Well now, who said one couldn’t go hiking in 60+ degree weather in March' My goodness…what a day for a hike on this fine Friday. Gary and I headed up to Middle Fork Snoqualmie land and opted for the Taylor River Trail. A peaceful morning drive out there, and we found two cars at the trailhead at 10:30am. The river was splendid during the first 1+ mile where the trailway on the old roadbed stays close to it, and Garfield Mountain looming directly to the south across the river added a special touch. While well below 2000’, the lowest areas near the river are quite forested and the cold air settles down in there…you guessed it, there was snow not 30 minutes in. Easy to travel, and of course you’d need to be hiking with your pack over your face to get lost, but none the less I wasn’t expecting snow until near Otter Falls. However, once you gain elevation closer to Marten Creek, the snow disappeared and the hiking was a breeze. Marten Creek, and the wonderful old wooden bridge over it, was spectacular. The amble up the creek to the spectacular “tube” waterfall was out of this world! Don’t miss the stand of ancient Western Cedars up there too – they are special. After burning three rolls of slides by the bridge/creek/tress/waterfalls, we continued on. About ½ mile prior to the Otter Falls area, the snowpack was solid, and beginning at a small creek crossing, the snow in the open areas was 2-3’ and very soft. We forgot to prepare for snow and without gaiters decided to call it lunch and stroll on back out. Wildlife highlight: Flushed a beautiful grouse both going in and going out about ¼ mile prior to Marten Creek – wonderful bird sighting! The Middle Fork Snoqualmie Trailhead had only one car in it when we left…will need to go there in the next couple weeks to see how far it is clear and kill more rolls of slide film! Alan L. Bauer 3/31/00

Nanu nanu. Wanted to cheque out the Marten Creek bridge. The trail is mostly snow covered from the one mile point at 1500 feet elevation. The bridge at Marten Creek is still intact, although there are many new holes in the platform. I cut out a few small windfalls, and thanks to a few blokes who had a chainsaw (for ice-fishing), we cut out a few more. There are two windfalls exceeding eight inches in diameter through the first three miles of the trail.