What a beautiful hike.  This was a surprise hike that exceeded expectations.  We got to the gated road around 11:30 and we were the only car there.  The scenery is beautiful and as a partly sunny day we were able to get a few great views of the majestic mountains surrounding the area.

This hike at this time of the year, presents many water streams crossings that may be difficult.  Bring waterproof footwear and be prepared to get your feet wet at times.  We did not make it all the way to the falls, there was one particular stream that was roaring and we didn't feel comfortable crossing it so we turned around about half a mile short of our destination.  It was not about getting wet, more so about getting a twisted ankle by stepping on slippery rocks.

We were by ourselves for the most part.  We just encountered two other people on our way back.   Beautiful forests, trees and views of some peaks.

Attempted to hike the Blowout Creek Trail, but didn't get very far. We parked along the Middle Fork Road right at the junction with the gated Bessemer Road and hiked up the road to where we saw a sign for the trail. We immediately had to cross a a fairly swift moving stream using a log bridge. The log was slippery from rain and was a little narrower than I felt comfortable with, but we made it across. We hiked another 15-20 minutes, passing mini-streams running perpendicular to the trail every 30-50 feet. We were able to use rocks to skip across these. We finally got to one stream that was wide enough and deep enough that we knew we wouldn't make it across without getting our feet very wet. We decided to turn around here and head back to our car for hot chocolate instead. All in all I think we did about 2.5-3 miles total. Less mileage than we had hoped, but it was still nice to breathe the fresh air. We had the trail almost completely to ourselves. 

Big thanks to Jasper & the Girl Scouts for their previous trip report! I'd recommend reading it as much of it was still true today. Armed with that info we headed up Bessemer Road to the first junction with the CCC Road/Trail. We had planned to head left/west on the trail.

The log with cross cuts was fine for humans but we couldn't figure out a good solution for the dog. As we deliberated we saw someone wade across, but the creek was flowing fairly fast and deep and we didn't feel it was a good option for us, so we changed plans and continued right/east on the road until the intersection with the CCC Trail again in 0.3 miles.

We continued maybe another 1.5 miles once on that trail. Lots of water on the trail, lots of little creek crossings, a few that required some maneuvering. A few peekaboo views of the valley. We didn't encounter any snow, but it had begun hailing a bit when we decided to turn around. Overall a nice ramble for an overcast day - would maybe like to come back when there's snow a bit lower, or continue further up Bessemer road in future.

‘Twas a fine day for a hike in the woods of the Middle Fork Snoqualmie River Valley. What a difference the paved road has made for easier, less rattled access to the many excellent trailheads. I have led several hikes in the valley and find the ‘shoulder’ months perfect…mostly. 

We arrived with Plan A and Plan B; both the Discovery and NW Forest parking passes, and our new Green Trails Map 174SX to cover all possibilities. Trailhead sign asks for the Discovery Pass—we put out both! Plan A was to head up Bessemer Road and then westward on the CCC; Plan B head eastward if the Blowout creek crossing was too dicey. We went east! 

There is a log across Big Blowout Creek at the junction of Bessemer Rd and CCC Road/Trail; it even had a flat top and handy indented cross cuts to reduce slippage .However not all of the Girl Scouts in our group were down for that adventure today. The water level was too high and flowing too fast for wading and all the rocks were submerged, so no rock hopping. Since it’s all or none we went with Plan B. And glad we did. We later talked to a cyclist who came from the Teneriffe parking area and reported ~30 creek crossings with about 8 in the ‘dicey’ or just ‘icey’ range. 

With Plan B in place we headed east to the Tall Moss Cliff section of the CCC……it’s only .3 mile on the CCC Road to meet the junction for the CCC Trail on the right side. The first thing we noticed was how bright green the moss was along the trail; and the spooky feeling the forest gave off, perfect for 3 days after Halloween. We hiked (sloshed) along for a bit more than 2 miles on this section, a little up, a little down for an easy hike rating. The 12 creek crossings in those 2 miles ranged from an easy step over, to almost too dicey;  but with helping hands all made it. We shared our tips on how to rock hop to avoid unplanned water entries. Those with Gortex lined boots were dry at the end of the day…others not so lucky. 

We hunkered down under a few fir trees and enjoyed our lunch before returning. The scouts decided not to bother changing into dry sox since there were those 12 crossings to do. The section under the Tall Moss Cliffs was pretty cool-we liked the dripping cascadelettes coming off the moss which clings to its face. On our way in we had a peekaboo view of the lower half of Russian Butte and the Pratt River valley; on our return it was enshrouded in fog. Mushrooms however were prolific both ways, and amazingly grew bigger in the time we were out there….rain does that!! So many mushrooms so little patience they have for me to take photos…. 

Finding a geocache and then letting those that wanted to cross the log beam do so rounded out a great hike….albeit a tad damp. Or was it our traditional ice cream stop that topped it off?!

PS WTA directions are right on; if you forget to set your trip meter you get a second chance as the Trailhead is 2.0 miles past the concrete bridge over the MF Snoq. River...No 'facilities' at the trailhead. Very, very limited parking.

The sign at the trailhead says you need a Discover Pass, not a Northwest Forest Pass.