I ran the Ridley Creek trail on Saturday to the Scott Paul trail. The road was passable... people had cut back a bunch of downed trees on the road so I drove to the TH.

The log bridge over the Middle Fork was out. I used a log and rock hopping just up stream and made it dry both ways, but the log was pretty temporary looking.

The trail was extremely wet and muddy with a few easily passable trees across it. If you go up there prepare for lots of water on the trail.

* Due to recent weather conditions, there is now about 7 Alders leaning across the trail a few miles before the Ridley Creek TH. AKA, You'll have to turn back around.

Once you turn onto the USFS road from Mostiquo Lake, about three miles in the road becomes fairly one-laned from the loggers trucks and soft terrain. Once you take the right after the bridge onto the road that will take you up to Ridley Creek, you can make it four miles (ish) but there are branches and rocks to maneuver around on the ground- and a leaner that wouldn't clear a tall rig (my Tacoma cleared it, but there was only 2 ft. left). 

Regardless, the jackstraw originally mentioned create conditions that are fairly impassable. You can K-Turn here. Enjoy whatever adventure you're heading off to!

It took me 50 minutes to go the 12 miles down Middle Fork Rd.

I was the only car at the TH all day.

The Middle Fork Nooksack was rouring.  The bridge is up and looks sturdy.  However, I did not feel comfortable crossing the bridge or fording the river with my dog. See attached pic.

I ended up walking the FS 38 trail, the road just west of the TH.  After a mile,  FS 38 road narrows and becomes more of a trail.  After three miles the road comes to an abrupt end.  There is a narrow, overgrown trail that continues.  However, it has become a outdoor privy for those going up the road.  I believe if I had followed the trail it should have been another chance for views if it wasn't a human waste dump right on the trail.

First the road, it's a looong way up to this TH and you're out of cell reach at Acme. It took us 3 hrs from Everett. The turn onto #38 is right after the big sand pile off Mosquito Lake Rd. It might help to have a good forest map, there are many side roads taking off from the main one. The road is the usual pot holey forest dirt road. Your car won't get swallowed, but you want to be going slow. 

The trail: The trail crosses the Nooksack w/in the first 1/4 mile on a log bridge with a rope to hang on to. It is a bit unnerving, but these 2 old ladies did it, you can too! I went across sideways, one hand always on the rope and used a hiking pole as a second point of contact. It also helps to undo the waist strap of your pack. Once across, the trail goes up briefly, then drops down, crosses a couple of little creeks on log bridges (nothing like the one at the beginning) and starts up. The trail is a combination of nice cushy hemlock cones and duff, then goes all Mr Hyde mode to a rocky trench of 'trail' then roots, then another section of cushy, then more rocks and roots, all of it steep. There is plenty of work for a saw team here also, several  blowdowns that are manageable but a PITA for short legs.  There are some up and down streambeds to cross (dry right now). The last one is the big one, just at the boundary of the Mt Baker Wilderness. It was dry, I'd hate to try and cross it if there was much water. Soon after the wilderness boundary, the picturesque log shelter is reached. There are tent spots in the area and a backcountry loo (getting pretty full please do not put your trash in!!) There is no water available here right now. Once we ate our lunch, we kept on going for another mile to the intersection with the Park Butte and RR grade trails, hoping for views of Baker, but alas Baker was hiding in the clouds today. This was a tough trail and even tho it is listed as unmaintained,it has been worked on by WTA volunteers and the Bellingham Ultra running club. We met a member clearing brush on our way out. The friend I hiked with today (Midnite Arrival) had spent many hours with WTA working on this trail, and was quick to point out her handiwork! FYI the Greentrail map does show this trail, it's in faint dotted green lines, and the mileage is wrong. According to the FS info at the TH it is 3 1/2 miles, not 2.9. It felt like 10! By the time we had climbed to the intersection on the Park Butte ridge, we had 3000' gain, not bad for 2 Old and Slow grandmas! We saw very few people, even the Park Butte trail did not seem busy, a nice reward for going on a cloudy weather weekday!   Hikeathoning for WTA fundraiser: give.wta.org/muledeer2020 (or Linda Roe) 

Forest Service Road 38 to Ridley Creek trail was a pretty typical forest road, do-able, with care, in almost any vehicle. Watch for the left fork marked “38” in the first few miles and keep right at the main forks after that. There was only one other car at the trailhead when I arrived on a Thursday morning. Best thing is that I did not encounter a single biting fly or mosquito all day though I can’t promise that to the next hiker as this was the end of our recent cold spell and it was a rather cool day. The foot bridge over Ridley Creek was in place and in fine shape though not for the faint of heart; it is long, narrow and has a thin length of rope to hang onto with a gap in the middle between sections, overlooking a raging torrent of water. The trail is in great condition, thanks to recent trail-work, and only has a few logs to cross over in the lower section. I enjoyed photographing the various wintergreen relatives in bloom as well as saxifrages, orchids, ferns and many others. Old growth hemlocks are impressive along with other mountain conifers and nearing Mazama Park were many huge old Alaska yellow cedars. At one point I was greeted by a family of chestnut backed chickadees who hung upside down a few feet from my face in the cedar branches while they chattered at me. Mostly this was a fairly leisurely uphill stroll with a few steep descents into gullies and back up before reaching the meadows. At Mazama Park the shelter was vacant and I had the grand views of the Sister’s Range and Park Butte to myself as I ate my lunch. This was meant to be my destination but the vertical wildflower meadows above on the trail switchbacks to Bell Pass called to me so I continued up for ever grander views of the Sisters, the Park Butte Lookout and the many flowers; columbine, alpine daisy, alpine asters, spiraea, edible thistle, pink monkeyflower, penstemon and more. The flowers tempted me on up the switchbacks to the junction with Bell Pass and Park Butte trails where I tagged the signpost and turned around after taking in the vistas of Railroad Grade, Cathedral Crags, and a wee bit of Mt Baker’s glaciers peeking through the clouds. The return trip was uneventful. I encountered four other humans and glimpses of another 10 in the distance on this entire day trip. No bugs. No snow. Lots of flowers.