9 of us from the Mountaineers enjoyed sunbreaks and mushrooms galore on a 12 mile hike between storms this morning. There was one downed tree near the side of the road but the tree down across the one-way just past Mailbox has been cleared.
The latrine door needs to be secured with a rock or it will fall open - evidence of critters chewing toilet paper (well stocked, yay!) for nesting material was apparent. Please, secure all latrines.
Northwest Forest Pass is needed at this trailhead. We arrived at 6:30 for a 6:45 departure at dawn and were first on the trail. On the day we saw one backpacker, 3 day hikers, and two more day hikers about to start at 1:15 when we returned to the cars. Moving time for 12 miles was 5:41 for a 2.2 mph pace.
The trail is in good shape for the most part, with apparent drainage work and at least a dozen bridges to cross. We stayed on the "high trail" going out and "river access" coming back. The "river access" has seen better days, with 8-9 downed trees and branches, some of which we were able to clear as we went.
The best mushrooms are down by the "river access" path which we looped along on the way back, a very nice way to get a little new scenery. Be careful on the wooden bridges as they're slick in the moisture. I slipped on the largest of the foot bridges (NOT the span bridge) but bounced right back to my feet, unscathed.
We only had one dicey stream crossing which is a choose-your-own adventure but passable.
Our "lunch" spot at 10:50 was at the first campground we came to. We spent 25 minutes there snacking. Our bird species included numerous golden crowned kinglets, several Pacific wren, 4-5 thrushes, a stellers jay, a northern flicker, a brown creeper, a towhee, at least one robin, and some chestnut backed chickadees. Among the mushrooms (of which there were a TON including my favorite, several huge conch/shelf fungi) were violet webcaps and fly agaric. I've GOT to learn more about mushrooms, 'tis the season.
We got lucky, not a drop of rain except moisture from trees, and tons of beautiful golden trees on the way out (when we had daylight!) A great group of hikers made this trip a winner. I'll definitely return.
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