The road to the trail head was closed, but you can park at the turn off from icicle creek road and hike the 3 miles to the trail head. The last mile of road is covered in snow, but there is a nice packed walkway from all the use and what's left is melting rapidly. Starting up the 8 mile trail was a. It muddy but mostly clear of snow. Once the trail plateaus the snow returns. When you enter the alpine wilderness about a mile into the hike you may want to strap on some snow shoes. The snow is 2ft deep in places, so step carefully on the packed in trail. I ended up turning around about 1 mile before reaching Eight Mile lake because i was hiking alone and made the poor decision to leave my snow shoes in the car. Needless to say I never made it to any of the destinations mentioned in my trip description, still I thought it might be helpful to post!

I have never been to Squire Creek Pass in February. There is some icy snow on the trail for the last half mile, but the Pass is clear. The granite slabs that have water flowing on them are covered with sheet ice that is extremely slick. Traction devices are highly recommended. The trail is more rooty, muddy, and difficult than ever. And remember that it is steep. But the payoff for this short hike is excellent. A beautiful, sunny day magnifies the reward. There are mosquitoes on the trail! Seriously, in February? Imagine what this summer is going to be. There are about 6-7 blowdowns on the trail. All but two of them pose little difficulty. If you follow the downed tree up the hill for the two major trail obstructions, you will find the trail above. My buddy and I had the mountain completely to ourselves all day. We did not see any hikers or vehicles on the trail or the bumpy road. I love being in the right place in the wilderness at the right time.

Took a trip up to Squire Creek pass today. It has been a few years since I last visited here, but the views never get old. The trail is a bit rooty further up, wet in places. I was surprised and seen 6 other hikers on this trail! Lots of rock climbers too.

I visited Squire Creek Pass in the Boulder Creek Wilderness today via the gnarly Eight Mile trail. This path is steep, root-filled, muddy, rocky, and wet. Really now, where else can you find Skunk Cabbage right in the middle of the trail... The road to the TH is pretty rough also. But the unique geology of granite slabs everywhere, slab waterfalls, and great views of Three Fingers and other peaks in the area make the quest worth all of the effort required. Only 16 hikers and nine climbers have visited Eight Mile since June 19. I saw three of the climbers on Three O'Clock Rock about 2PM. I did not encounter anyone else on the trail. This destination merits more hikers.

I've been enthralled by Three Fingers Mountain and the lookout tower perched on it's summit since reading a winter trip report by Steph Abegg . When I noticed this report on NWHikers, I knew instantly what I would be doing with the coming weekend. This is the closest I've been to Three Fingers and the views did not disappoint. I followed recent snowshoe tracks when snow covered the 8 Mile Creek Trail above 3000'. Someone with crampons and a dog continued past Squire Creek Pass, I followed them until they either turned back or got lost in the tree litter en route to Ulalach Peak. The avy gully West of the summit looked shallow and unstable in the afternoon sun and I quickly retreated after tiring of postholing and bushwhacking below the rocky South Face. The trail leaves an old road bed after a half mile and climbs under dense canopy and past some long toppled behemoths. Shortly after a clearing with a view of Ulalach Peak, I passed a pair of slabby fingers that had recently shed about a foot of snow. I followed snowshoe tracks up the NW Ridge through sparse canopy as surrounding peaks popped into view. The summit views were spectacular, despite obstructive trees to the SW. I followed a set of crampon tracks West along the ridge and down to Squire Creek Pass, hoping to visit Ulalach Peak before returning home. After descending a few hundred feet below the summit I heard voices on their way up behind me. The snow was softening in the sun but not consistent enough to break out the snowshoes. From the small peak North of the pass it looked I might be able to traverse below the rocky South face of Ulalach Peak to avoid the steep gully to the West. After a short bushwhack I was looking at the West gully baking in the afternoon sun. I started across the South face but gave up on the bushwhack after stepping into a few tree voids. The descent was uneventful. 7.5 miles Round trip 4000' elevation gain 10 hours car-to-car pics and route map @ http://www.jebsjourneys.com/2014/01/higher-squire-1-19-2014.html