My son and I decided on a mid-week hike to Snoqualamie Lake via the Taylor River Road. We left rather late in the morning on Wednesday Sept. 2 and returned Friday Sept. 4. The day was quite warm and the perspiration copious. The trail was quite good. There were however, unmistakable signs of that having not always been the case. Parts of the trail lead up through a stream bed, thankfully now containing only a trickle of water. This would be a trail to avoid during the spring run-off and indeed probably early summer. The only obstacles encountered were about four or five blowdowns which were easily negotiated even with full packs. We didn't anticipate encountering many other hiking parties. On the other hand we were extremely surprised to find ourselves COMPLETELY alone. Not only was there no one at Snoqualmie Lake there was no one at Deer and Bear either! All that solitude within about fifty miles of Seattle and it's multitudes. We made a base camp at Snoqualmie Lake and day hiked to Deer and Bear lakes. The weather was beautiful, the swimming refreshing, and the nights warm and moonlit. The only even slight deficiency during our stay was the poor fishing. The fish just weren't biting! I managed only one morning of fried cutthroat. We were however, well prepared for such an eventually in the form of lots and lots of rations. The hike is long but well worth the effort. Happy hiking.

Spent the weekend at Snoqualmie lake and had a great time. Weather could not have been better and despite the negative reports of those who we passed coming down, the fishing was great! I caught about a dozen fiesty 7 - 12 inch cutthroat - several got roasted over our fire and were quite tasty! Email me if you want an amazingly simple and very delicious trout roasting technique... All of the 'sites' were filled up by Saturday night but Sunday night we had the place to ourselves. Bugs were on the verge of getting bad and we were thankful that fires are allowed at this lake so the smoke would help drive them away. The first 5ish miles are quite easy despite a few washouts and the only real sites are a couple waterfalls and an occasional glimpse of some peaks. FYI - We saw several mountain bikes on the trail saturday - some biked to the Snoqualmie Lake turn-off and then hiked up from there. The final 2 (or 3!') miles were very ugly. For such a heavily used trail the condition was terrible, especially with a large external framed pack. Several hundred yards were spent fighting through overgrown salmon berry bushes as well as several large blow-downs that had to be crawled under or climbed over. Most of the trail seemed to be under water. Was this first a stream converted into a trail or the otherway around' Can anyone tell me what the trail from Miller road is like' Anyway the lake is beautiful with limited camping and access. You are just a short hike to Bear and Dear lakes that are worth checking out while you are there, too.

A soggy start to the hiking season, we made it to Snoqualmie Lake via Taylor River trail on Saturday. The snow line began right at the lake and depth increased rapidly moving towards Bear and Deer Lakes. Small patches of water are open on the lakes (10%), primarily at inlets and outlets. The fish were still sleeping but enjoyed tossing a line anyway. Taylor River trail was in good condition except a few high water crossings. Snoqualmie portion was more challenging due to a dozen blow downs and water running down the trail. Never had to wade across streams but many took some plannning or detours. Overgrowth will be a problem soon in places. By Monday, we watched the lake rise over a foot, nearly overflowing our campground due to heavy rain and 2-3 inches of wet snow. We saw few people, no bugs, and lovely snow capped peaksand pines, so the weather was a mixed blessing for this holiday weekend.

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.

Snow patches began appearing on the trail at 1400 feet (1.0 miles). Snowshoes were not required for travel to Otter Falls, but would be probably needed for travel beyond. I was originally planning to go to Marten Lake, but spotted some fresh cougar tracks at 2400 feet. I like Cougars in the Rose Bowl, but not on the trail. Snowshoes are required for travel to Marten Lake. Deterred by the cougar, I opted for my secondary objective, Otter Falls. Otter Creek at 4.0 miles is not running anywhere near as strongly as last year. All the water was draining through the culvert. The trail to Otter Falls is to the left about 500 feet beyond the creek. There was very little snow by the falls. There is less snow than there was at the end of April last year. http://www.geocities.com/~rangermike