WTA BCRT! (Washington Trails Association Backcountry Response Team.) We cleared the Downey Creek Trail for climbers to tackle Dome Peak this season! This was a five-day volunteer trail crew logout of the six-mile Downey Creek Trail, led by the legendary MtnMike. We got an amazing amount of sawing done. We cleared sixty-seven (!) logs from the trail. And some of those logs were humungous! But in addition to sawing, clearing, and a lot of brushing, MtnMike led the complete repair of a puncheon bridge that had been smashed by a falling log. To replace the broken stringers, we cut a twelve-foot section from a cedar log, split it lengthwise, then notched it to fit the existing sills and stringers. We also cut and shaped cedar treads and rails to replace the ones that weren’t salvageable. We agreed that this super-solid repair will outlast the original bridge. And it’s strong enough to drive a bus across! Everyone stayed safe, had LOTS of fun, and worked really hard! It helped that we had perfect weather. Hooray for WTA!

I showed up for the work party on the Suiattle trail today, but ended up getting shanghaied to the BCRT crew working down on Downey. I heard they were going to do some crosscut, so I willingly signed on. I was assigned to the sawyer team led by Gary, a patient and knowledgable ACL. We started by sawing thru a large log with a rootball at the edge of the trail. Separating the rootball from the trunk was the goal, as the BCRT team was going to move the rootball off later in the week. We then hiked up further, and ran into a huge old growth log laying all the way across the trail. Mike, our crew leader had decided this was too big and too unsafely positioned for a mere WTA volunteer crew. So what to do to make it better? We ended up cutting a nice notch large enough for a boot step and a handhold to help. This is done by making 2 parallel cuts the same depth in the log, then chiseling the middle out for the notch. Trading off the sawing and notching took awhile, but we had time to do a bit of rockwork (and what's a work party w/o some rock work?) before I had to hike back out. The rest of the crew is up there for a few more days, so it should be in good shape for the weekend. Lots of Calypso orchids, including a stand of white ones, trillium, flowering currant, and salmonberry in bloom along with yellow wood violets. The road going in is pretty potholed past the pavement.

Thanks to the hard work of WTA volunteers, Downey Creek trail was in great shape for an early morning run today. It's clear to mile 3. After checking out Downey, I headed down the road to help with a WTA work party on the Suiattle River trail. By the time I left today, the Suiattle River trail was clear just past mile 2.5, and will only improve in the coming days! More details and pics here: http://evergreenendurance.com/2015/04/28/triptrail-work-report-downey-creek-and-suiattle-river/

With a questionable weather forecast and snow levels that dropped for the weekend I opted for a forest/ river hike today in hopes of avoiding a weather turn around. I made my way to the Suiattle River Road and headed for Downey Creek. FSR 26 is in good shape with only a few major potholes on the unpaved portion of the road so cars or anyone shouldn't have trouble getting up into the area. The actual parking area for the Downey Creek Trail is closed for tree removal but there is a pullout with an outhouse just west of the lot back across the bridge over Downey Creek. The trail is marked by a sign that reads "Not maintained for livestock" on the north side of the road across from the actual parking area. There was no one parked here when I arrived and I had the trail to myself on this day, not always an easy accomplishment on a weekend. The trail itself starts with a moderate climb up to the Glacier Peak Wilderness boundary a 1/4 mile or so up the trail then a little further until it levels off and rolls gently up and down for the most part until you reach Downey Creek over 3 miles up the trail. Along the way there were plenty of blow downs (thankfully most didn't take much effort to get around), mudholes, water across the trail and a couple creek crossings. The forest canopy was drippy in the morning but I had sunbreaks for most of the day except when I reached the creek and stopped for lunch. It was clear winter had returned to the trail for the weekend. There were patches of snow in the open areas but they were less than an inch and rarely on the trail. When I stopped for lunch is when I was greeted by freezing rain/ sprinkles for about 1/2 hour or so. There was a minor accumulation of frozen rain on the trail but it melted quickly once the weather stopped. The rest of my day was spent walking is some very green forest with some nice trees and the sound of rushing water. While you don't see much of the creek here as you are above and away from it its rushing water can be heard most of the way until you actually meet the creek. If you like forest hikes and remote locations this is a good, secluded trail for you and the chance of sharing the trail at this time appears to be low.

Started out at about 10 am. parking at a pullout, the parking area was closed. Following a gentle slope which soon flattened out and became a walk through the beautiful old growth forest on a trail that was in excellent condition although the trail was last maintained in 2012, according to the Forest Service. However, there were about 10 large trees across the trail that needed to be either climbed over, ducked under or walked around; coupled with two stream crossings where you may get your feet a little wet. Hiked in about 4 miles and had lunch on the Downey Creek and headed back. Beautiful day and the greens of the forest were magnificent.