Tuesday, July 31, 2012

CCC Road: Upper Trailhead

There is a road just outside of North Bend that leads to a large network of trails. It is called the Middle Fork Snoqualmie Road. There is something special about this road. For lower clearance cars, it is only accessible for a small window in spring and early summer. Otherwise, you will need to take a high clearance vehicle. All because of potholes.


I took advantage of the recently graded road a few weeks back and posted about it here. The potholes weren't bad and there were plenty of other lower clearance cars racing along the road. I decided to brave it again a few weeks later, and unfortunately determined that would be the last time I would see the Middle Fork Road this year.



A few gals from my meetup group (plus my parents) met at the Safeway in North Bend, then headed out to conquer the first 10 miles of the road. It took us at least half an hour to go that 10 miles because of potholes. We also had to stop because my parents' Jeep had started to lose pressure in one of its tires. They told us to go on ahead without them while they changed the tire. So on we drove until we got to the parking area, which held about 4 cars.



As we began hiking into the woods, the sun shining through the trees made the forest look ethereal and beautiful. We came to our first creek crossing and I was sure glad I had my poles. The first creek crossing, unbeknownst to us, was the easiest of the 4 we would cross.




Soon enough, we came to another creek crossing. This one was a little bit more challenging, but still doable. We then came to a clearing in the trail, where we could see the silhouette of the moon above a peak. You can just barely see the moon in this picture, but I swear its there!





We continued on to cross another creek, which was even more difficult than the one before. Finally, we came to the last creek crossing, which was rather difficult and almost everyone got their feet wet.




We hiked further into the forest, passing the same man twice, once as we hiked in, once as we hiked out. He was definitely trucking along at a quick speed! We eventually got to this tree that had been struck by lightening. What a beautiful sight it was! The pictures definitely do not do it justice.




It was getting late by this point, so we turned around and headed back across the 4 streams. It was much easier the second time around! We got back to the car and found a note from my parents saying they were headed to the Snoqulamie Brewery. I later talked with my mom and she said they made it to the second creek crossing (about half a mile in) before turning back. I was very proud of them for attempting this hike!

I would recommend exploring the Middle Fork area if you have a high clearance vehicle. If you do not, I still recommend it, but wait until next spring (or when they pave it in 2015!)


Total time: 2 hours (give yourself at least an hour and a half for driving to and from North Bend)
Distance: 4 miles, 400 ft elevation gain
Passes: NW Forest Pass required
Location: off Middle Fork Snoqualmie Road, about 9.8 miles in. GPS: N 47 32.235 W 121 34.650


Thanks for stopping by!

Sunday, July 29, 2012

Spray Park

This weekend Brian and I headed out to the Mt Rainier area to hike the Spray Park trail.  It was about 70 degrees in town but it was in the 50s at Mt Rainier.  Of course neither of us checked the weather before we left, but luckily we had enough layers to keep us warm.

The Spray Park trail is one of several trails that set out from the Mowich Lake camping area.  The first two miles are fairly easy going, just a little up and down.  At 1.7 miles there is a look out.  Unfortunately, we were surrounded by clouds the day we chose to hike. 


After the look out, there are three water falls starting around 2 miles into the hike.  The first one, below, is small but pretty.  I liked all of the moss on the rocks around the falls.  The picture doesn't really do it justice.


Around this point there is also a turn off to a camping area that looked like it wouldn't be a bad place to spend the night.  Enclosed by the forest but reasonably flat.  There are also other places to camp on up the trail, however, I don't think you are allowed to have campfires. 

After this you will come to a fork in the trail.  You take the right side of the fork and come almost immediately to the second waterfall.  It was a little underwhelming to me. 


As you hike down to the third falls there is a good vantage point.  Still cloudy but nice to have a break in the forest.

Then you will come to Spray Falls.  It was kind of hard to see.  You have to stand out on a rock, one or two people at a time.  This was the best I could do. 



After the falls we headed back to the fork in the trail and hiked up several switchbacks.  It was a good, little workout.  We probably hiked for about three quarters of a mile to reach Spray Park. 


When we got to this first mountain meadow, we decided to eat our lunch.  The fog really rolled in as we were sitting there.  We talked to a couple who said that they didn't think the trail ever curved back around to spray falls but that there were several more meadows on up the trail.  At this point we turned around, had it been sunny we would have had some terrific views of Mt Rainier.  Luckily there were still great things to see along the way which made the trip completely worth it. 

Total time: 3.5 hours
Distance: 6 miles
Passes: Mt Rainier National Park day pass or a national park annual pass
Location: WA-165 S/Mountain Meadows Rd/Mowich Lake Rd

Thursday, July 26, 2012

Mirror Lake

I've hiked Mirror Lake before. It's one of the more beautiful views I've seen on a hike to date. I was really looking forward to revisiting the area, and I'm happy to report that it's still a wonderful place to spend the afternoon trekking and exploring.

The hike to Mirror Lake itself was only about 2 miles, but we trekked a bit further so in total we hiked about 5 miles. We saw two other lakes and even got to walk in some snow that was still on parts of the trail. What I loved about this hike is that we got to do a little bit of everything: it wasn't super taxing physically but we enjoyed the changes in scenery, and I got to take a lot of pictures! I wish the weather had been a bit more sunny, but I was happy that it didn't rain so I really couldn't complain.

After a short rocky uphill, we reached the trail-head, and in no time we reached our first viewpoint, Cottonwood Lake. If you choose to do this hike in the summer months I recommend bug spray, as there were lots of mosquitoes buzzing around.



Rachel gets excited like a kid on Christmas Day when she sees snow, so she was very happy that there was still a fair amount on one part of the trail we hiked through. I had just received my new Leki trekking poles in time for this hike, and I felt very comfortable in the snow using them for added traction. The weather wasn't particularly hot, but it felt nice to have the cool snow crunching under our feet as we got closer to our destination. 


Mirror Lake, how I missed you! The last time I had set foot on its shores, it was much earlier in the hiking season and there had been much more ice and snow. We didn't meet a ton of other hikers on the trail, but with the warmer weather we did run across a lot of campers and volunteers maintaining the trail. There was a group of guys and a pup camping right by the lake, so we enjoyed the sights, took some pictures, and ventured a bit further down the trail to stop and have lunch.



We reached an area that seemed nice to stop and snack, and I explored the surroundings to check out the view and take pictures. There was a pretty waterfall and lots of my beloved bear-grass and other flora to catch my eye and camera lens. 


I could have stayed here all day, mesmerized by the flowing water. If I was big on meditating, this would totally be my spot. There were other sights to see however, so we moved on further. We hiked to the last lake of our journey, Twilight Lake. It was in the middle of a swampy, boggy meadow, and it felt like our own little private patch of forest. 



One of our fellow hikers brought her pup, and it was a blast watching her swim around in the lake, run out onto the grass, and flop on her back and wriggle around. Rachel managed to get a group shot of us with Ollie (or Olly?) racing right through the picture. Way to photo-bomb like a pro!


After a short stay at Twilight Lake, we decided that this would be a good turn around point, so back up we went. Back past the falls, back for one more glance at lovely Mirror Lake, and back once again on the snowy path. 

It was great to revisit a place you'd once been and be reminded of how much you had enjoyed yourself while creating new memories. Like an old friend, Mirror Lake welcomed me back to its shores, and I left with the promise to return again soon. 

Monday, July 23, 2012

Squak Mountain - Bullitt Fireplace

I just love the name of this mountain: SQUAK! Sounds like a bird, huh? Apparently, it came from the sound of the Southern Lushootseed name for the mountain. Who knew?

 
Anyways,  I had been wanting to hike the Phils Trail-Thrush Gap Loop trail for a while, but I still haven't finished the whole loop. Me and another gal from my meetup group started out after work and made out way up the mountain. It was definitely not a walk in the park! This trail kicked my butt!



We passed over creeks and went up, up and up! It seemed like there was not flat part of the trail. There were a couple of trail intersections, but it was fairly easy to follow. We wanted to at least get up to the top of the mountain before 7 pm, our turn around time, so we kicked it into high gear!



We got to the Bullitt Gorge Trail in pretty good time, so we continued up it. According to the signage at the trail intersection, the area near the top of the mountain was originally owned by the Bullitt family, who had built a lodge at the top. When they gave their land to the state to make it a park, they wanted it to stay as pristine as possible, so only hikers are allowed on the top portion of Squak.



Eventually, the trail leveled out and we hiked through a swamp. We were a little off on our map location, but we eventually found the remains of the lodge, which are the foundation and a fireplace.



The fireplace was absolutely beautiful! I so would love to have one like that in my house.. sigh, someday. While we snacked and rested near the fireplace, another large group came hiking up the hill. They were also a meetup group! Fancy that, huh?



We took their pictures, and they took ours, then we headed back down the hill. We made really good time because we got back to our cars before it got dark out.



Overall, I would say this was a really fun hike that was definitely a workout! I still have the other half of the trail to finish, but I think I will save it for a weekend so I don't have to rush through it.

Total time: 3 hours
Distance: 5 miles
Passes: Discover Pass required
Location: 13201 Squak Mountain Rd SE, Issaquah, WA

Thanks for stopping by!

-Rachel

Ardmore Trails

Ardmore Park is a 28-acre park off of Bel-Red Road in Bellevue. The park features a maze of trails  through a forest that makes you feel like you are out off of Snoqualmie Pass, not in the middle of a suburb.



The trail we took was roughly 1.5 miles round trip, with very little elevation gain. The trail meandered through the woods, crossing over a stream that runs through the park. There are some stairs but other than than it's fairly flat..



Ardmore Trails is a great place for an after work walk or trail run. There was hardly anyone on the trail (3 people!), excluding the parents and kids at the play area. It was quiet and peaceful, a great place to gather your thoughts.



Total time: 45 minutes
Distance: 1.5 miles
Passes: none required
Location: 16833 NE 30th Street Bellevue, WA

Thanks for stopping by!

-Rachel