We (me, my wife, and my dog) began our hike on the Taylor River trail 1002 at 11am, Friday, July 4th. The trail was dry but there were dozens of blow-downs throughout the 6 miles to the Snoqualmie trail fork. These blow-downs are crossable but very annoying for backpackers with lots of gear. Look for cairns on the left marking your way to Lipsy lake. We didn't take that excursion however. The 2 mile Snoqualmie trail was grueling but beautiful. There were no downed trees but the incline offers plenty of leg burn. There is a very pretty waterfall halfway to the lake. The trail disappeared on us at about 1.6 miles. Look upstream and to the left for cairns marking the way. The trail and stream become one at this point leading to the snow. This time of year makes the snow difficult and dangerous. I lost my dog for about ten minutes as she post-holed her entire body into a three-foot hole. I had to pull her out. Oh yeah, leash your dog. Snoqualmie lake still has a good deal of snow covering the campsites. We ran into six others here. It was difficult to find flat dry land to camp. It was colder than we anticipated at Snoqualmie lake so we headed back to the falls to camp by the river the next day. There are a few nice camp sites by the falls and by the river, look for a trail next to a large boulder. I recommend staying there. The rain hit and did not stop all night for our camp on the river. The rain made the trip to the car more difficult as the streams were rushing hard and were impassable for my dog. I carried her across. The streams were up to our knee on the way back but didn't even get my shoes wet on the way there. If I hike this again I am doing it in late August when I can enjoy the lake more and not have to deal with melting and unstable snow.

In the beginning rocky trail to start that leads into numerous down trees that are very passable, but does slow the tempo. 5 miles in reach bridge crossing waterfall nice views on this 70 degree day. Trail has many small stream crossing but in utilizing rocks, trees, and other of the sort very crossable. 2 miles prior to lake begins the 1800 foot elevation rise 1/4 mile prior to lake all snow wet and packed but careful don't know what is below. Lake is beginning to melt spectacular view now but no camping around lake that is not snow.

I injured my knee skiing in April and was looking for an easy but rewarding hike to see how it felt. The 10 mile trip up to Otter, and Big Creek, Falls and back was a good test hike. My knee feels pretty good today so maybe next week I'll try a hike with more elevation gain. Anyway about the hike. The trail goes through the forest the entire way so you aren't going to see anything but trees. However both the Big Creek Falls and Otter Falls at the end were well worth the hike. There are still a lot of blowdowns on the trail. Most are easy to get around, over, or under. There are a couple that take some maneuvering to get through. A couple of the streams that you will need to cross are a bit tricky. We watched one woman slip and fall into the water at one crossing. We got a little laugh out of that. She wasn't hurt and she was wearing an Oregon Ducks sweatshirt. My friend and I are Husky grads. At one of the crossings it is easier to just walk through the water instead of trying to inch your way across the thin, slick log. This creek seemed to be a high traffic point as both times we crossed it there were multiple pairs of hikers on each side waiting to cross. There is snow on the trail just before you get to the cairn for Otter Lake, but it is almost melted away and easy to walk through. The snow makes for a great way for your dog to cool off though. Mine dove face first into the first snow patch he found and then ran around in circles acting like he was a puppy again (If you have a dog you know what I mean). The cairn was only 3 small rocks stacked on top of each other when we got there and somebody knocked it over by the time we came back for Big Creek Falls. I piled more on to make the cairn larger and stuck a stick in the middle so if it lasts it should be easier to see. There is no trail to Otter Falls, just hike up the hill the easiest way you can. I think a lot of people make the mistake of turning around after seeing Otter Falls and skipping Big Creek Falls. We saw twice as many people at Otter Falls than at Big Creek Falls. I was equally impressed with both. The ugly cement bridge at Big Creek Falls actually makes a great place to sit and have lunch while being cooled from the wind and mist coming down the chute. The drive to the trailhead was in great shape until about 4 miles to go, which is the point I think you cross into the National Forest. After that it is heavily potholed. Be carefull the smoothness of the road up to this point will have you probably going to fast and there will be no warning when the potholes start. The driver of the brand new Volkswagen Beattle, that we passed on the side of the road with a blown out front left tire can attest to this.

Today was a beautiful day for hiking. The first mile or so of the trail was in pretty good shape, but things went from bad to worse. Stay off this trail for awhile or you'll have a frustrating, miserable day. There is so much runoff coming down the hills and over the trail that you'll need rubber boots after about the first mile. At around one and a half miles we encountered deep snow the rest of the way and there are so many trees and big branches all over the trail you can hardly navigate through. At 4 miles there is a complete washout and you can't go any farther. After almost two and a half hours we gave up and turned back. They are going to need to spend lots of time and energy getting this trail back up to speed once the flood stops or it will be mostly not hikeable.

Completely free of snow until just below the lake. Yaktrax were handy, but not necessary. The state of the trail remains as the previous poster indicates - Some ominous blowdown at the beginning and very little afterwards. Much of the ""trail"" is a seasonal stream bed. The trail improvements will be welcome indeed as it appears some finesse and know how will be employed this time. The lake was an amazing sight, 95% covered in ice as it was. I had it all to myself and I ate my lunch at a leisurely pace while basking in the warm sun. I'm sure glad I took the day off work! On the trip back I saw a trail runner and her dog along the old logging road that makes up the majority of this hike. These were the only other visitors I saw during my 6.5 hours on the trail.