Mountain Loop Highway

Goat Lake

August 18, 2002

I had a short day today to do a hike... the skies were clear... so I headed out to Goat Lake.

I arrived at the trailhead shortly after 8, and was the 2nd car there (the other had been there overnight). I needed to be back to the car by 12, in order to be home by 1, and to pick up the girls at 2. I took off on the Lower Elliott Creek Trail, it's a bit longer, but it goes right along the creek. Trail work has been done recently, especially brushing and lopping. Thank you trail maintenance volunteers!!!

The entire hillside just before the lake was desimated this past year by something... snow melt, tree fall, mud slides, etc... the trail is gone. There are a couple of flags, and you can kind of follow the boot-beaten path, but it's more of a scramble than anything else. For better or worse, the destruction of the trail has brought the river into view... do you know what that means??? You got it... waterfalls!!

The view at the lake was just as breathtaking... no clouds hiding Foggy Peak today, not even a ripple on the water to ruin the reflection. I only spent a half hour or so at the lake, then booked it down, reaching the trailhead just before noon. Also to note: the party camping at the lake was burning a campfire. Not only is there NEVER campfires allowed at the lake, at this time, there are no campfires allowed along the mtn loop at all. I just don't understand how people can be so stupid. Anyway, I reported them to a ranger I saw on the mtn loop, and stopped again at Verlot where I found out the ranger was on his way up to the lake to deal with the situation. I hope he made it and was able to give those stupid people a better sense of how stupid they are and hopefully stuck them with a big fine or something.

June 3, 2001

The day was relatively nice... a good Pac NW early summer day... cloudy with short spells of sun and rain.

This is the third "Goat" hike I've done in the last less-than-a year (Goat Mtn, Goat Flats, & Goat Lake)! Still haven't seen any goats though... I wonder what I'm doing wrong... Anyways... this trail is a well maintained river/creek walk for a good part of the trail. It's long (5 miles), but not too steep. We normally hike pretty slow (45 mins per mile), but with some time pressure behind us got to the lake after a scant 1 hr and 45 mins. Not too bad... I think it surprised us both.

	Once at the lake, there were plenty of spots to stop and rest. There are some good campsites just off the lake and you can walk most of the way around the lake, too. The lake itself pools below Foggy Peak, which today was hidden by clouds, although it did flirt with lifting the clouds several times only to drop them back down again.
When it was time to go, I was bad and followed some off-trail beaten paths to see a couple of waterfalls. This one was especially nice and full-flowing. :)

Granite Falls (off the Mountain Loop Highway just past the town of Granite Falls)

February 28, 2000

It probably sounds pretty stupid, but I missed the sign for this one the first time by. Going North on the Mountain Loop Highway about 1.5 miles out of Granite Falls, there's a sign and a little turn-off parking lot right before a bridge/overpass that says "Fish Hatchery" or something. Pull into this parking lot and walk down a road and down some stairs and there it is, right off the highway.

Green Mountain (on the same road as Huckleberry Mtn.)

July 15, 2001

This trip to Green Mountain was a huge contrast to last year's trip. Paul and I were joined this time by Kim, a fellow WTA trail maintenance volunteer. It was nice to have someone else to talk with and to help keep the pace.

Kim also brought her pictures from a recent summit trip of Glacier Peak. Yes... I'm very jealous... you'll see one of them a bit later.

The weather today was misty, not raining particularly, but certainly not dry. We were all dressed warmly and the bugs didn't really have nearly impact they did the last time, in fact, the bugs didn't seem to be much of a problem at all. :)

The wildflowers were out in full force, decorating the green with bursts of white, orange, red, blue, and purple.

At the tarn before the ascent, we stopped for a little break. Paul stopped at the little boy's room and upon his return told me I had to go over there. I went over this little hill and back down a muddy slope where I took a tumble and muddied myself while Kim took a potty break too. Anyway, once I got down into this little depression/valley I turned and looked back towards the tarn, and saw a waterfall! The very same one that's pictured below. Yay waterfalls!

We pushed on and made our way up the meadow... much slower this time since we were able to stop and catch our breath. I'm glad we had the view last time, because this time all we saw was clouds. Hey, it even SNOWED!! for a few moments...

July 30, 2000

I didn't realize when we left at 5:15 that we were headed out on exactly the same road that goes to Huckleberry Mountain. I knew we had a 2.5 hour drive ahead of us and that it was in the same general direction, but hey! it was a welcome surprise. This was a trail that Paul had done a work party at a little ways back and really liked the trail... so it was added to the GottaGo! list immediately.

We arrived at the trailhead at about 7:45 and headed up the trail at 5 minutes to 8.

The sign board at the trailhead had a really cool sign... see?? It's a "aaaaaaahhhhhhh, splat" sign, or maybe a warning to hold on tight, or maybe just make sure no one who wants you dead is waiting behind to push you down! What do YOU think?

The first part of the trail is all in the woods... nice and cool. One difference to Huckleberry, though... a BIG difference... on Green Mtn, you have VIEWS!! This is one of the first views you get up the mountain side... we thought we were headed up to this peak... well... we were wrong. This is the small peak that the trail skirts on the way to the lookout.

The meadows are thick with blooming wildflowers... up to your (my) elbows! And the trail is very overgrown in places... you're brushing against the lushness on both sides. It was easy to get distracted by the ever bettering view of Glacier Peak... you could see more and more with every switchback. :)

Once we traversed the meadow and rounded the ridge, we were able to see our destination... way off... and UP!... we spotted the tower.

The trail dips down a bit as you cross the saddle between the two peaks to a lake and some camping spots... it looked like there were 3 or 4 tents pitched, but the trees made each of the spots pretty private.

From the lake, the lookout destination was visible... 1000 ft of elevation in less than a mile of open, Southern exposure meadow. By this time it was getting hot and the bugs were coming out in full force. I think the biggest reason we made it to the top in 2.5 hrs was that every time we stopped, even for 30 seconds, we were covered with at least 4-6 flys and/or mosquitoes. Yuck! There's a reason to not stop for ya! This picture was taken from near the top... directly down the "meadow" you can see the lake (the darker park at the top of the open area in the center of the picture). The forest and snow patches that you see in the upper left is the area we came around and down (to the lake/camping areas) before beginning the hellish ascent.

This picture is one of my favorites... I looked for this shot for awhile before I found a good spot... this was actually taken on the way down. See what good patience I have! Yep, yep, yep!!

Holy crap, man! It was worth every bite, insect bite that is (I got about 20)! The 360 degree views were fantastic... it's amazing what you can see from 6400 feet. To the South, an unobstructed view of Glacier Peak, to the North, a nice view of Mt. Baker (can you find the chipmunk in this picture?)

Tee-hee!! We spent an hour or so at the top. It was just way too neat. I got to watch an ant carry off the bugs that we killed as we swatted them away... ever seen an ant drag away a fly 5 times its size? Lunch was refreshing (along with the excedrin and benedryl) and the bugs were manageable. There was even a nice little breeze that came up every once in a while to keep it from getting too hot.

The pace downhill was fast... trying to outrun the bugs... it was no use but at least it wasn't as bad as the swarm that quickly grew everytime we stopped for some uphill climbing goobers. I was just VERY thankful that we went early and were on our way down by mid-day. :)

Huckleberry Mountain (off the North Cascades Highway)

May 14, 2000

This trail was a bit of a surprise. I haven't even been in this area before... but it sure was neat. :) No one was there, well, except 1 other person (ONE other person!) Yay, Privacy! We were sitting in the parking area when the one other person pulled up and headed up the mountain. We met him again at about the 3 mile mark when he was on his way back down. This entire region is rich in water, flowing. You know what that means? You got it. Waterfalls.

Kay. Now I'll start at the beginning... or so. :)

At the turnoff from the main road, we were greeted by this sign...

Before we even got to trailhead, we had to stop for a waterfall. I was so excited... I just took off. I had to be summoned to come back down. I could've spent the entire day following this stream. The bed was nice and rocky and climbable. :)   The trailhead... a good sign of things to come! The first part of the trail was super green, narrow, and overgrown. Fortunately for people with larger feet... the trail didn't stay that way for too long... only a mile or so.

On the way out (on the road), the clouds and sun on the neighboring snow capped mountains was too cool. The picture surely doesn't do the scene justice.

I thought the Mountain Loop Highway was open now, but it turned out that, after driving 20 miles on a forest service road (gravel) it was blocked. BUT, on the way, there were lots of really neat waterfalls to oogle at out the window. I wish we had had time to stop and play in the waterfalls. Unfortunately, the drive took longer than we thought and we were late getting back as it was.

Lake 22 (off the Mountain Loop Highway)

March 6, 2005

Took the girls up for a hike. Forgot the camera. Everything just works out, I guess, right?

Yeah.

It was another *sigh* beautiful day in Seattle. We've had too many of them this year. Snow pack is 25% of what it should be. They're plowing the North Cascades Highway... months earlier than usual. I've heard the snow is like what you'd normally seen in June. The only good thing about this awfully mild winter is that the cool places will be open way earlier than usual and we'll be able to get to more of them.

We've made a family pact that we're going to do more hiking... like we used to a few years back. Do some camping and just get out and do stuff.

... and we will...  :)

So... for the lake this time... it was totally iced over, but there was minimal snow. There was nothing on the boardwalk, and only patches on the trail.

December 4, 2004

So it's been awhile, I know. Yeah. Scary.

Anyway, definitely time to get back into hiking. Just joined a gym, so hiking shouldn't be quite as hard as it otherwise would be. Mkay.

Yeah, so pick the rainiest day of the week... and what do you do? Hiking! Woo woo!

Made it up to the lake without a problem, the trail was shorter than I remembered it. This was the first time too, that we had been here when the lake wasn't frozen. There was snow on the ground, but not too much. They've been doing a lot of trail work and there's a boardwalk that looks like it'll go all the way around the lake. Now it's probably 25% done and you can definitely tell it's needed.

We took the trip around the lake, something we hadn't done before either. It was raining and cloudy, so it's not like you had good views or anything, but it definitely made it more interesting that just hitting the lake and turning around. :)

That's it for now I guess... see you soon!

March 22, 2003

In 3 of the last 4 years, I've visited Lake 22 during this same week of March... the only exception being last year when I was out of the country (in England). This trip surely did not disappoint.

It was a cloudy day, with occasional sun breaks, nice and cool, but not cold.

This last week, I bought my first "photography" book... it's written by Art Wolfe and Mark Gardiner. It's a really good book. I played with some of the things they were talking about, but my camera doesn't have a lot of the manual features I'd like. I did play with some of the effects though. By and large, I think the photos are better.

The lake was about 80% covered in ice and there was about 2 feet of snow... not nearly as much as there should be. Oh well, that's the kind of year it's been all the way around.

June 23, 2002

Okay, so it's been more than 12 months since I've visited Lake 22. Why is that? Well... it's one of those shoulder season hikes... a really good one when the season is early and the weather is still yucky and the snow is too deep in cooler places... really good on those days you just want to stay home and watch a movie. Well... not today.

Lake 22 is a short hike, so we took a little detour off the mountain loop... up our favorite road... the road to Three Fingers. Recent road reports said the road was closed at 7.5 miles. We assumed this was due to snow... we were wrong... reports say the road should be re-opened in late August... I'll be amazed. The road was just... ... gone. So that was a nice detour and we were once again able to be awed by the power of water... drip... drip... drip...

It was a beautiful, refreshing, short hike to the lake. There was only snow on the final approach to the lake. The weather cooperated, and we even got to see the ridge towering over the lake! On the way back, the waterfall goober in me had to come out and play, so I went down to the base of the lower falls... the creek was full and the water was gushing. I was thinking this would make a good picture for my bathroom, but I think the lighting isn't so great and there's not any blue. Oh, well. It was a nice falls that I'd heard, but never seen. :)

March 25, 2001

Back again! :)

I can't believe I didn't show this waterfall. I love this effect here, the falls were radiant!

March 19, 2000

I went on this trail in lake February… as you'll see if you read on… this is my favorite trail in the whole wide world! It's an awesome wet weather hike because it's not muddy, just rocky, and there's water all over the place anyway, so… I'm a happy hiker. So anyway, it'd been awhile since I'd been out, and I HAD to go out this weekend (otherwise I was just going to die). So I dragged my happy hiker friend along with me. Good thing I did too. I wouldn't have made it to the lake without him… snow was too deep (at least for a short person like me). We made it to the lake <<not to be denied yet again>> … where's the damn lake? It can't be tooo much further! Mom, are we there yet? Huh? Huh? So anyway, it was a lotta fun: made a snowman, made snow angels, played in the snow… it was just fun stuff.

	(Above) Lake 22: almost completely covered with snow and ice. It was a welcome sight nonetheless. Ok... what do the two trees to the left look like to you... do you see them?? Chicken legs. Yes... bok, bok, bok... :) This trail is just too awesome... water... rock... snow... :)

Did someone ask for SNOW?? Well, here it comes... see below... Paul made a SNOWMAN!!! and he even has feet! Yay! (Left) Little bunny foo-foo hopping through the forest scooping up the field mice... hey... wait a minute... there aren't any field mice here... ok, so anyway, if you hadn't guessed yet, these are bunny tracks. I didn't get to actually see the bunny, but they were pretty fresh and followed the trail for awhile.

Monte Cristo

June 15, 2002

We were on our way to Goat Lake, but the Mtn Loop was closed just past Barlow Pass. Instead of heading back down the Highway in defeat, we parked at Barlow Pass and headed down the road/trail to the Monte Cristo Townsite.

We were first greeted by the following sight:

After that, we crossed several large landslides/debris fields.

Then we came across this...	Then: (Yes, that is the road/trail... and it's very covered with running water)

Anyone else would have been discouraged... the sun wasn't out yet either. Our spirits were still good and things started to improve... Then, finally, the sun came out, after morning clouds, and it was very nice. There were jaggy peaks all around and waterfalls were abundant on distant slopes. And all was right with the world. :)

Mountain Loop Highway
(including Squire Creek East Trail Maintenance and following scenery)

July 9, 2000

Oh my. I did my first trail work with the WTA today... it sure was fun. :) I've done the Squire Creek West (the more popular/maintained trail) earlier this year, so both Paul and I were excited about the prospects of the East trail. The day was cloudy and overcast, perfect working weather... had the sun come out it would've been too hot! The time went by quickly and it was lots of fun talking with everyone and destroying wild vegetation. There were about 15 of us and we managed to really improve about 100 feet of the trail pretty drastically and then some other maintenance was done along the way down. I really should've taken a before-and-after picture, the difference is pretty outstanding. Anyway. It was fun, hard work and I didn't manage to damage myself permanently with any of the big tools. I just have a blue/purple finger (squished), some sore fore-arm muscles, and bug bites all over my face to show for everything. The view from the part of the trail we worked on was great, but I didn't get any pictures of that either... I guess I was in work mode, not photographer mode. :) After I squirshed my finger we cut out a bit early 'cuz I was pretty useless.

On the 8 miles of rough forest service road back to the mountain loop highway, there's this place (like at West Fork Foss Lakes) where there is a little dip in the road and you drive through a creek on a cement slab... I guess that's one way to limit access in the spring... Anyway, so on the drive back, we stopped to wash hands and much to my delight, there was a waterfall not more than 20 feet from the road... a nice one too... and more waterfalls as the stream tumbled down the steep gulley... I climbed around for a little bit and took pics while Paul washed the ground-in dirt from his arms, hands, and face. :) Last time I tried to go around the Mtn. Loop Highway, it was not passable at Barlow Pass, but that was a couple of months ago... Watch out world... Here I come! Sorry. The scenery was spectacular... waterfalls on distant slopes, tumbling streams just off the road, not too many people... Most of the Hwy from Darrington to Barlow Pass is gravel (fortunately good, well-maintained gravel), so I had kind of made the assumption that a majority of the loop was gravel. Well... uh... the place where we had to turn around last time was almost at Barlow Pass... that's where the pavement ends/begins from that direction. I think we couldn't have been more that a couple hundred feet from getting over the pass last time. Oh well.

I kept driving... past the trailhead for Mt. Dickerman, up to the trailhead for Perry Creek/Mt. Forgotten, and stopped off at the Big Four Picnic Site just past the Ice Caves trailhead. He hung around a little then finally decided to do the 1 mile walk to the Ice Caves. I'm glad we did... it was CEWL!

The icefield that gives life to the caves is on the lower right. I just love the slabs of rock and the deep crevices! They're so ominous looking. :)	This basin is just to the right of the ice caves snow field... the waterfalls were everywhere. There was a trail that headed over that direction, but I'll have to come back another time (early in the morning when there're no people) and go exploring a bit more.

Mt. Dickerman

March 12, 2005

oh my god.

It's been WAY too long since I've done any hiking... much less one as ass-kicking as this one. 4.3 miles, 3900 ft elevation. Was I asking for soreness or what? Yep  :)  and I didn't get it  :)

and yeah, we didn't exactly make it to the top, either, but that's okay. It's been a horrible allergy season and paul was dying.

We hit the trail at 9:30 and took a slow and leisurely pace. The snow started just after the waterfall, just before you get into the upper meadows. We stopped on one of the big rocks in the middle of the two big snowfields on the final ascent.

We stopped at about 12:45 and chilled for about 45 minutes. The sun was nice, but the breeze was very chilly. This is why you bring extra clothes! Just over 2 hours down, and we were very glad to make it safely down all those switchbacks... they go on forever! It's gonna be a long hot summer. Good for early morning hiking, water rationing, and that's about it.

October 31, 2003

oh my god.

It's been WAY too long since I've done any hiking... much less one as ass-kicking as this one. 4.3 miles, 3900 ft elevation. Was I asking for soreness or what? Yep  :)  and I got it  :)

The day was extremely cold... there was frost on the road as far back as Verlot, even on the way home at 3:30. I didn't look at the temperature on the hike at all... probly a good thing... it would have just made me feel colder.

	Needless to say probably, most of the pictures I took were of frozen water, in various forms and formats.

There wasn't a cloud in the sky... and the air felt it. BRRR!

So my new camera has a zoom... and I absolutely had to see what it could do. What do you think? I think it worked rather well!  :)

THREE FINGERS (yes, the sky was actually a different color... smog is soo wonderful.	MOUNT BAKER

MOUNT SHUKSAN	GLACIER PEAK (my FAVORITE WA peak in all her spendour)

Since it had been so long... and was rather unconditioned... I gave myself plenty of time for the hike, took it at a leisurely pace, and really enjoyed being out again. I got to the parking lot at 9:15, hit the top around 12:45, headed back around 1:15, back to the car at 3:15. I fully expected it to take another hour or so. But that works. I'm sure paying the price, though, with sore legs that don't really like to walk up and down my stairs. Bleah.

There was only about 3-5 inches of snow at the top... actually much less than I expected, but since I hate hiking in snow it wasn't too bad. The ice was damn slippery though and best left avoided.

July 20, 2002

What else is there to do on a beautiful weekend than hiking? Well, lots, but ... hiking's good too. And that's what I did today. I don't have a lot to say about this day... it was my first hike alone in a long, long time, and it'd been a couple of weeks since the disaster at Welcome Pass. So, I'll show you my pictures: Big Four (below) ... waterfall on Dickerman (right)

	This was actually quite amazing. The picture on the left was taken this trip, the picture below was taken 2 years ago... see the difference? Those were some pretty massive avalanches, or mudslides, or something. Behold the power of Mother Nature!

August 6, 2000

This'll teach me not to wait two weeks to update my pages... it all seems like a blur. I have the pictures and I remember them, but, geez, I barely remember the hike at all... how's that for sad? At least I still beat SOMEONE to it! tee-hee-hee!

Maybe it'll come back to me as I'm telling about my pictures. :)

I do remember that we got an early start... It was cool (chilly) and the steep part as we started up was in the shade. If this area looks familiar, it should. Three weeks ago I went to Mt. Forgotten which it just behind Dickerman. The trailheads are less than 1 mile apart. :)

Okay. Pictures. I took this picture on the way down (when the light was better), but this is the same mtn you can seen in my Forgotten pictures. The difference being that on the Forgotten trail you go along the valley floor for aways before climbing the mtn, while Dickerman gains elevation rather quickly and you have the same views just from about 2500 ft higher. This was about all I would see of the waterfalls... notice the lack of snow above... is there a connection here? Uh... uh... I think so.   Unlike Green Mtn last week, the bugs here weren't too bad. I was definitely relieved.

The high meadows gave you great views (to your back as you were climbing) of Big Four Mtn and the Ice Caves.

When we reached the ridge, it was one of those breath-taking moments. It's like the rest of the range just opens right up to you. Dickerman is well-known for its cliffs. Don't fall... it's a long, long way down. The good thing is that if you were to fall, some hikers on the Mt. Forgotten trail might come to your rescue... Not worth the thrill and chance, I think.

To the North... Baker and Shuksan	To the South... Glacier

To the East... Three Fingers and Whitehorse

The following trail report was posted on the WTA website for the same day we were there... probably (well, most definitely) passed him on the trail on our way down.

Mount Dickerman #710 - The Glacier Peak Area
For 3,900 ft of elevation gain and 8.5 miles of round trip, Mt. Dickerman is much easier and pleasant to hike than expected. We started at 10:40 am on this sunny Sunday, got out of the forest area around 12:10pm, and reached the top at 1:20pm. Great panaramic views, flowers, cool wind, a few hikers, and not many bugs. what more can one ask for? We left around 2:20pm and finished the hike at 4:20pm.

Oops... one more comment! Oh, those wiley blueberries... ha, ha, ha, not a single escapee.

Mount Forgotten/Perry Creek Falls

July 16, 2000 Ever since I visited the ice caves last weekend, I knew I needed to come here. The area is beautiful and I've heard wonderful things about the view from this mountain top. So... what more could I ask for on a beautiful July day? Uh... sleep maybe? Well... okay, maybe. :) This time Paul got to experience the joys of my mom (hi, mom!). The first order of business, once we left the trailhead was waterfalls. Here a waterfall, there a waterfall, everywhere a fall-fall... Old McDonald had a waterfall, e-i-e-i-o! :) Happy Sunny. :)

Perry Creek Falls was nice, but unfortunately, the trail puts you right at the top of the falls so there's really no way to get a good view of the main falls. The good news is that the trail does take you right to the water's edge, so... at least I got wet! :) It was a very peaceful spot (at least on the way up, on the way down it was a different story). We trudged ahead and finally caught up to mom... only when she had to stop because the trail was not easy to follow. There was snow only a very short way before the "official" end of the trail.

The view to the North of Mt. Baker from the official trail end... Mom and Paul admiring the sights.

We continued along the ridge to the next summit, were we got a 360 degree view of the surrounding peaks.

To the NW: Three-Fingers and Whitehorse Mtns.	To the N: Mt. Baker and Mt. Shuksan
To the E: Mt. Forgotten's highest point	To the S: Glacier Peak

Kay... this photo is really neat... it was taken from the 2nd peak, looking East. In the center of the picture you can see several snow "O"s with a solid circle on the rightmost... the solid circle is the end of the trail. Big Four Mtn. is in the background... you can see the ice caves and everything. :)

Last, but not least... I bought crampons... well... I bought Paul's from him because he had to get some that would fit on his new boots. I'd never used them before, but now I know why they are very important snow-hike tools. Paul and I walked up this 60 degree slope to the 2nd peak while mom took a little nap. Can you find her in this picture? If you move up from Paul's head to the island of dirt and trees, you can see a small white dot on the dark dirt... well... that's her. I was definitely quite aways up there. The view was just that much better. Yay, crampons! The other thing that I like about this picture in particular is the perspective... standing on top of this mtn, looking almost straight down, over one snow covered cliff to a snow covered plateau over that cliff all the way down to the lush valley floor. This is one place you don't want to lose your balance! :)

Robe Valley Trail July 8, 2001 On this very nice July day, I was looking for a good Mountain Loop hike to do with my daughters. I found this hike in a Best Hikes with Kids book. The trailhead is actually one that I have passed many times on my way to other Mountain Loop trails. Its a brick sign (that looks like it belongs in front of a housing development) that sits opposite the road that goes off to Three Fingers right on the Mtn. Loop. I always wondered why there were cars parked there... and now I know. The first part of the trail is pretty steep, but there are only a couple of switchbacks to deal with. The rest is flat riverside walking. I like the history of this trail too... that's one of the things that lured me here. It's a stretch of the old Monte Cristo railroad with old railroad ties and real tunnels. The girls enjoyed the railroad tracks and the tunnels, but didn't enjoy the bugs, mostly bees and flies.

Robe Valley (off the Mountain Loop Highway)

February 28, 2000

If you haven't driven the Mountain Loop Highway, I highly recommend it. There are mountains, lush, green trees covered with moss, a river that you view constantly… the list goes on. On this day (and most of the time during the winter, the highway was closed at Deer Creek, but the Robe Valley is well before that. In the Robe Valley, there is a lot of water and it was sprinkling off and on this day. There were a lot of waterfalls to see… AND I found my new favorite trail in the entire world! Lake 22.

First Falls	Twenty-Two Creek Falls	Triple Creek Falls

Squire Creek (just out of Darrington)

July 2, 2005

The road to the trailhead washed out 3 years back and we've been waiting for them to re-open it... but now the possibility is doubtful that it'll ever happen. We've missed our gorilla muppet for too long and had to go back and make sure he was okay.

So, on a cloudy, possibly rainy day, we went to go see our friend. There would be no pass, just gorilla muppet. Hopefully he would still be there. That, and we had to see what all the fuss was about with this wash-out, and why the hell they hadn't fixed it yet!

We got to the new trailhead (even though the trail is closed), and noted how much it looked like the old trailhead, just 2 miles earlier.

New Trailhead	Old Trailhead

Didn't take long to arrive at the washout. Holy mother of god. In our wildest imagination we didn't expect this. The whole side of the mountain just came down. This was no mere washout, like what we saw at Three Fingers. This was a massive landslide. From the top of the mountain (only bare rock barely visible through the clouds) all the way down the creek. Three gullys all carrying massive amounts of rock and mud, leaving a circle of dead, brown, standing trees around the edge of the slide, which extended to the far side of the creek bed. The power of nature is beyond amazing.

This picture is up the right-most of the three gullys. The next one over follows the same chute in the upper center of the picture, but follows the line of trees to the left, leaving a hump/island of sorts in the lower right quadrant. The third gully is on the far side of the line of trees on the upper left center. The creek sits about 500 feet behind me, 200 feet or so down. From where you enter the slide, you can't even see the road on the other side. You don't even see it until you're halfway across the slide. The trailhead has found a new home. At least for now anyway. The trail remains closed because the ground it sits on is "unstable."  You think? Holy shit.

Once we got past the awe of the slide, it was remarkable how much the two miles of new 'trail' (road) seems like the old trail (also road). I'm thinking there's a pattern here... in 20 years we'll be parking at the bottom of the hill!

A total of 3 miles in, we found our friend, but we almost missed him! He's grown a bit, but still definitely recognizable. Guido made a waypoint on his new GPS, so we can always know how far away we are from gorilla muppet.

On our way back to the car, we almost stepped on a little snake who was nice enough to hold still for a good couple of minutes to let up take his picture before we made sure he was alive by touching his tail and he slithered away.  :)   Note to those who travel this trail again (including ourselves!): 1. Bring equipment to brush and lop. The trail is quickly being overgrown. 2. Wear long pants. Protect your legs from being plant and bug whipped.   That is all. Enjoy!

June 10, 2001 Well, at least we made it to the pass... I think... The weather was miserable again, but eh! it was still a hike. Sort of. This is one of the worst trails I have ever hiked. It's rocky and rooty and has really really bad drainage problems.

So, you ask, why do I keep coming back? Well, I don't think I'll come back again. My 'partner' likes to look at Three Fingers. Me? I'd just as soon climb the trail to Three Fingers next time than to brave through this poorly maintained mud hole.   Oh, the other reason we come to this trail is gorilla muppet... we have an entire history now...

April 8, 2001

We didn't see didily today. Grrr.

At least we made it to the trailhead today (in MY car). See failed attempt, it was okay. We went on to have a nice afternoon. Anyway... today it was snowing. Although my car made it to the trailhead, as time went by we began to worry about leaving the trailhead.

The entry creek had almost no water in it. The only tricky part of the crossing today was not slipping on the snow. We made it, though, without a scratch. We proceeded on... the first little bit, that's made of medium sized rocks, it a lot easier going when covered in snow. I was surprised how quickly it went. Soon we were into the forest and looking for gorilla muppet. You can probably see all the iterations of the beast on Paul's site. The steep and rooty part of the trail really got to be no fun very quickly. Paul led the way (thank god) and ended up several times to his waist in snow... I would have disappeared completely. Snowshoes would have been very helpful. Oh well. Maybe next year.

We didn't get very far. The snow continued to fall, but it was also warming up. The sound of avalanches accompanied us the whole way. We chose to stop at the big rock slab for lunch--the boulder field looked and sounded a bit too unstable for us goobers. Besides, the clouds were so low and heavy with more snow that we couldn't even catch more than rare glimpses of Three Fingers and Whitehorse.

I must say, though, it sure was good to get out. :)

May 21, 2000

This was a hike that Paul has been talking about for awhile, so we finally got up the energy to go. :)

Not more than 20 feet from the trailhead... you have to cross THIS! We ended up scampering about 30 or 40 feet up stream to cross on a fallen log. On the way back to the car we just bit the bullet and waded through. The current was definitely unfriendly.
	Before long you can peek through clearings along the trail to admire the backside rockface more commonly known as Whitehorse Mountain. :)

More alpiney treats await you (or at least me!)! Across the valley there were numerous (too many to count, even) large waterfalls... I kinda wanted to go over there. :)

We got to the boulder fields and had to stop. The weather was deteriorating and there wouldn't have really been a view from there anyway... so we stopped on a dry boulder and chowed on some goldfish, carrots, and apples... favorite lunch treats!

Three Fingers Mountain or Tin Pan Gap or Goat Flats

July 19, 2003

The forest service road got washed out last year and just finished its repairs recently, so it's been a couple of years since we've been to one of Paul's favorite mountains.

We are pretty out of hiking shape, so Goat Flats was today's destination, with a possibility, maybe, of hitting Tin Pan. In the end we were happy to settle for lunch at Goat Flats.

Once traversing the 'floats' part of the appropriately named 'goat floats' trail, you go around this nice little valley/chute. Well, this time, you really do get to go AROUND... since the trail was diverted slightly due to a pretty massive avalanche that took out an entire stand of trees, covering the original trail with feet of debris, snow, and fallen trees. This picture was taken from one of the switchbacks as you are ascending out of this little valley.

Saddle Lake was nice... it wasn't as overflowing as I remembered it.  :)

At Goat Flats, the views of the 'humps' with 2 of the 3 fingers visible and Mt. Baker to the north made the 5 mile trek worthwhile.

Two comments here... okay, so 3:

1. There were horseflies or something that stuck with us almost the entire trip up and down. They were HUGE, like more than a half an inch long and loud little fuckers. Fortunately, they weren't of the biting variety. They were just super annoying, especially for someone who doesn't like bugs (that would be me!).

2. We were both pretty tired by the time we got to the flats, not anything that made us sore... maybe we didn't get enough sleep? Or maybe the 5-miles just sucked more energy out of us than a 4-mile hike would have.

3. Why is it that on this hike... EVERY TIME... there's a sense of "I've never been happier to see the car in my life". Maybe it's all the up and down of this trail. Maybe it's the five miles from anything really scenic that can keep your attention. Dunno, but thank god for the trailhead! Whew!

August 19, 2001

We got a pretty late start and didn't arrive at the trailhead until after 9. We headed out around 9:25 on our way to Tin Pan Gap. It wasn't too late for that hike, but we didn't do just that hike...

The weather was perfect hiking weather: partly cloudy... enough clouds to keep it cool, enough sun to keep it moderately warm, no rain, and occasional views. Sure beats the last time I was here!

Saddle Lake

A nice little mossy waterflow	Past Goat Flats with only a little rest for the legs... onward and upward! Marmot scree in no time!  Can you find the marmot?

We hit Tin Pan at about 12:30... about 3 hours... not bad.

The view down was pretty impressive...

August 2001 (low snowfall year)	September 2000 (normal snowfall year)

We were feeling pretty good and it was still early, and I was rearing to go... so we continued... and continued... and continued... all the way to the lookout! The ladders to the lookout were not quite as scary as I thought they would be. Good thing! This is the Queest Alb glacier, as seen from some point along the trail, looking straight down the glacier... all the way down...

Lots of clouds moved through during the hour we spent at the lookout... the views were MAGNIFICENT!!! I think next time I come, I'll plan on spending the night! Any place you can go that drops thousands of feet straight down on three sides is worth the adventure of trying to sleep there. :)

I think this is probably my favorite picture of the entire 74 picture day... straight down the backside of Three Fingers on the Squire Creek side. First you have the shear couple of thousand feet drop from the peak of Three Fingers... this gets you to the green areas in the middle. Then it drops vertical another thousand feet. This drop is where you see most of the waterfalls from Squire Creek. If you want to see what this looks like from Squire Creek, click here.

I took this picture on the way down. Thankfully, on the way up there was a cloud sitting right on top of the mountain. If I had been able to see the lookout before climbing this snowfield, I'm not sure if I would have... For perspective, Paul is that little bleep on the right side of the picture. The lookout is the light blue dot roughly in the center.

Another picture on the way out, good think the weather cleared up sometime during the day... This picture is from Tin Pan Gap, looking back towards Three Fingers, and the lookout. The lookout is located on the right-most of the three fingers, on the left-most knub. If you look closely, you can see a light blue dot... that's the lookout!

If this trip had only been over now! It was 5pm when we left the lookout. By the time we hit Tin Pan Gap, we were both getting concerned about losing the sun. We quickened the pace, but by the time we reached Goat Flats, we were legitimately concerned. We had 4 miles to go and the sun was beginning to set. Each step hurt, but we knew we had to push, and push hard to not get caught in the dark. By the time it was 9, it was pitch-black and our butt-kicking pace slowed to a stumbling crawl. We used my digital camera screen to light the way (note to self: start packing a flashlight) and managed to make it back to the car... somehow.

I'm a day-hiker, and a relatively novice (yet pretty well prepared) one at that. This experience just reinforced my belief in the 10 essentials and it's always better to be overprepared (and exhaused because you're carrying too much stuff) than to be caught short.

September 10, 2000

<<You'll have to excuse much of the text... I have pulled most of it from a trail report I posted on the WTA website>>

Yay! Winter in the Pacific Northwest! Oh, wait, it's only September. Hmmm...

This late-summer hike is one that's best done in exactly that... late summer. Warm, clear, sun shining down. Unfortunately, this Sunday was none of that.

On the 16 miles of gravel forest service road that you have to follow to get to the trailhead, there are lots of waterfalls. This is the biggest one... it was pretty full today from all the run-off.

We hit the trailhead at about 9:15 (almost 2 hrs later than we had hoped) and took off with the hope of getting to Goat Flats and maybe, depending on how the bodies held up, to Tin Pan Gap and that we might be joined by the forecasted afternoon clearing. The first .5 mile or so of the trail was more like a creek bed than a trail. The run-off from the falling rain was 2-3 inches deep in most places and anywhere there wasn't running water, there was mud. That nice, glooey, suck your foot in kind of mud. Where the trail passes by Saddle Lake... the trail passes through Saddle Lake. The exit creek was very flooded and the lake was overflowing. For as little elevation is gained in the 5 miles to Goat Flats, my guess is that you gain and lose that much elevation at least twice. The trail has a lot of ups and downs... not so bad on the way in, but extremely disheartening on the way out. The only clearing of the day began to arrive at we reached the Flats. Encouraged by this, and hoping that it would continue, we forged on the extra 1+ miles to Tin Pan Gap. I'm really glad we did. It made the entire hike worthwhile.

Marmot scree (our name for it) was chuck full of marmots. They were everywhere. At any given time we could see at least 5. There was a mama marmot and her 4 babies in one spot. It was really cute. Anyway, they were everywhere. You couldn't turn around without seeing another one. Maybe the yucky weather helped bring them out. It was nice.

There's still some snowfields to cross as you approach the pass, one in particular is quite steep and a bit scary. Fortunately, all were crossable with minimal slippage. The view from the Gap (or very close to it) was at its best just as we arrived. All three fingers of Three Fingers were visible, along with the blue glacier and accompanying crevasses, in the basin below. It wasn't long before the clouds rolled back in and we had fun tossing rocks over the glacicer and watching them roll off into white nothingness. The wind picked up and the clouds were back. All the surrounding scenery was suddenly disappeared behind an enormous white/gray curtain. The return trip was long and wet... very long... and very wet. All in all, it was a very long day. I suggest that if you are motivated to do this hike that you wait for dry, clear weather.

Timing: UP: Trailhead 9:15, Goat Flats 12:50, Tin Pan Gap 2:00; DOWN: Tin Pan Gap 2:40, Trailhead: 6:30.