When deciding where to go on Fridays, I usually chose trails that are typically super busy on the weekends in hopes there will be fewer people. Don’t get me wrong, I love that people are getting outdoors more and more. However, I don’t necessarily want to hike with all of them. That means following rules I talk about in my How To Avoid The Crowds on PNW Trails post and this last Friday was an ideal example.
Due to the updating of images on the website in the last few months, I realized three things: I only ever visit Wallace Falls State Park in the winter, I didn’t have any horizontal pictures of the falls, and I hadn’t visited since February of 2019. In fact, the last time I was here on a summer day was probably 2007! I needed to get back up there.
Snow had hit Gold Bar pretty well the day before and the forecast was for rain. Perfect.
The drive on State Route 2 towards Stevens Pass was dry and bare but once I turned off and on to 1st Street, it was all snow and slush. Pretty deep actually, more than I anticipated. I was happy to now have AWD!
A ranger was out plowing the steep section once you enter the park, I was there about an hour after the gate would have opened. I was happy to see only 3 other cars in the lot, something you would never see on a fair weather day. In fact, it gets so busy here now, they have a live action camera so you can see how full the parking lot is before you go!
All the usual signs for a state park were out…
The beginning that is a service road was compact snow and ice but I didn’t feel like I needed to put my microspikes on. Mount Index and Persis were a muted blue where it turns into the forest.
It had been gusty when I had driven in and the snow was littered with pine bough confetti, hopefully there wouldn’t be too many larger pieces along the trail.
Because I did not intend to hike the entire 10+ mile loop I often do, I took my time to admire the many tranquil glimpses at Wallace river along the way.
I am not sure if it is because it has been 4 years or because my memory is slowly pruning out the lesser used nuggets as I get older, but it seemed as if there were more established viewing points along the trail.
There were reminders of the logging history of the area and on a side note…
…I have found the most fun yarn that reminds me of the colors of minty patina on the reddish trees surrounded by winter white snow. I am still deciding what to knit up with it!
As I was approaching the bridge over the North Fork Wallace River, I saw a group of people admiring the water cascading underneath and it seemed as if they were going to be there for awhile so I quickly moved past and on to the Lower Falls viewpoint. I would give the bridge some time on my return.
I had the Lower Falls to myself, staying at the top of the viewpoint and leaving the paths that drop down to braver folks. I know what the view looks like down there, I was good. Knowing I had some folks coming up behind me, I didn’t stay a long time and continued up to the Middle Falls.
It is only about .6 miles to the next falls viewpoint, the one I imagine most folks make their turn around point. The one other person on the trail had already passed me heading down so I knew I would have it to myself for awhile.
I enjoyed some of my Rosemary Cranberry Pecans and some olives that Santa had brought me in my stocking.
Then it was time for microspikes as I knew that with more people walking the trail and a few hours for things to warm up, it would be more slippery than my ascent. Plus, there is that whole gravity thing.
My plan worked and the bridge of North Fork was empty despite passing 10 or more groups as I made my way back to the car.
It was about 12:30pm when I finished the hike so I decided to have lunch in Monroe. I had been meaning to stop in to Alfy’s, a local pizza restaurant. Not just because they were one of the few of the chain that had survived COVID but because Alfy’s had always had the best salad bar. I still miss the one that was just a few blocks from my house and a reliable friend when I just wanted a good salad.
I had wondered if it would be the same, I know that it is harder to find things like salad bars nowadays as we worry more about using shared utensils in public places (I’m pretty sure it was the buffet at a health conference that gave me COVID last year).
The salad bar itself was just as I remembered it but they had added hand sanitizer and gloves at the beginning.
With the lunch special being all-you-can-eat for $7.99, you really can’t beat this meal.
I ended the day with some ice on the knees and work on a few knitting projects. I had purchased my first yarn advent from Channy Peas Corner, one with beach themed colorways. She made a pattern to go with and had a knit along so of course I need to get this done before the end of the month!
I also did a little knitting on some socks with yarn by Tiny Human Knits. The colorway is called Mucha and these are my first toe up socks. Well, there may be another pair somewhere I cast on but these ones are actually seeing some progress. When I saw these colors, I just had to have them. Buying yarn from her is like wilderness backpacking permits, you need to be on the website at a certain date and time before everything gets snatched up. She works the FOMO thing well.
If you haven’t visited Wallace Falls State Park before, you can learn more here. It is turning out to be quite the destination location, you can rent state park cabins if you want to make a weekend of it!
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