I did a morning hike up to Mount McCausland and Lake Valhalla and got the variety pack of fall trail conditions: water, mud, snow, ice and slush. Right now this hike is a good warm up for winter hiking.
The Smithbrook trail part started out with water on the trail. This turned into mud on the initial switchback portion up to the junction with the Pacific Crest Trail. The mud wasn't too bad though, more wet than slick. Past the junction most of the trail had snow. Closer to the ridge where the Mount McCausland Trail splits off, snow turned icy.
I decided to head up Mount McCausland first. The snow here turned slushy with occasional spots of dry trail. Enough people had been up that the trail was easy to follow from the tracks in the snow. I made it all the way up without spikes, but put them on to descend.
The true summit had some minor scrambling, an awkwardly placed blowdown, and a little bit of exposure. There are some nice rocks to sit on and some great views of the mountains to the north. The peak register features an interesting book with the life story of Norman McCausland the forest service fire official who the peak is named after.
So far I hadn't seen anyone on the trail, but when I turned back on to the Valhalla Trail I saw a few hikers. The lake had four other people.
The lake was perfect conditions today, but cold. So far there's no snow near the shore and no ice on the lake. The birds, camp robbers and a blue jay, were really aggressive. A couple of hikers sitting on the beach had food stolen out of their hands.
On the way back down, spikes were extremely helpful. A few people were coming in, but not too many (it was a Wednesday).
I had a 38 degree temp reading starting out. The reflection of the snow seemed to make it warmer, especially on Mount McCausland. Hike clocked in at 8 miles total, and about 1900' of elevation.
One more notable thing was the drive in. Highway 2 has some really stunning fall colors right now, especially between Skykomish and the Pass. The drive in was almost as nice as the hike. (Also I should mention that if you dread Highway 2 traffic, going up midweek if you have the opportunity is a reverse commute and there's none of that usual backup you get on the weekends.)
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