I had been wanting to take a trip up the Middle Fork of the Snoqualmie River for quite some time. Imagine my disappointment when finding that the road was closed during the week to recreational traffic. Not to be stopped, I decided to do a trail run along the old CCC road starting from the school bus turnaround on the Mount Si road. I followed the road past the houses, and around the gate where it continues to be a well used road. Finally after about 3.5 miles, you branch to the right and the overgrown CCC road. It's a beautiful trail, with plenty of water sources and wildflowers exploding everywhere. I continued on the CCC road (trail) all the way to the Middle Fork CG, where I took a break before heading back. Because of the road closure, there was not a soul to be seen. Anyone looking for some solitude, could hike up to the campground during the week and have it all to themselves. After my break, I re-traced my steps back to the starting point. Over 25 miles for the day!

Drove up the Middle Fork Road out of North Bend to hike the Sitka Spruce Trail from the Middle Fork Road up to the CCC Road-Trail. I had not done this trail before, so wanted to do a new one. Parked at the wide area on the south side of the "Big Concrete Bridge" that crosses the Middle Fork Snoqualmie River. The Sitka Spruce Trail starts on the north end of the bridge and heads westerly through a stand of old growth Sitka Spruce trees. The trail goes down an embankment and soon crosses a small creek on the log bridge with a railing. Part of the log is getting pretty rotten. The trail stays fairly flat to the second creek crossing as it passes many large spruce and big leaf maple trees. There are some really big old growth vine maple trees too. There is a nice log with chicken wire on top over the second creek, then the trail goes up steeply a short distance to another flat area. Further on the trail gets to the third creek with a large log to hike across. Then the trail heads up steeply again and follows a ridge top to an old DNR logging road that is now just a trail. This part of the trail goes gently uphill for about 1/3 mile, then leaves the old road and switch backs steeply up through second growth conifer before ending at the CCC Road-Trail. There are a few muddy/wet areas along the way, but easy to get by. I headed SW on the CCC Road-Trail since I had not been on this section of that trail. Crossed a small creek before getting to the Green Mtn. Road. Kept going SW for about 1/2 mile and could see there are no views along this section of the road-trail. As I was heading back I met a woman who was out walking/running with six dogs. In talking with her she said she also did hiking, backpacking and snowshoeing. After high school she had spent nine years backpacking around the world. When I got back to the junction with the Green Mtn. Road I met a young woman who was backpacking 22 miles to the Goldmeyer Hot Springs. She said she was training to do the Washington section of the PCT this summer. Then I hiked up the Green Mtn. Road-Trail to the second switchback and found a place for lunch. Had a view out to the peaks to the east. On the way back down after lunch, I spotted a trail heading east. It went about 1/3 mile through the woods to the CCC-Road-Trail and came out about 30 feet north of the Sitka Spruce Trail. Then I hiked back down to the Middle Fork Road. Trekking poles are handy for this trail on the steep sections. If you plan on doing the hike/scramble up Green Mtn., using the Sitka Spruce Trail will save you about 4.4 miles of hiking when starting from the Bessemer CCC Road-Trail Trailhead. Stats for the Sitka Spruce Trail: 1.5 miles one way, 700 feet of gain. Most of the trail is on DNR land, with a short section through King County property. As I was driving away from where I had parked north of the big concrete bridge, I saw a large King County sign board with a permit listed for the DNR to build a 45 car parking lot and restroom not far from the bridge. So looks like DNR has plans for more recreation along the Middle Fork Road. George

We set out from the gate (It's big and blue, for those of you doing this for the first time) at 11:15am Saturday morning. There was another car parked, but no other hikers were ever encountered. We did the lower hike, and the trail is lousy with creeks. Really gorgeous, but the downside is that Blowout Creek is decidedly average compared to the others. We actually hiked all the way past Blowout Creek until we intersected another road, then finally realized we'd already passed the destination. The trail is wide and open, with very occasional light snow covering. There's squishy spots in places, but no large mud pits. Majority is small gravel or dirt. All but 2 or 3 creeks had nice stepping-stone pathways across.

Geezer Patrol was at full compliment for this low rated but enjoyable trail. How does "no-one else on the trail for a whole day" sound to you. The WTA directions are good but the distance along FR 56 is 7.0 miles not 7.4 to the TH. The first mile climbing up to the CCC intersection is your basic FR road walk but it is in better shape than the newly graded FR 56 which should be a total mess again by Fall. The CCC trail is soft underfoot with lots of small stream crossings and decent views south across the Middle Fork valley. It was nice and quiet as well except for the non-stop chatter we added to the local environment. The "Falls" are pretty low key at the 3.5 mile mark - you can keep going along this road for more distance if you wish. Just before reaching the falls is a really fine large log and outstanding southern view with sunshine for lunch if the weather gods are generous. Its a good walk for kids too - lots of stuff to play with including some tadpole eggs which required a serious review by our traveling fossil farm.

Started on the trail @ 10:45AM. A rainy mild day. Trail/Road was in good shape, but lots of water running in each stream. Some of the stepping stones to cross the little streams were covered. If you want to continue on from the Falls @ 3.5 mile, it's a Forest Service Road for a long ways through an area that was logged over 25 years ago. Hour and 15 to the Falls and same time on the return (2 1/2 hrs. roundtrip)