The last two miles of FS Road #26 is not driveable, but the trail head is still easily accessible (by foot) from the road end. We left the Sulphur MOuntain trailhead (#794) at 11:00 AM in hopes of summitting the mountain and dropping down to make camp for the night at Sulphur Mt. Lake. There is still a lot of brush and windfall, but the trail is relatively easy to follow until the snowline is reached. This happens after what I'd estimate to be about 3 miles. From then on, the routefinding begins in earnest. We managed to follow the trail for about another 1/4 mile by means of trail markers that had been cut into the sides of trees many years ago. (Look for twin notches at about chest height.) At this point we reached a ridge and scrambled up that for about another 1/2 mile to a saddle that presumably overlooks the lake and leads up to mountain. We could not see either due to heavy fog. Lack of a view and the prospect of bad weather caused us opt to head back down to camp on the Suiattle River instead of following the original plan. On a nice day this hike should be an enjoyable trip. You may want bring along an ice axe, an altimeter, and a camera to take pictures of Glacier Peak. (If you're lucky enought to be able to see it!)

The weather has been very nice lately and a lot of the trailheads are melting out.The Mountain Loop Highway and other areas in the Darrington and Granite Falls areas of the MBSNF are still not accessible by normal routes. Some trails such as the Goat Lake trail may require parking at alternate trailhead locations which will require an extended trek in on foot or an approach on a mountain bike. The VEHICLE PROWLERS are also out earlier this seanson. The Lake 22 trailhead had sustained about (6) six break-in's in the past several weeks involving breaking windows,Heather Lake had had(1)one vandalism to a vehicle (tires slashed & windows broken),and Barlow Pass area had had (1)one break-in by breaking a window. With the exception of the Heather Lake occurrence,all have been associated with vehicles that have had belongings such as car stereos which had their removable face-places in them,cases full of audio CD's,purses and wallets with personal ID and negotiable cards in them, GPS, MP3 players, DVD players, cellular phones, hiking gear and clothing,and even a briefcase with tax preparation documents inside of it. Myself and the Forest Service Law Enforcement Officers that work in and Patrol the facilities within the National Forest,have contact with persons who have had the above mentioned items with them in their vehicles...most are out in plain view for everyone to see. This is an open invitation for anyone who might not even normally steal something to do so. These are what we refer to as ""CRIMES OF OPPORTUNITY"". The criminal elements that prowl the forests do not need an opportunity, they are already out there actively looking. Do not give them the opportunity. Please leave any items that are not a necessity at home or throw them into your pack and take them with you. Some people choose to hide them in the trunk of their vehicles, out of sight. The criminal elements have caught on to this and they know that if they break into a given number of vehicles,a percentage of them will produce "loot". Do not be a victim. Clear out your vehicle and leave a note on the dash of the vehicle which states something to the fact of "THERE ARE NO VALUABLES IN THIS VEHICLE"". This tells the criminal elements that you have actually thought about it enough to have cleaned out your vehicle and left the note to let them know that. Chances are they are mush less likely to take the chance of breaking into a vehicle that has been posted as a "CLEAN VEHICLE". Please report any suspicious persons and/or vehicles to the nearest Ranger Station,Public Service Center,or to the Local Police. Call 911 from any local phone,or contact the 911 Center (SNOPAC) from your home outside Snohomish County,or your Cellular Phone at 425-407-3970 or 3971. Cellular service is nor likely while in the National Forest unless you are at an elevated location,but call as soon is convenient. Your call could be the one that leads the police to the person(s) responsible for the break-ins. DO NOT BE PARANOID ABOUT THESE ISSUES,BE AWARE AND EDUCATED ABOUT THEM. Now get out and enjoy the great outdoors! =(:0)) Deputy Rasar

We parked at the end of Suattle Rd at the road block 1/2 mile from Downey Creek. The bridge over Downey Creek is still washed out, but someone has fashioned a nice 15 ft ladder from logs. We usually don't go hiking without our blue heeler dog, who is afraid of heights and 65 lbs - so we rigged a dog elevator to lift her over the bridge from a dog crate and rope. It took all 3 of us to successfully pull her and push her up the ladder. After the bridge, we walked about 2 miles down the road, which runs along the river. There are many abandoned campgrounds here. The Sulphur Creek bridge is partially washed-out, but easily passable. We turned left on the Sulphur Mountain Trail. This trail starts very steep, but mellows out soon after that. With our packs, we had to stop and rest many many times, so it took us about 5 or 6 hours to reach the top. Although we never actually reached the very top because we ended up in a snow storm, with the trail completely buried in snow at about 5500 ft. It was warm at the trailhead, but a little rainy, but it is dead winter at the top of Sulphur Mt - if we stopped moving, we were immediately shivering and worrying about frostbite. We decided to set up camp at 5650 ft rather than the top because we wouldn't have a view anyway with the clouds and fog in the way and the weather was very intimidating. We camped to the left of the clearing in some trees, where we tried to sleep through a very cold night. We thought we had forgotten one of our sleeping pads, so the person without the sleeping pad slept on cold ground shivering all night - in the morning, we found the pad tucked behind some things. When we awoke, it was like Christmas morning! It had snowed all night and there was about 3 inches of fresh powder on everything. It was still snowing when we woke up - it was a lovely scene. We never did get to see any views due to the clouds and fog. Instead of trying to cook breakfast, we decided just to book it out of there and get to lower ground where it was warmer. On the way down, the snow now covered the trail for about halfway down. We were glad to have our trek poles, but still took a few falls. The trail is very narrow with a steep drop off the side much of the time, so we were lucky none of our falls were more serious. It took us only 2 1/2 hours to get back down to the road, then another hour or so to reach our car. Now, the next day, we're so sore, we can barely climb the stairs in our house! What a hike! I'm thinking we will wait until August to ever go on this hike again.

As always this area of the Suiattle offers great opportunities to enjoy Washington’s finest outdoor experiences. I was left with a day to play and decided to re-checkout accessibility to the area. What I found was a tricky crossing of Downey Creek (may need to bring a 12 foot ladder). All trails checked were in very good condition for hiking. The Forest Service website says everything is inaccessible but that probably stretching the truth. There is parking a couple hundred yards before the Downey Creek Bridge. Go enjoy the area and voice concern about the crossing of the Downey Creek (it survived the floods, but not the bulldozer the FS hired to remove the cars stained beyond). Suiattle River: A couple of washouts beyond the Milk Cr trail Jct. Only one is 150 yards and requires some bashing to get around. Beyond there are no major problems. I’m sure that Miners Ridge is beautiful as usual. Milk Creek: After the loss of the major crossing of the Suiattle River, I was happy to see two good logs to make the crossing near the former bridge site safely. The log down stream survived the Winter, but is a bit intimidating to cross due to its small size (I crossed on it in November). Better have good balance and can take the rushing water below, fall-in and you may not survive. Once across, the Milk Cr trail is 60 feet inland. The other log is upstream above Rivord Creek and is safer to cross due to its size, but is harder to get to and to the Milk Cr. trail. I hiked the trail a couple of miles to the stream coming from Twin Lakes. I hear the footlog across Milk Cr is in great shape. The trail has just a couple of logs to work around. This will give access to Vista Ridge and Red Pass areas. Remember the Skyline PCT bridge (upper Suiattle) is out and no safe way to cross. Downey Creek: I actually hiked this trail a couple weeks back and it’s in good shape. As one knows, Downey creek can have some major blowdowns to battle. However this year I found about 5 logs that required a bit of effort to get through, none too difficult (all others easily passed without effort). The log across Bachelor Creek is about ready to go (probably will only last through this season) and will probably be a chavel. There is thick Salmonberry between the 3 to 4.5 milepoints, and it is hard to see the trail in some place. If it’s wet/damp, you will get soaked. For those going to Bench Lake, the old log across Downey Creek @ Bachelor Creek is gone. There is a logjam upstream that will provide a dry crossing. As for the old log across Goat Cr, it’s unknown whether it survived the floods (ran out of time to check it out). The Ptarmigan Traverse folks will need only to worry in upper Bachelor Creek. For those wishing to hike the “true” PCT, it should be comforting to know that there are good logs to cross the Suiattle River at the former Milk Creek bridge site. This would be a good option for those that do not want to do the non-scenic recommended route around Glacier Peak. The usual problem would be the Kennedy Creek crossing (no log). I hope to do a trip from NF Sauk to Suiattle River now that there are good logs across the Suiattle. Some photos at: http://www.mtnmike.com/WTA/Suiattle2/

I would like to add important updated information to the previous report by MtnMike of Nov. 9, 2003. The bridge where the Suiattle River Road, FS Road #26, crosses Downey Creek is no longer passable for hikers. If you plan to hike or ski or snowshoe in this area, you will have to ford Downey Creek. There is no constructed ford at this location, and any crossing will be dependent on water flow, and fluctuations of the natural river condition. It will probably be a wet ford, and sometimes very dificult. My recent discusion with the Forest Service in Darrington suggests that access plans are still being evaluated. I recomend calling Darrington Ranger District, 360-436-1155 for further updates. The forest service may be posting a new photo that shows the present condition, which is quite different from the photo that Mike had shown.