Twin Falls, Mount Washington — Tuesday, Apr. 26, 2022

I hiked up Mt. Washington via Twin Falls, my favorite way to access the mountain.  Make sure to remove all valuables from your cars as this is a high-prowl trailhead.  Taking precautions might not make your car immune to crime, but at least you won't get anything valuable stolen.  More on that later.

The Twin Falls trail is a pleasant little jaunt through the woods to the viewpoints below, between and above the falls.  This trail is often packed with visitors but there were only a handful of people today (a Tuesday).  I met a nice group of tourists from Finland and maybe a dozen locals but that was it.  Parts of the trail are slick with mud and the stairs near the viewpoints have very tall steps, but they are the only notable obstacles.  The first viewpoint you come to (the one at the saddle w/the bench) is under construction and temporarily closed.

Past Twin Falls, the trail climbs up above I-90 and meets with the Palouse to Cascades State Park Trail.  I turned left (east) and walked a few hundred yards to the Mt. Washington Trail on my right.  The trail takes off south into the woods, climbing steeply for the first mile or so.  The lower trail is very rocky and rugged.  There are only a handful, maybe 8, blowdowns to step over or around.  The second half of the climb is snow-covered, but a clear boot path ascends to the summit.  The transition area between the snow-free and snow-covered elevations is a soaking-wet nightmare for the feet.  Once fully on snow, the main trail is well-packed and I only post-holed a few times.  Near the summit the trail becomes steeper and the snowy terrain is narrow, uneven and broken.  You will get soaked pushing through overhanging branches laden with slushy snow.  I found my microspikes to be invaluable here both on the ascent and descent.  Snowshoes are not necessary.

I made it to the top of the hill in a blizzard and ate a snack, fending off a gang of Camp Robbers in the process, before heading back down the mountain to my car.  I didn't see a single other soul on the mountain the entire hike; rare for Mt. WA even in the snow.  I got back to the trailhead at 5pm and was met by a Sheriff's deputy who informed me of every hiker's worst nightmare: vandals broke into my car then saw fit to light it on fire.  Yeah, I'll uh.. just let you process that one for a second.

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So my evening was spent chilling with the Sheriff and the arson investigator at the trailhead, then I managed to (thanks to Japanese engineering) actually start the car and drive it home.  I had nothing whatsoever in the car, they just decided to smash and burn it anyway.  Apparently they hit several people and locations yesterday in an afternoon crime spree.  Sheriff said Little Si and Mailbox got hit too.  Be careful out there, fellow hikers!

"Nurture strength of spirit to shield you in sudden misfortune. But do not distress yourself with dark imaginings. Many fears are born of fatigue and loneliness."

-Max Ehrmann, Desiderata, 1927