We looked at the Lewis River Trail and were planning the next several WTA work parties with the crew leaders Tom and Mark. We hiked from 1/2 mile below the Lower Falls Recreation area up to the Quartz Creek Trail. Plenty of work to be done. It was a very sunny and warm day. The trail is in overall good condition, but there is some windfalls and a slide near Upper falls.

Trail out at Middle Falls. Cannot reach Upper Falls on trail.

We parked at the Curly Creek Trailhead which is about 4.5 hours from Seattle. Beginning elevation is 1100' and the ending elevation is 1500', but don't be fooled, total climbing elevation is 1500' to the lower falls. 10 miles total. There a few nice campsites up to about 5-7 miles, but nothing after that. We did see a deer and (we are not experts)some possible bear droppings. Generally the trail is a nice, soft, smooth forest trail through some old growth. We could tell that some good souls worked hard to clear the many winter blow downs and washed out spots. There are still some culverts that are blocked, or removed and setting next to the trail. Once these are inplace, the trail will be in much better conditions. Many small muddy areas, but all are passable. One of the nice features at 5-7 miles is some little Gnome/Hobbit villages that are creatively placed at the base of some of the trees. The kids will really like to look the little doors, balconies, signs and even a little dock and boat launch. We did hear that the trail is closed between the middle and upper falls due to a wash out. We also heard that fishing is good in some areas.

Trip was taken 5/26/01-5/27/01 Lewis River was our chosen destination for the first backpack of the year. Friday was a hellacious drive...took me almost 3 hrs to get to Olympia from Seattle...ridiculous! I got to our Quartz Creek camp at 9 pm that night. The Lewis River TH is just a few hundred yards away from our car camp. Saturday morning we got a late start...about 1030 am as we had to put a couple cars down at the lower Curly Creek TH (by bridge) for the car shuttle back after the hike. Whole trip is about 14.5 miles one way...15-plus for me as I thought we were parked up at the upper Curly Creek trailhead. Bonnie, Jase and I had used that TH for the pack upstream two years ago. It's 5 miles to Road 90 from Quartz Creek and another 9.5 miles to lower Curly Creek TH. It's give or take another 0.5 miles to upper Curly Creek TH and Curly falls viewpoint. The weather was absolutely perfect!!!!!!!! Our group consisted of me, Jason Jason's mother, his co-workers Hans and Alesia, and his old buddy Jeff, and Jeff's fiancee. We took our time hiking as we stopped by each of the falls (Taitnapum, Upper, Middle, and Lower Falls). A tired group found a camp about 6 pm at the halfway point on the banks of the Lewis. It was so nice out! We had our camp fire and customary toasts with Rum. I also was crazy enough to pack in beer and pop! We only encountered one somewhat difficult stream crossing...if you want to keep your feet dry! Fortunately the stream was lower than it was two years ago. Jase, Bonnie and I had spent a good hour building a makeshift bridge of logs. This time the group managed to cross either by hopping rocks or across logs. Next morning, we broke camp about 9 am and it was much easier as it was cooler and the trail is flatter. We stopped at various points along the way including the Bolt Shelter which is about 3 miles from the Lower Curly Creek Trailhead. No falls to report, but many scenic stretches including nice old-growth trees and river banks. Overall, trail is in good shape. Some stretches are a bit muddy and a couple of washouts which are of no problem if you are careful. We all made it out by 130 pm at the lower trailhead and explored Curly Falls and Big Falls on way back to Quartz Creek camp. We celebrated with a sockeye salmon/beef ribs barbecue...yummy!!!! I then left for Seattle (avoid holiday traffic!!!) while rest of group camp for another night. Happy Hiking! John M.

Six adults accompanied five scouts on a traverse of the Lewis River Trail. We left one car at the parking lot where road 9039 crosses the river. Road 90 to the upper trailhead has one rough spot through a slide area, but it isn't a problem for passenger vehicles. Parking at the upper trailhead was along the road. There are many fords across creeks, all under boot height except one which is crossable on a downed tree. About 2 1/2 miles in the trail crossed two small streams at the top of waterfalls, which the scouts found impressive. We also enjoyed the views across the river to the columnar basalt cliffs. Past the half-way point old growth trees begin to be seen. The forest is very dry, the moss covered logs and trees are impressive, but it gives the impression of fall, not spring. Sighted a bald eagle, elk and deer sign and elk on the road on the way out. One bridge about midway was in pretty bad shape with broken stringers and treads, most others are new and very sturdy. Bolt camp (2.5 miles from the lower trailhead) is not on the Green Trails map. This is a fine shelter with adequate space for several tents. We only encountered mountain bikers along the trail. We were also surprised to note that half of the garbage we picked up and packed out was bicycle-related (broken reflectors, toe clips, etc.) We took a very slow pace, stopped frequently for map and leave-no-trace instruction and walked the ten miles in six hours. It could easily be done in 3 1/2 by more experienced hikers. This was a long day for us, leaving Vashon Island on the 6:20 AM Tacoma ferry and returning on the 10 PM ferry.