For the most part the Mountain Loop Highway on both the Darrington and the Verlot sides faired well in the recent rain storms and flood events we all saw and read about in the news. The area received no noticable flood damage,and with the elevation in the area,the snowpack pretty much survived intact. We lost perhaps a foot or so of snow,but that means we still have several feet left on the ground. The road leading up to the Heather Lake Trail on the Pilchuck road is now bare and wet up 6/10th of a mile beyond the highway,and there's still a couple of feet of wet,slick,packed snow the last 4/10th of a mile to the Heather Lake Trailhead. A reminder of my prior posting...beyond the first 1/10th of a mile the road has been plowed out by private residents so they can access their homes.They have turnouts plowed for parking,use them and DO NOT BLOCK OR IMPEDE DRIVEEWAY ACCESS. Trail conditions to the lake were reported as good over the weekend,but with the rise in snow levels expected,who knows what to expect the next few days.Good snow remains for the kids to play in at the Deer Creek Road play area at mile post 23.0. Safe Hiking! Your Forest Patrol Deputy

Winter is once again upon us and the MBSNF has once again been hit with a heavy dose of snow this last week. The Pilchuck Mountain Road is a Forest Service Road,but the USFS does not plow their roads in the wintertime for access.The Snohomish County Road Department plows the new Pilchuck Mtn Bypass (the first 1/10th of a mile above the Mtn Loop Hwy) and Private Residents plow another 3/10th of a mile to their driveways. Park at the junction of the Old Pilchuck Mtn & Bypass junction. The road is narrow above that point. Any vehicles parked blocking the road above there or the residential driveways will be subject to ticketing for Leaving Unattended Vehicles Parked in the Roadway (RCW 46.61.590) or will be towed if deemed a Traffic Hazard or interferring with traffic flow in/out of the private driveways. If you are looking for a good snow play area for kids, I would suggest the Deer Creek Road Parking area MP 23.0 of the Mtn Loop Hwy...11 miles east of the Blue Bridge at the Pilchuck Mtn Rd at MP 12.0. Thank You and Happy Hiking Forest Patrol Deputy

We wanted to take a picture of Heather Lake with MT. Pilchuck as backdrop since most pictures of Heather Lake that we came across only showed the bottom portion of the mountain near the lake.When my wife and I were at the trailhead, it turned a little cloudy, but we decided to hike to the lake any way. It was muddy and wet along most parts of the trail but by the time we reached the lake, the sun was out and the scenery was great. Since we started out late, we had the lake all to ourselves. Fortunately, there wasn't too many bugs around to spoil the fun.

Heather Lake was beautiful and clear of snow. Just a bit muddy up top. Seasonal glacier and avalanche debris on the far side of the lake. Only a few bugs.

The trail was clear up until about 1/4 mile from the lake. After that snow took over and covered most of the trail. It was relatively easy to follow other peoples dirty footprints to get to the rest of the way to the lake. Very busy with lots of other people to follow if you get lost.