Eight of us enjoyed a surprisingly dry day as we followed the White River on the Skookum Flats Trail. This was a Welcome to Hiking hike run by the Tacoma Hiking and Backpacking Committee and we had several new hikers and folks new to The Mountaineers. Our Welcome to Hiking hikes are geared towards newer hikers with a slower pace and low elevation. The Skookum Flats Trail is perfect and full of lovely forest moments.
All of our hikers enjoyed the lush landscape, large Douglas-fir and Western Red Cedar trees as well as a plethora of moss and mushroom varieties.
The trail is in great shape and we enjoyed traveling across some improved bridges done by the Washington Trails Association this past year.
We ventured to the side trail leading up to Skookum Falls. A conversation was had about the level of difficulty and cautions. Some folks held back while others proceeded. The trail up to the falls is steep and proper footing is a must. Once at the falls everyone enjoyed the beauty of water flowing through the mosses and fall colors still showing their beauty. The waterfall is low flowing for now but still magical. Remember when a hiker goes up, they must come down unless it is a loop. It took about the same amount of time to come down as it did to go up due to the steepness, loose rock and soil on the trail.
Returning back down safely to the rest of our group, we enjoyed a snack break before venturing back to our vehicles. The hike back was fun with everyone getting to know each other more and sharing about the many offerings one can participate in with The Mountaineers.
We made it back to our vehicles, thanked everyone for attending with hopes of sharing more trail time in the future.
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