Pratt Connector to Pratt River Trail, Middle Fork Snoqualmie River & Stegosaurus Butte — Tuesday, Feb. 2, 2016

Snoqualmie Region > North Bend Area

A recent trip report mentioned Stegosaurus Butte so I thought that I'd give this little 1/2 day trip a try on my way back from skiing at the pass this morning. First off I haven't been up the Middle Fork the entire time that it's renovations have been going on. WOW, it has really changed. At least yet it has not improved but clearly big changes are coming. Getting to the Middle Fork trail head at 12 miles was arduous but uneventful. Snow was on the road way towards the end but is of no consequence. There were a few other cars there. I didn't bring the map with me and I knew that there wasn't a formal trail. Initially I headed down river on the Pratt River trail. Wow what a mess. It is a gorgeous trail, recently rerouted up away from the river. But a relatively recent wind storm has wreaked some havoc. I went as far as the first bridge (1/2-3/4 mile?) before giving up. There are some serious tangles of downed trees to negotiate. I did find a few faint tracks that I thought might head up Stegosaurus but they all seemed to peter out or get lost in all the downed branches. I then headed upriver from the main bridge on the Middle Fork trail. Sadly it was only marginally better. This time I got maybe 1 1/2 miles up trail before crying uncle. I cut a few branches and tossed many others trying to make things a little clearer.