The weather on the way out was superb, there was blue sky appearing in spots everywhere and we couldn't believe our luck. At least until we got to the turn off to head into the National Park for the trailhead. WOW what a bumpy road!
Be warned, potholes abound but they are easily navigated if you go slow. My little Jetta made it just fine and a similarly small car followed us with ease.
14 miles on a potholed filled road takes FOREVER but we finally got the trailhead (make sure you stop at the Middle Fork trailhead to use the bathroom if you need...)
We weren't going to be taking this trail all the way into the mountains, but it seems you can go pretty far, all the way to a lake. It's certainly something to consider for a hike-in camping trip!
Eric models his new fingerless mittens crafted specially for him by my mother. Finally, his fingers were warm!
The trail was decent to start, though it had become something of a creek in places, but good hiking boots resisted the shallow water easily enough.
It wasn't long before we started seeing patches of snow.
And not long after that until the patches of snow grew and grew!
For the most part, this hike was a nice gentle uphill slope. It was decently easy to hike and once the snow clears, it will be a really fast hike. There were only a few washouts. We had more issues with the snow.
We reached the 1/4 way point at the first falls at Marten Creek. The water was amazingly clear and beautiful, and this vibrant green shimmer to it.
We continued on, then much to our surprise, it started to snow!
Some of the washed out areas.
Then low and behold, blue sky reappeared!
And the snow banks kept building. Thank goodness other hikers had gone on before us. There was a nice narrow path leading through it all that was packed down. This didn't stop my foot from occassionally slipping off and sinking down. Brrrr. Snow down the sock is no fun. I need gaitors.
Between the sun, snow and greenery, this really was a gorgeous forest to hike through.
Just to give you an idea of snow depth.
The sun! It burns!
We reached the turnaround point at 5 miles in, in a decent amount of time. The hiking path is an old logging road that got abandoned, but not before the company put a highway grade bridge across a gap. The industrialness of it sticks out in the otherwise natural forest.
But the view off of the bridge was awesome. Hello Big Creek Falls!
We sat here and had lunch and self portraited.
Walking back we saw a huge split boulder that we'd missed coming up. It was cool!
And of course, I wanted to see Lipsy Lake and Otter Falls. The WTA guide claims there is a sign indicating where you should turn off the trail to scramble up the hillside. It also says there's a pile of stones marking the spot. Well, we never saw a sign, and it's likely the stones were buried under the snow, so we ended up searching for footprints, which were not nearly as helpful as the rest of the packed down trail. The best place to head up to Otter is about 1/4 mile back down the trail from the Big Creek Falls bridge. You scramble up the mountainside, there really is no path and follow the sound of water. That's about the best direction anyone could have. It's then a steep but short scramble down to the edge of the lake/pond and a nice view of a waterfall. Worth it, but not well marked at all.
The rock pilers have been here!
Views of the mountain peaks through the trees.
We started our hike back down the trail and were treated to more glimpses of sun.
I found a single shaft of sunlight.
But it was wide from another angle...
Remember, bathroom stop HERE:
All in all, it was a spectacular 10 mile hike. There were no steep portions, but the length makes it a nice effort. I'm pretty pleased with it. I do want to go back and make the longer trek to Snoqualmie Lake and camp and return.
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