Deception Creek — Saturday, Jun. 10, 2017

What a good early season trail! I was looking around for something for an overnight that had at least a little elevation gain and some opportunities for more than a few miles, and this delivered. I thought I'd be dodging all kinds of people all day and night regardless of the trail I picked for this weekend with so much still under snow, but I think I only saw 10-15 other folks the entire weekend. Only 5 or 6 cars at the trailhead when I got there a bit late at 10:45 on Saturday.

The forest service road up from hwy 2 is pleasantly brief. There are some major potholes to maneuver around, but my 99 Toyota Corrola made it just fine. The last hill up to the trailhead is pretty steep and I skidded out, so anyone else in a compact car, just make a running start and you'll be fine.

No major snow to speak of along the Deception Creek trail, maybe two 10 foot patches that may be gone by next weekend. 2 or 3 blowdowns I think, only one took a scramble to get over.

The falls at 3 or so miles in are gnarly, running so high right now! Really cool to see. Lots of trillium (white and purple) along the way. A bit muddy in some areas, appreciated my waterproof boots but probably not required. One 10-15 foot puddle covering the trail along the way.

Campsites at 5 miles at the trail junction are quite nice. I reached there about 2:30, and decided to head up to see how open Sawyer Pass/Tonga Ridge was. Everything looking good up until 1/2 or 1/4 mile from Sawyer Pass - just lost the trail in snowbanks and headed back. Saw a ranger on Sunday that said they tried getting up to the intersection with the Tonga Ridge Trail on FS Road 6830, but could pass some snow. Also saw a couple folks coming back from trying Deception Pass, they said that was too snowy yet also...