Taylor River #1002 May 27. Went 4.15 miles to Otter Falls (8.3 round trip). Had to rock hop some small creeks. Only a few minor snow patches. Falls were larger and more impressive than expected. Concrete bridge over base of falls makes sunny lunch spot. About 4 easy hours plus lunch.

Another wet and cold day in the Northwest found us on the Taylor River trail. I went for a hike on Saturday to check out the trail before the work party on Sunday. The trail is an old road bed that follows the river 6 miles to the trail junction to Snoqualmie Lake. There is an old rock slide about 4 miles in that requires a little scramble and lots of rock hopping over the stream on the other side of it. This needs a rerouting but is not hard to go through. There is another slide area not far past this one, too. The snow started about 3 miles and was steady for the last mile of our 6 mile walk. It was melting fast though, in spite of the occational snow falling. The trail up the the lake is in a creek bed and could be a long workproject. This trail would be a good canidate for a week long WTA work party since most of the damage is at 3 miles and beyond, and there is a lot of it. One of Sundays volunteers suggested getting the Forest Service to drive us a couple of miles in so we could work on more of these projects. The river is very pretty and it is an easy hike. My book said 500 feet gain for 6 miles. The weatherman also said sun. So, who can you believe these days''''

After a January move to our new home and finially settling in, my wife and I were busting at the seams to get outdoors. WOW promised a perfect Saturday and we decided to drive the Middle Fork to Taylor River and our favorite early spring destination, Otter Falls. The Middle Fork road is free of snow all the way to Taylor River. That section of the road in the national forest is in poor shape but passable. We left the trail head at 10:00am wondering if we would meet the hikers of the two cars that proceeded us. That's the neat thing about Taylor River is all the various destinations. In 1997 we hiked to Otter Falls the first week of April. Considering we hiked two weeks earlier this year, I would say the snow levels are fairly comparable. The snow starts quickly and grows from a few inches to three feet by Marten Creek and three to four feet by the outlet to Lipsy Lake. One hundred yards past the outlet we turned toward the falls and arrived at the campsite above the SE corner of the lake. Just below the campsite we saw a deer skull placed as a marker on a tree branch. The falls and lake were beautiful. The lake is 3/4 frozen and a lot of water was coming down the falls. The snow was unbroken giving us the feeling we were the first hikers to visit this year. After a long lunch the skies began to get hazy and we decided to head back. We never did meet the two other hikers. One probably went to Big Creek and the other made tracks to Marten Lake. We finially made it back to our car by 6:00pm. My wife used her snow shoes and was quicker then I was without having them. The snow is still soft in spots, especially past Marten Creek. It should get harder in the next week or so. All the streams were passable and there are no major obstacles on the trail. We crossed a snow bridge over the outlet to Lipsy Lake, I don't think it will last much longer.

Hiked the Taylor River trail to Snoqualmie Lake. Nothing much to report on the Taylor River trail up to the trail junction where the trail splits to Snoqualmie Lake or Nordrum Lake. The lower part of the trail is fairly rocky. The extra mileage to Otter Falls is well worth it. The falls are spectacular. Made it to the trail junction at 6 miles in a fairly quick 2 hours. However, the remaining 1.7 miles to Snoqualmie Lake took me another hour. The creek bed, I mean trail, is more like a stream than a trail. The trail is overgrown with brush in many places. Route finding is required in the upper reaches of the trail. Look for the the stacked rocks that mark the trail. A good pair of boots is essential as well as rain gear when going through the brush. After the rain on Friday, I would have been soaked without it. The Lake is pretty with good camping spots. Watch yourself on the way down. It would be easy to break a leg. On the way down ran into a group of hikers who wanted to know what was ahead. They didn't have a map. Also ran into two young ladies in shorts and tennis shoes, without water or any other provisions. They informed me they were going to Snoqualmie Lake. Hopefully, I talked them into only going to Otter Falls. A good hike if you want a 15 mile round trip and a little adventure. The entire trip took about 6.5 hours. The trail to Snoqualmie Lake is in need of some serious work.

Left the car at the trailhead at Taylor River. To get there hang left at the bifurcation of the gravel road right past the huge parking lot for the Middle Fork of Snoqualmie trail. The first few miles follow an old logging road along Taylor River. A bit rocky in spots but wide and hardly slopping at all. Things change a bit when you get to where the trail splits into the one to Snoqualmie Lake to the left and Nordrum Lake to the right. There are a few downed trees and the higher you go the more you have to share the trail with cheerful little and not-so-little creeks running down the slope. What with the washouts and the bushes we ended up loosing the trail a couple of times but found our way quickly again. With just a day pack it was easy enough but I would not recommend the upper part of the trail for kids. Couple of nice waterfalls on the way, some beatiful old growth higher up. The lake is still 3/4 covered with ice and there is snow on the trail leading past the lake to Lake Dorothy. All in all a great hike and reaching the lake weas well worth the effort even though we got thoroughly soaked from the rain.