I did a rainy day hike to the Glacier Peak wilderness today (Tuesday) with my dog Daisy. This is a sweet trail, with giant trees of several varieties, moss gardens, a rushing river, and most importantly a feeling of true solitude and wildness.
The whole area of the Mtn Loop Hiway south of Darrington has gotten much more lonely since the ""loop"" was broken by the floods of '03. It is still interesting to look at the damage those floods did. There are several places to stop on the way out and see things like smashed bridges and ""disappeared"" roads.
I only went in two miles or so to the aptly-named Rainey Camp. There were a few blow-downs on the trail, but they were hardly more than step-overs. We spent more time out there than the four-mile hike would seem to indicate. Since both the pup and I had full-on raingear, we were in no hurry. I spent a lot of time just watching the snow come through openings in the canopy.
The roads were fine though FS 49 had streams running across it in a couple of places. I tried to drive up to the Bald Eagle trailhead but was turned back by snow. I probably could have made it, but all alone, in the dark and rain, no chains, no ground clearance, just a shovel, I wasn't going to take any chances to satisfy idle curiousity. All in all it was a full day, including the car explorations we did on the way in and the way out, like driving up the White Chuck road to the washout area.
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