Cooper River Snowshoe — Saturday, Mar. 19, 2016

Snoqualmie Region > Salmon La Sac/Teanaway

This would have been a lovely hike, if not for the snowmobile noise (and smell). Although the book calls this a "quiet" hike, snowmobiles are allowed on NF-46 on the south side of the Cooper River, roughly parallel to the Cooper River trail. At no point on the trail was the noise out of range; we kept hearing it from time to time. At its worst, it was as loud as our voices were talking to each other on the trail. As we drove up to the trail head, we saw dozens of trucks with trailers, each containing at least one snowmobile, so perhaps today was unusually busy -- it may have been the chosen location for a local snowmobile club's outing. During the week it's likely to be quieter. The snow is about 5' deep in most places, and seemed to be melting rapidly since last week's snowstorms. As a fellow hiker we passed agreed, this may be the last snowshoe excursion of the season. Hope this info helps -- happy hiking!