The CCC trail is so confusing with all the different access points off the middle fork road, making trail conditions tricky to research, I decided the best way to find out was to make a reconnaissance trip.

I parked at the (newish) Oxbow loop main trail head and hiked west along the short connector trail popping back out on the middle fork road about a hundred paces east of the closed DNR blue gate, the "official" trail head mentioned in the trip description.  Doing that meant not having the hassle of tight road side parking in front of the (do not block) gate.  Plus it adds some great views.

From the blue gate the road trail then takes off heading north on the (green trails map) named Bessemer Road trail, you cross over the milky-gray gentle looking but aptly named Big Blowout Creek on a sturdy but decaying bridge.  It's then a gentle incline on wide tread (it's a well graded forest road) for about a mile to a big turn in the road where the signed CCC trail joins the Bessemer Road trail from the left (west).  To access this western headed CCC section you will immediately have to cross Big Blowout Creek.  Other reports mention a narrow log, perhaps it was there and it just didn't register as a log-bridge.  Anyway looking at the water flow and the rocks it would certainly be in the "difficult to cross" category right now so I decided to continue on up Bessemer Road to check on the east-bound CCC section.  So for about a third of a mile the CCC trail and the Bessemer Road trail are one and the same.  You cross a brand new culvert a hint of things to come. 

At the bend in the road where the CCC trail is supposed to leave its Bessemer buddy and continue east is quite a sight.  The washout from, what, two years ago now did a huge amount of damage.  I could see the old sign for the CCC trail in a heap of debris and walking further up the newly fixed Bessemer road the scale of the washout is impressive.  I was able to find some flagging alongside the washout directing you across the very low flow and steppable new creek bed, but this new access  point is right under a couple of trees that look ready to come down at any minute (perhaps a result of that east wind we had last week).  After taking a couple of pictures I decided that was enough exploring for the day and after hustling back past the ominous leaning trees I enjoyed the views of Russian Butte et al from the road back down to the gate, and then back to the Oxbow Loop parking lot.  RT about 4 miles.

I'm actually not sure which option to choose for the section of the CCC trail I did today! In the past I started from the East most point of the trail (from the Middlefork Snoqualmie Trailhead) and hiked to the washed out bridge and back. I kind of assumed that was the Upper Trailhead? But then looking at the map on WTA it looks like the Blowout Creek Trailhead is the Bessemer Trailhead? I'm so confused. Anyway, I'm attaching a screenshot from Gaia so you can see where I started.. The blue line is a previous trip, the red line is today. I parked at an unsigned pullout with about five other cars. My goal was to hike all the way to the end of the trail, but I stopped a little short because I was running out of day and I didn't feel like hiking in the dark today. That's ok, I have a plan to come back and conquer the other end. :)

Anyway, the first 2.7 miles to the Bessemer intersection were easy going. Some very minor creek crossings and mud in this section, but nothing bad. I got a late start but still got to enjoy some nice foggy forest and sunbeams coming through the trees. Also had a pleasant conversation with an older gent who has done trail maintenance here in the past. He was the only other person I saw on this section of the trail. 

Where the trail meets up with Bessemer Road there is a bunch of slide debris to climb over (downed trees and rocks) which is annoying but doable. The trail follows Bessemer Road briefly (saw two hikers here) then crosses a more major creek that has a scary log bridge with no railing. I crossed it rather than get my feet wet, but hated every second of it. It really wasn't that slippery, but it made me nervous.

A little ways after that I came across a work party of four using power tools to brush out the trail. They had parked on Bessemer Road. (Thanks guys, and sorry for my awkward attempts to get your attention so I could pass...) I ended up going until just a little past a trail intersection for Sitka Spruce Trail/Green Mountain Trail and then decided to turn around due to time. The part of the trail between Bessemer and my turn around point had several creek crossings that were difficult, not in the safety sense, but in the not getting your boots wet sense. I got my boots wet, despite my best rock hopping efforts. There is also one downed tree that was kind of annoying to get through (it had a lot of branches so I definitely had to go THROUGH it).

On the way back I saw two more parties in the first section of the trail, both of which asked me where the trail "goes to." I explained that it goes real far. lol. So, not a totally unused trail, but also not crowded. This is a good option for a day when you want a long or short walk in the woods without much elevation gain (I'm still testing out the ankle I sprained at St Helens two weeks ago!) Mostly it's "just" forest, but there are a few nice little peekaboo views of the valley and surrounding peaks at points too!  According to Gaia I did 13.64 miles, but it felt much shorter since there wasn't any real elevation gain to speak of. 

We parked at the Oxbow Lake Trailhead paved pull out on the right, shortly after the gated road entrance (on the left), so as not to impede access as we had 5 in our party all driving themselves.  Short walk back up the road to the trailhead at the gated road.  Gravel road walk for a little over a mile up to the actual trailhead which is marked on your left.  Then the first creek crossing.  We just walked across the log, which some were more comfortable than others doing, but we didn't have any mishaps. Then the trail turns into a decommissioned road, but it's pretty nice, especially since we were trying to keep a social distance among friends on this hike. Lots of stream crossings on this trail, which we all found fun, but we did do some slipping here and there on wet logs or rocks, so be CAREFUL!  At about 2.5 from the start of the hike you hit Wise Creek, that was our most difficult crossing, but we all managed it either on the logs up stream, or rock hopping down stream.  After Wise Creek we continued on for another mile (a little over) to Brawling Creek, which was easy to cross and was our turn around point.  We ended up doing 7.4 miles with 700 gain according to my GAIA gps app, which I highly recommend as it has saved us many times from getting lost.  Fun hike, not terribly exciting, but lots of fun stream crossings which could be harder at certain times of the year.  Still beautiful Middle Fork forest of moss, ferns and large old tree stumps.  A few views across the valley to Russian Butte, but not a view hike.  No snow anywhere yet.

Mostly stopping by with a trip report to say be really careful about how you park here. We were the first ones in this morning, and on the way out a truck was coming down the road with some rocks, and we heard him lay on the horn after he passed us. Turns out, at some point after he went up the road, two cars parked on the road-side edge of the pull-off, effectively blocking the gate because of the cars which were parked on the tree-side shoulder. There is another parking area about 100' down the road, so when in doubt, find a better parking spot. I felt really badly for the truck driver. Who knows how long he was going to have to wait for a tow truck to come.

With that out of the way, we parked at 8am, the first ones there, walked up the road, hung a left onto the trail, which is the first creek / water crossing. It has a nice tree trunk across the water with criss-cross cuts to help with traction. I marked this as "obstacles/difficult stream crossings," even though that is completely relative. We counted on the way back out, and we crossed ~35 streams --- only counting the ones that were moving and noisy. Of those, about 3-5 were a bit challenging, requiring careful consideration of how we crossed. I find it's best not to underestimate water crossings, you know?

The trail is in great shape otherwise. Saw a rough skinned newt, lots of fallen leaves, and a few mushrooms. The sun peaked out on our way back, giving way to some great light on the trail. We ended up walking about 4-miles in before turning around after a spot where two trees were down across the trail. 

We didn't see anyone else until we got back to the road, which is when we saw about 10-15 people in 4-5 parties. Hopefully they come back to their cars just moved and not fully towed. 🤷

As other reports have mentioned, the 7 mile RT distance in the hiking guides is incorrect.  5 miles RT is more accurate. The initial mile or so on the road is pretty blah going in.  Coming back, however, you get some nice mountain views.  Once the route branches off the road and becomes a real trail, it is a pleasant wood walk.  The track is not wide and there are no spectacular views, so disregard that information in the hiking guides; but the trail is in good condition.  There were a lot of stream crossings.  Only the first one (near the road-trail intersection) is difficult. The log across the creek was small, narrow, and wet. We are not as nimble as we once were. So we straddled the log and scooted ourselves across. Not elegant, but effective.  We had a pleasant lunch in the sun next to the very scenic Brawling Creek.  We saw no one else on the trail.