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.

Pinnacle Lake

Good news! The road to the Pinnacle Lake/Bear lake trailhead is repaired and open. From the turnoff where FS Road 4020 splits from the Boardman/Ashland Lakes road, it's in great shape if a bit narrow, with a brand new bridge.


The trail itself is another matter. Pinnacle has always been a challenging route of rocks and roots, but it has been little used and neglected as of late, and it shows. The small bridge just after the Pinnacle trail splits off from Bear Lake is missing planks, slick & slimey and leaning at a precarious angle. I crossed OK on the way up, but slipped and bent the tip of one of my trekking poles on the way down. Use caution, or better yet find another way across the creek.



The trail soon turns into a rut which is probably a stream during wet weather. It is very narrow and deep in many places, and doesn't improve much until after the first mile, when the grade lessens as you follow the spine of a forested ridge. Look for nice "teaser" views of Three Fingers, Dickerman, Glacier Peak and Mount Baker.

Close to the top there is a somber note, a small sign memorializing the two hikers, Susanna Stodden and Mary Cooper, who were killed here in a senseless and as yet unsolved crime. Pay your respects, but don't let the bastard(s) take even more by making you fearful to visit. It was a tragic but isolated and random incident, and you are safer here than you were in your own neighborhood or on the drive up I-5.

When the ridge finally levels out, you'll come to some seemingly permanent mudholes, but please just slop on through. The wallows seem to get bigger each year as people try to skirt the edge and end up widening them. If your boots didn't get sucked off, you'll round a corner to a lovely tarn surrounded by huckleberries, now in nice fall colors. Many visitors mistakenly believe this is the lake, but it's still 1/10th of a mile away. Just follow the well worn track around and beyond the pond, and you'll be rewarded with a good sized trout filled lake with some level granite slabs to sit on while you watch the fish jump and admire a big hunk of Mount Pilchuck rising up from the other end of Pinnacle Lake.

If you didn't stop by Bear Lake on the way up, be sure to take the detour when you get down. It's a nice tranquil spot to relax and maybe fish before climbing into your car for the bumpy ride back to the Mountain Loop road.

Mount Pilchuck Early Autumn

 A Trip Report in 3 Haiku's...

Foggy Everett

                                                 left behind, Pilchuck beckons

              a crowded trailhead

Cool trees warm boulders

                   feeling summer and autumn

                   warm colors abound

A rocky descent

round, angular, boot snaring

gotta watch those feet

Walt Bailey Trail

WTA chose this "Hike of the Week" at the perfect time. Fall colors, fields of berries and fair weather made this a wonderful way to celebrate the beginning of autumn.

The Walt Bailey trail doesn't get much use compared to the other trails in the Stillaguamish valley. It isn't well known, it's in a sort of mini rain forest zone (Bald Mountain Natural Resource Conservation Area gets between 100" and 160" of rain annually)and the trail itself alternates between smooth park like rambles to tangled roots to boulder avalanche fields to boot sucking mud. It's not as bad as it sounds, especially considering the pay off, but it does tend to weed out less hardy souls and the t-shirt & tennis shoe crowd.

This usually means a good deal of solitude, particularly mid week or rainy weekends. That wasn't the case today, with 7 vehicles at the trailhead, possibly inspired as I was by WTA's recommendation, but folks were spread out pretty well, and I was happy to see more people enjoying this underused gem.

The ridge below the summit of Bald Mountain is ablaze in the yellow, orange and red hues of fall. The berries, though not as plentiful as in most years, still abound near Cutthroat Lakes, and my heavens they're tasty! By the time I finished snacking my way across the ridge, my fingers were so purple it looked like I'd just voted in an Iraqi election.

There are also some nice views to be had here, west to Mount Pilchuck and down the Stillaguamish valley, north to Three Fingers, Fletcher & Anaconda Peaks, east to Marble Peak (I didn't actually shoot an azimuth, so I may have the name of one of those peaks wrong, but the views are lovely whichever peaks they are).

Part of me (the selfish part) wants to say "Ssssh!" when someone mentions this trail, but the better angels of my nature want more boots here, because the more people who love the Walt Bailey trail, the more advocates there will be for its protection and maintenance. So do yourself a favor and head on up to this spectacular panorama, and be sure to bring a friend.