Union Creek — Saturday, Jul. 23, 2022

The main trail description is fairly accurate, but I think the trail has been worked on to improve it since it was written.  The main problem was that the dirt/rocks was very loose in some areas which may cause one to slip. Going in we had to climb over 40 downed trees (my husband counted)! But coming out we met two volunteers from the Cascadians (THANK YOU!!!) clearing them, and they were leaving the trail much more passable. There were still a couple of very large trees over the trail that they might not have been able to tackle with their hand saws. At about the 1.6-ish point there is a very deep gully/washout that still has water running in it. The old trail was destroyed here, so when you see several logs laid across the trail to block it, look uphill to the right to see pink ribbons marking the trail. These ribbons mark a newer boot track to an easier crossing of the gully and then after crossing will guide you back to the main trail. Just before you get to the second falls, there is a bit of a slide area with lots of loose dirt/ash mix. I was thinking that this would be a bit of a sketchy area if you had small children along. You would probably want to hold hands here. We admired the second falls, then crossed the creek to the “grotto” area of the third falls. There was a log my hiking companions used to get across. I’m not so much of a log crosser, but I had my Crocs, so I waded across. It was definitely worth the bit of extra effort to see the third falls. I don’t know what that original writer was talking about, there were plenty of rocks and logs to sit upon while eating lunch and enjoying the falls. There were many and varied wildflowers in bloom—absolutely beautiful. Bugs weren’t too bad, but we did put on some repellent early on the trail. This was a lovely hike for a warm, sunny day. Even though the trail rambles through the burn area, there still are shady, cool areas to rest, and the new growth looks healthy and hopeful. We enjoyed our time on this trail.