Olallie State Park - Olallie Trail, Mount Washington & Twin Falls — Tuesday, Jan. 25, 2022

I drove out to North Bend for a jaunt up Mt. Washington starting at the Twin Falls TH.  There were only 4 other cars in the lot when I arrived around 9:30am.  The Twin Falls Trail has a handful of down trees to cross but they are easily managed even by a novice hiker.  There are several places where you will need to navigate very large step ups/downs mostly by the stairs leading to the falls.  I had the place to myself as I climbed past the falls and up to the junction with the Palouse to Cascades State Park Ironhorse John Wayne Trail or whatever it's actual name is.  You know, the rail trail with the long tunnel.  Once there I turned right (west) and hiked about 3 miles to where the Olallie Trail begins its ascent back to the southeast.  I ran into a work crew cutting up some of the many trees that had fallen on the trail.  They tried to turn me back initially, citing dangerous tree hazards and an unknown number of blowdowns on the path ahead.  Not to be deterred so easily, I offered to scout out the trail ahead.  If I got turned back, I could give them a first hand trail report.  If I didn't come back, then they'd know I made it through and therefore the trail probably isn't all that bad.  They agreed and sent me forth into the wild upon my scouting mission.  The Olallie Trail is certainly a mess right now but totally doable.  There are countless down trees but most are small and easily negotiated.  Intermittent snow starts around 3000ft and becomes continuous by 3500ft.  This trail is lightly traveled and there is no packed boot path, so snowshoes might be required on warmer days when the snow softens.  The snow was icy and hard today with the clearer, cold weather so I could walk on it without snowshoes.  Micro spikes were a must in the icy conditions.  There is a small avalanche/mudslide about 20 yards across that you will need to hike over, but it is no trouble if you watch your footing.  Once at the junction with the Mt. Washington Trail, I realized I didn't have enough time to summit, so I hiked back down the Mt. Washington Trail and called it a loop.  The MWT has a solid boot path in the snowy sections so there is no need for snowshoes, but you will definitely want microspikes unless you want to look like a dog wearing roller skates.  There are some more fallen trees to deal with but they won't slow you down much.  I made it back to my car at dusk and just in time: the ranger was sitting at the TH waiting for the stragglers to get back to their cars.  Good thing I didn't summit!  Next time I'll start earlier...