Set off on a monday hoping too find some solitude and great views of Dome Peak. Well, at least i got one out of two. I found a lack of solid info regarding this trail and conflicting info from previous WTA entries so to set the record straight here's a detailed account: The Downey Creek trail has been maintained quite nicely for the first two miles (thanks to the WTA) After a slight climb in the first half mile it follows through forest above the creek. There is a minor ravine crossing just before mile three; after that the trail gets a bit brushy in spots but is in pretty decent shape up to six mile camp (which, just as the map says, is 6.6 miles from the trailhead). This took me 2.5 hours. Here's where the real fun begins. Crossing Bachelor Creek is no problem if you pick the right spot (for me, just slightly downstream). Then, the trail unexpectedly climbs at a moderate grade for a little under a mile as it parralels the North side of Bachelor 'Waterfall'. The first couple miles of the trail are very easy to follow through the woods, although there are at least a dozen blow-downs to contend with. Then the trail begins to alternate between brushy and wooded sections, and by 2.5 miles the brush gets pretty thick! Sometimes you just have to blindly push forward when it seems as though the trail dissapears, but for the most part it is always visible (below the brush!) as a trail. At three miles a prior poster recommends staying on the north side of the creek rather than crossing, but i could not find a trail continuing on the north side, so rather than hacking my way through dense brush, i crossed the creek to the south side with the trail. The next half mile is very brushy, but then thankfully enters woods again for a while. Excellent campsite at 3.5-4 miles. Took me over three hours to get there. The trail resumes through more brush, interspersed with swamp, until finally climbing back through woods by mile 4 or so. The trail once again becomes easy to follow as it climbs up to the ridge in a southerly direction. I reached the ridge top in about 1 hour from camp; unfortunately i was fogged in and had no views other than a few glimpses of lakes below. I imagine the view would have been great! On the way out, i made much better time but got very wet pushing through rain-soaked brush. This was not a horribly pleasant hike. Saw noone until i got to the lot, as three people were heading off to do the Ptarmigan Traverse. I warned them that the weather was going to make their life miserable, but wished them luck. If youre thinking of doing this hike, make sure you do in in the middle of a protracted dry spell!

The trail is in good condition to Bachelor Creek with no sight of snow remaining. There are 2 muddy sections but no brush problems. The trail has about 30 logs on it but only 8 of them require some effort to get by. Most of the logs are between the 4 to 6 mile point. This is much better than last year when there were 70 logs down and many were hard to get by. Bachelor Creek is running a bit high and there is a 12"" log that can be used (butt side).

Downey Creek trail is at about mp 21 on the Suiattle river road (FS 26). There was a lot of wind that blew down many trees in the area of the Huckleberry trail, and this has all been cleared for easy passage. There is no snow on the road. The trail is in very good shape for this time of year, mostly dry and very little wind fall on the trail. The extensive work that WTA has done in the past couple of years to get the trail cleared of major wind dammage has made this trail very nice for this early season hike. At about 2.25 miles there is a creek drainage that has been flooded out for several seasons, and the trail is missing for about 200 feet, but this is easily hiked. There are two trees here that may be awkward to pass if one is wearing a large pack. There are a few other bad spots of trees that are easy stepped over. Snow starts within about 1/4 mile after this creek crossing, and is a foot deep at that area. This spot is marked by a very large cedar log that was cut out of the trail by WTA last summer. My hike was accompanied by the regular sounds of the Telephone Bird (some people call this bird the varied thrush, but they all seem more or less the same to me), a sound that hearalds the start of the summer to me.

We started our hike towards Dome Peak early Friday morning on the Downey Creek Trail. The trail climbs gently along Downey Creek. The trail has been maintained for a least the first few miles, expect many blow-down trees to cover the trail. Getting around (or over) these trees is not difficult, but time-consuming and frustrating. Many small streams cross the trail. Be careful while crossing the wet rocks or logs. I slipped and fell into one stream, so my feet were soaked the rest of the day. We enjoyed eating the many berries which were in season at this time. Downey Creek Trail ends at Six Mile Camp. Don't be decieved by its name or the maps. The trail is more like 8 miles long. Crossing Bachelor Creek is tricky but can be accomplished by walking along the logs which have gotten stuck. I recommend using a long staff or trekking poles to aid balancing while crossing. Bachelor Meadow Trail is unmaintained, which may explain why it doesn't appear on any maps. Not to worry though, so many hikers and climbers use the trail, that it is very well defined but not easy. If you thought Downey Creek had a lot of obstacles, just wait. The trail start up a ridge in the old-growth forest. Many huge, blown-down trees cross the path, and getting past them is not always easy. A few miles from the camp, the trail leaves the forest and wanders into Bachelor Creek gully. The trail cuts a narrow path through the dense underbrush. I would definitely recommend long sleeve shirt and pants, as there are many branches and Devil's Club to tangle with. (A machette or hedge-trimmer might be handy too.) Watch where you step. Rocks, roots, and branches stick out, and its hard to see all of them through the dense brush. The trail crosses Bachelor Creek once more about 2-3 miles into the brush. Slide alder lines both sides of the creek, but the tangle of branches hinders rather than helps crossing. There are a few boulders upon which to step. One the other side, you'll be treated to a few more miles of pushing your way through the jungle. The lushous, alpine meadow growing near the timberline is a treat, but the going is still tricky. Despite an unusually dry summer, the meadow was very moist. Lots of mudholes had to be negotiated or jumped over for about a mile. Next the trail climbs up, then follows a ridge. The going is very easy from here. We stopped and camped in the meadow, near Bachelor Creeks beginnings. It had taken us 10 hours to get this far, and we were tired. However, the trail continues along the ridge, then drops down the other side to Cub Lake and Itswoot Lake. The lakes are another mile or so away. We really enjoyed staying our stay. The weather was gorgeous during our two day trip. We had the whole area to ourselves. The views of the meadow and surrounding peaks were breathtaking. Our plan was to climb Dome Peak, but we hadn't planned on the approach taking so long. The next time I come, I will plan on at least a 3 day trip. Even more time could be spent doing other day trips and climbs in the area. I would also try to make my way up the forest on the western side of Bachelor Creek, rather than enter the jungle, until reaching the meadow. The going may be easier, and crossing the creek would be no problem.

I took a small group of middle school students on this trail with the intention of attempting the Bachelor Creek trail up to Cub Lake the next day. Well, we never even tried as the kids were burned out by the hike to Six Mile Camp. A NOLS group was camped on the north side of Bachelor Creek, so we stayed on the south side. I wouldn't have wanted to have the kids ford the creek with packs anyway. Although there is an easier log crossing to the west side of Downey, we never saw the Six Mile Camp. In the morning we followed a trail to the confluence of Downey and Goat Creeks, but didn't see a clear trail after that. There is very little elevation gain on the Downey Creek trail, but I think the trees took a toll on the group (we counted 36 obstacles on the way out). The trail is clear for the first two miles, and there is a lot of recent regrading work on that section of the trail. I have come to the realization that after a hike with overnight packs, kids don't want to go anywhere. Thank goodness we had a couple of really nice day hikes earlier in the week, including a surprise helicopter landing on Mt. Pilchuck on Monday. Snohomish Search and Rescue gave a lift to a fella (and his supplies) who had spent five days fixing up the lookout.