The trail is in excellent condition. Some insignificant snow patches at the top before the descent to the lower big quilcene trail. It has been interesting to see how this trail has developed after helping on a few work parties that re-opened the trail.

Started at the Lower Big Quilcene trailhead at the end of 080 spur off of FS 27. The hike to Bark Shanty was easy and pleasant. Saw three groups in the first mile heading towards their cars. Saw no one after that. The goal of this hike was not to head towards Camp Jolly but explore the Notch Pass Trail. I started immediately after crossing the bridge north of Bark Shanty where the Notch Pass Trail quietly climbs to the east. Soon it crests on the side of the mountain and heads for the creek. After a few hundred yards it crosses the creek to climb the opposite slope. There still remain two very large blowdowns but was able to climb over and soon reach an area of less undergrowth and limited views to the west. With the trail not on my Custom Correct map I was uncertain when it would reach the road and eventually turned around. The route appears to receive little use but I intend to use it at least once a year.

We were heading up to Mount Townsend, but since the clouds didn't seem to be lifting and it was already late in the day to start a hike with so much elevation gain, we changed our plans and parked along the road (about mid-point between the lower Big Quilcene trail and the cutoff to the upper trail. There, a small sign indicates the Notch Pass trail, which crosses the road at this point. We took the trail towards the Big Quilcene river, from the left side of the road. Within a very short distance, we found an enormous tree completely blocking the trail. We were able to get through only by lying flat on our backs and rolling ourselves under it--it was much too high for us to climb over. We encountered another such blowdown further on, this time with two trees next to each other and also necessitating crawling underneath. Finally, in the last section of the trail a large blowdown of several trees completely obliterates the trail, but we were able to pick our way around it. I hope that these logs can be cut in order to make the trail passable. A lot of recent work went into restoring this trail by the WTA, and it would be a shame if it became unused. As it is, it's quite overgrown in ways that indicate that it isn't used very much. This portion of the trail goes through some of the most beautiful old-growth forest around at a lower elevation. After we reached the Lower Big Quilcene Trail, at 1.5 miles, we ate lunch at Bark Shanty Campground, and then continued on it, turning around at Camp Jolly. There is some blowdown on it too, but nothing to compare with that on the Notch Pass Trail.

Since it was so cloudy, we decided not to try for Mount Townsend, but to do something in the deep forest where views would not be our object. We hadn't done Notch Pass for a while and thought it would be a good option. It's a much shorter drive than Mt. Townsend, although you start out on the same road from Quilcene. The cutoff from FS 27 occurs a mile before the road becomes paved--it is unmarked at the edge of a large clearcut. It's a narrow, potholed road (the huge potholes were often filled with water too) but not really difficult. The trailhead is at 1.4 miles from the turnoff. According to the registration sign-in sheet, no-one had been on the trail for six days, and it turned out that we were the only ones on it on Saturday too. WTA crews have done lots of work on this trail, originally built by the CCC. But since it's little used, it's quite overgrown at the beginning and could use some cutting back. Other than that it's in good shape nearly all the way to the Big Quilcene River. The one exception is a large blow-down about a tenth of a mile from the river, which blocks the trail and needs to be climbed over. (Nothing compared with the enormous blowdown on the Upper Lena Lake trail that we encountered last week). The first two miles of the trail climb steeply up to the notch (from 500 to 2500 feet, according to the FS--although my altimeter registered only 2200 feet at the top). This is a good conditioning section through a dark, dense, probably third growth area of skinny trees. The latter two and a third miles are much more beautiful. The trail goes through a gorgeous section of old growth after you cross FS 27 and head down towards the river. There are rushing streams, huge moss covered logs and boulders, and open areas filled with rhodedendrons in blossom. The trail intersects the Lower Big Quilcene trail and we followed it over the bridge and then down to Bark Shanty where we ate lunch and saw the only people the entire day, and they had come by way of the Big Quilcene trail. On our return, we noticed that there was no sign to indicate the Notch Pass trail cutoff, and since the trail is overgrown at the point, it would be easy for someone to miss it.

Myself, my Dad, and his neighbors (Pam and Bob) headed out to find the Notch Pass trail and do some exploring. The group was looking to make it easy so we brought two cars and left one at the trailhead and the other off the road up to Mt. Townsend. We started off the road to Mt. Townsend (in the end a good choice since you avoid the steep vertical gain from the trailhead). The trail was in excellent shape and showed signs of being lovingly cared for by the WTA (including the trailside bench w/ WTA carved in it near the trailhead). Overall it was a good quick hike (about 2.5 miles for the section we did)...