Bald Mountain & Cutthroat Lakes

Great drive to this trailhead. The Malardy Ridge road is one of the smoothest logging roads in the Stillaguamish valley. Knowing that this trail has increased (deservedly) in popularity in the last two years, we arrived early enough to find good parking. We saw just a couple other hikers on the way up, but passed two dozen on the way down.
I was disappointed in the berry crop this year, the berries were extremely sparse, half the size they should be and rather bland. Normally by this time of year the Cutthroat Lakes basin below the summit is awash in a rainbow of fall colors, the evergreens surrounded by the yellows, reds & oranges of the autumnal palette, but this year, just like my garden at home, everything seems to be late and undersized. Still, even swathed in granite gray and forest green, it is a beautiful place in the transition zone between foothills forest and sub-alpine.
The wildflowers, though not exactly numerous, added nice little accents of color here and there along the trail, with bluebells, two types of aster, heliotrope, trillium and red columbine. In another 2-3 weeks, with help from cooler weather, we may yet see fall in all its glory, but at this point its a race against time and the first snowfall.

Snohomish River - Snohomish to Everett

I talked a friend into coming along on a kayak journey from Cady Park in Snohomish to the boat launch at Rotary Park in Everett's Lowell neighborhood, just 3 blocks from my house. I figured that we could go for an easy float, letting the river carry us towards Puget Sound. I probably should have checked the tide table first.
The Snohomish is tidally influenced in the estuary and probably 10 miles beyond at high tide, and the tide was coming in this day, so our leisurely downstream drift became a 5 hour aerobic workout, struggling against the current and a constant 10 MPH headwind.
The Snohomish winds through the farms and fields of Ebey Island and the Lowell-Snohomish Road, with the banks mostly covered in blackberry bushes. There are occasional breaks, some natural, some created by fishermen looking to reap the bounty of coho, chinook and pink salmon, as well as cutthroat and steelhead trout. The pinks had been running heavy for a couple weeks, and they were jumping everywhere, but didn't seem to be biting today.
While not as wild or scenic as the sloughs that criss-cross the estuary, the main stem still has lots of herons, ducks, geese and the occasional harbor seal. A seal followed us for a bit, circling the boat looking for a handout of fish heads or guts, but eventually gave up when he realized we either had no fish or weren't giving up any.

We found two spots with muddy sandbars where we could stop for a much needed breather, but mostly it was more work than fun. Next time I'll do my homework first.

Anacortes Community Forest Lands

Having only a short time to hike on this sunny first day of summer, I sought out someplace close and low, somewhere I could drive to in an hour and not have to cross swollen streams or struggle through slush. I used the WTA "Hike Finder" app to search the Skagit river delta, and thanks to a nice trip report from Mike (the 50 year old guy who is doing 50 hikes this year), I discovered the Anacortes Community Forest Lands, for which I am very grateful.
The Cranberry Lake area is just a couple blocks from downtown Anacortes, but within 100 yards you're in a different world. The bowl that the lake, ponds and wetlands sit in screens out the traffic noise from nearby roads almost immediately. With the exception of one jet and one prop plane that flew overhead, I never heard anything but birds, no car noise until I was almost back to my own vehicle. I'm not promising you the same thing; some of these trails are motorcycle accessible. Indeed, this is a multi-use park, with hikers, cyclists, horses and bikers allowed on various routes, but on this Tuesday morning wheels and motors were blessedly absent.
There are a few benches along the trail, quiet places for a picnic or birdwatching, and there are definitely birds that need watching here. I saw heron, eagles and owls, along with lots of smaller brown and gray birds. The owls seem quite used to people and will hold still for photos if you approach quietly. Signs warn that joggers and mountain bikers are sometimes swooped on by startled owls, and I can sympathize. I feel the same way when an ATV or a jet ski buzzes by belching smoke.

If you go, you'll need a map, because there seems to be a trail junction about every 1/8th mile, all given cryptic headings like "HW124BM". I got mine for $10 at the charming little Lake Erie Grocery at the foot of Mount Erie on Heart Lake Road (open weekdays at 7AM). It's a packet of 3 maps, because there are three units to the ACFL. Cranberry Lake is where I hiked today, but there are also trails at Heart Lake and to the top of Mount Erie. I cheated and took the road to the top today, but I'll be back to do more hiking here. There are over 50 miles of trails, and at the top of the mountain you'll see Whidbey, Camano and the San Juan's, as well as the eagles who live there. With the adjacent hikes in Washington Park and at Deception Pass, this area is a great year round, all weather easy getaway.

Wallace Lake

I took advantage of the warm, sunny day to hike the Greg Ball trail to Wallace Lake. The trail was in great shape until you cross the DNR road and get to the final section of trail 1/4 mile before the lake, where you run into a few patches of what look like shallow puddles but are in fact 3 to 5 inches of mud covered with (deceptively) clear, shallow water. Wear gaiters or go around.
I had Wallace & Jay lakes to myself, but by the time I finished lunch and was ready to leave (about 1:30) other hikers were starting to arrive. I started to head back the way I came, but on a spur of the moment impulse I opted for the 6 mile return via the DNR access road and Railroad Grade trail, hoping to bask in the warm afternoon sun and maybe get some nice views of the Skykomish River valley. I wasn't disappointed.
Yes, it is just a logging road through clearcuts and young second growth forest. But all of the forest in the State Park and adjacent land is second growth, so it's just a matter of how late a successional stage they're in. There can be beauty in all stages (OK, not the butt ugly clearcuts), and the road was a real delight. Let's compare and contrast. On the Greg Ball trail, you pass through a rather homogenous forest of uniform aged stands, although the understory vegetation is beginning to recover. For aesthetic beauty here think micro, not macro. With the DNR road, the trees go from seedlings among stumps and slash to little "Christmas trees" to trees that have been growing since I was born in the 1950's.
The openings created by logging allow the salmonberries to thrive. They also open up a big sky, particularly appreciated by this sun-starved hiker, and views not only across the valley but east towards Stevens Pass as well. Mount Index and Mount Persis loom above the horizon around every bend of the road, and the crowds you'd be sharing the trail with in the afternoon are nowhere to be found. Vehicle access to the road is restricted, and I only saw one truck the whole time. What I did see were eagles, hawks and a deer, which I wouldn't have seen in the confines of the forest.
I'm not about to give up trails in favor of roads, but I think many are underrated. On the right ones you can find nice views, beautiful flowers, grazing deer and easy walking, and today I found all those things on this little known gem.
Oh, by the way, it's also a great way to travel when snow obscures the trails.

Howarth Park

Everett's Howard Park offers various levels of difficulty on several short trail. The longest leads from the bluff, losing about 80' of elevation until you cross a small stream at the bottom of the gully, then climb 3 flights of stairs on a bridge that takes you safely above the railroad tracks and 3 flights down to the beach.
You can shorten the hike by driving to the lower parking lot by the stream crossing, leaving only the stairs to climb.  The beach here is fairly small, but the views are large, taking in the Olympic Mountains, Whidbey and Camano Islands, Everett's waterfront, Mount Baker and the North Cascades. When the tide is out you might be tempted to walk the beach a bit farther, but if you do be sure to consult a tide table, since the barnacles clinging to the rocks here are at eye level.

Eagles and ospreys are common here, as are the usual Puget Sound shorebirds like grebes, cormorants, herons and gulls. Harbor seal are usually either seen or heard (they hang out on large log rafts near the navy base), and if your lucky you might see gray whales feeding where the alluvial fan of the Snohomish river estuary tapers off into Port Gardner bay.
There's a short trail along the creek, maybe a 200 yard round trip with negligible elevation gain. There's also a nice little concrete sloping pad at the beach waterline, a perfect launch site for my kayak when the weather warms up, maybe a chance to see the seals close up in the sheltered waters of the bay.

Mallardy Ridge Snowshoe

We made it up the road about 1 1/2 miles before the trailhead until the snow made us pull over and park (a vehicle with traction devices could make it all the way). There were only about 2 1/2 inches of snow on the road, so our snowshoes stayed strapped to our packs until we were a mile past the trailhead.

The snow got deeper as we gained elevation, about 2 1/2 feet at the basin atop the ridge. We walked in a steady, 36 degree rain the whole way, not as asthetically pleasing as snow but a great test of our cold/wet weather winter gear. Despite last week's strong winds, the trail was remarkably free of blowdowns.

Iron Goat Trail

Although I've hiked sections of the Iron Goat Trail before, today was the first time I hiked the whole trail in one day. What a great workout!
This is an interesting haunted hike, a spooky halloween treat, with gorgeous bits scattered in between.


I parked at the Scenic trailhead, taking the lower trail to Martin Creek, then the upper trail to Wellington, returning to Scenic by the Windy Pass cutoff. The nice thing about the Iron Goat is that since it follows the old railroad route, and the steam trains could only handle a 4% grade, the trail from Marten Creek to Wellington is as easy and level a path as you can hope to find in the vertical landscape of the Cascades.

The trail is dry right now, even as you pass by pretty little creeks and waterfalls (as of friday, maybe not) and free of blowdowns. The section from just past Windy Pass overlook to Wellington is smooth enough to be bike and wheelchair friendly, a great place to take the very young, very old and very lazy to stretch their legs and get some fresh air.

I stopped at the viewing stand at the site of the Wellington avalanche disaster of 1910 (96 dead, the nations worst avalanche ever) and, in the spirit of Halloween tried to conjure up some ghosts, but the only luck I had was hearing the ghostly sound of trains in the background, courtesy of the modern BNSF and Amtrak routes that still run through the valley below. I saw an informal path leading from the viewing stand to the disaster site, but decided it would be morbid and disrespectful to intrude on whatever twisted remains lay beneath the screen of trees.

Because of the gentle grade and great condition of the trail, the whole 12 miles only took 5 1/2 hours, including two 15 minute breaks.

If you want a dose of history to enhance your Iron Goat experience, check out the book "White Cascade" by Gary Krist.