Drove out of the Seattle fog zone to find some sun and check out this brand new trail. Although the trail is impressive the trail head itself deserves a shout out as well.
On the drive in there is a short stretch of maintenance on the middle fork road where they are fixing back up the road slump, but with minimal midweek traffic there was no delay. The trail head parking is immediately beyond the Taylor River bridge, watch for pre and post bridge potholes, and there is plenty of it. As we were getting a late morning start we opted for lunch in the sun at the trail head picnic tables by the river first. A gorgeous sunny spot, almost warm even with the weak November sun.
There have been quite a few recent reports so I won't rehash those but I will add although this is a short 2 mile round trip, it is not a trail for elderly grandmas. The trail takes off at a good elevation gain and keeps that up most of the way to the ledges. Almost 700 feet in about a mile is no walk in the park and enough to get your heart rate up for the half hour, more or less, that it takes to pop out at the view point. Plus those stairs! The trail is a beaut although with one steepish slick spot not really tennie shoe appropriate at this time of year. The forest is a mossy delight and there is also a mid point view up a the Quartz Creek Valley, a good place to stop for a breather. Short and sweet was the opinion of the day.
The view from the ledges is definitely worth the drive in, and short trail time, especially if you want a quick escape. After taking in the wide vista we retraced our steps and were soon back at the car. Then we drove back down the the middle fork trail head to view the ledges and Mount Garfield from the river's edge picnic area there. Looking at the map (Cal Topo) later, I see there is a trail between the two trail heads. Next time I need to explore that some more as that would be a nice add on if you are looking for some more mileage. The other option is to hike the ledges first then return up the valley for the new Oxbow Lake trail. So nice to have all these new middle fork options and hopefully year round too.
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