Had done this trail once prior, also in the winter. It's a decent no-snow winter option that is nearly flat. The first mile and a half reminds me of the flat river basin along the South Fork Skokomish River trail. Overall the trail was in good shape except for a few sections where the trail has become a shallow flowing creek. I was able to walk along the sides of the running water and stay dry. The South Fork Nooksack was running pretty high and had that lovely cloudy jade green color.
From previous trip reports it seems that the large creek at about 2.25 miles in is a common stopping point, which makes good sense. Today it was running knee to thigh high. Looking for crossing opportunities, I walked first upstream and found an old wire bridge across the creek. It still had a few wooden slats clinging to the wire and was anchored on both sides, but was unusable. I then went downstream of the trail maybe 20 yards and found a shallow, wide area which was knee-deep. I traversed the creek here and continued on the trail. After the crossing, the trail soon bends away from the river and climbs up to a higher elevation and continues on this high bank parallel to the river. It also intersects with an old road that leads back in the direction of the trailhead. This portion of the trail was easy to navigate but not very interesting (no views, no river), so I turned around after about 1.5 miles post the creek crossing, so about 3.7 miles from the trailhead (the total trail is described as 4.7 miles).
The best place to take a break and enjoy the river is by taking a short side trail marked "River Trail" on a small wooden sign just a few dozen feet before reaching the creek crossing at 2.25 miles. There the river bed is wide with large sandy portions and has an old structure of vertical wooden pilings on both sides of the river. I only saw one other person at the tail end of my trek.
Lost and Found Hoodie: I found a zip hoodie on a branch near the end of my path (at about 3.7 miles in), and if someone is looking for a lost hoodie, I am happy to disclose where it is if you can identify the color and brand.
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