A Creepy Moment At The Index Town Wall

It’s been about a year and a half since I have hiked the Wall but with the rain and avalanche forecast, last week seemed like the perfect day to do so.  And other than a creepy moment at the end, I couldn’t have asked for a better rainy day out.

I arrived at the empty trailhead at a little before 10am. It’s still true, if you follow the rules in my How To Avoid The Crowds on PNW Trails, you too can have solitude if you want.

The skies were drippy so I dressed for rain even though I would be in the forest for most of the hike.  Before heading up, I walked over to the other side of the parking lot and read the green sign posted high on the berm, something I had noticed before but not paid much attention to. It was a sign for the Crescent Trail and I guess it goes into the town of Index.  Looks like you could park in town by the park and walk to this trailhead for an extra mile or so. Hmmm…maybe next time.

 

 

Anywho, I crossed over the tracks and walked over to the privy.

 

 

 

There was caution tape on the ground, but no sign making it hard to tell how long it had been there. Was it crime tape? Was there a hazard of some kind?  I paused to observe my surroundings. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary except the tape.

I really had to pee so I wanted to see if the privy was open. It was and well stocked so I used it. Again, nothing seemed off.  On the way out I then observed a waterlogged sign under the kiosk that said the North side of the Wall was closed to rock fall.

 

 

 

It was obvious (now) when looking behind the privy that a lot of rock and trees have come down off the wall.  I can see how this could be a problem for those who climb or think that this is the beginning of the trail.  I looked it up when I got home, looks like the rockfall was in November and pretty significant.

 

 

Leaving there and walking down along the tracks towards the actual trail, I wondered what changes I would see on the trail today. The first thing I observed was that the red Authorized Vehicles Only sign is gone. The entire post is not there so it must be intentional?

 

 

On my hike up, there was plenty of branch and tree debris and I cleared as much of it as I could. Again, I forgot my handsaw so that left about 14 small diameter trees and one rather large one about .9 miles up that crosses the trail twice.

 

 

 

I was SO happy to see that the lateral log that blocked the trail around .7 miles up had been conquered by someone with a chainsaw. Thank you!  There were also a few places where the trail tightly maneuvers some tree trunks and the soil has eroded leaving a steeper step than before.  It is true that this trail is not really maintained and is more of a social trail but there are folks doing maintenance, albeit a little unregulated.

 

 

I noticed at the last junction (the last left in the “right, right, left, left”) that the blue diamond nailed to a tree on the left was missing.  And further up where the trail levels out a bit, it was clear that people must still be missing that left because now there are two trails intersecting the main trail at .8 miles.  In the picture below, I am looking back at where I came up on the right but there is a social trail just left of it where people are intersecting after making the mistake.

 

 

I spent a little time listening to the music at the moss wall:

 

 

There were patches of snow as I approved the top ledge, nothing to make you step off the trail for.

 

 

Water from both the skies and melting snow from warming weather was rushing down the last section of trail, I had to hop rocks to keep my feet dry.

 

 

Having hiked the Wall many times on days like this, I knew not to anticipate much of a view from the top.  When I arrived I could see down into town and at the North Fork Skykomish but the clouds quickly moved back in and I was left with nothing but the rumble of train and hum of SR 2 traffic.

 

 

 

I kept hoping the skies would clear a bit, gazing up I imagined spots of blue poking through.

 

 

I stayed long enough to have a snack and knit a few rounds before I gave up on the clouds clearing and made my way back down to the car.

 

 

 

I snapped a picture of the last junction where the blue diamond is missing, there is a green marker up on a tree that points left but it is pretty easy to miss. Can you see it below?

 

 

I was down off the trail and walking along the tracks. Another successful hike without seeing anybody.  Except…

Now for the creepy part.  As I approached the crossing for the railroad tracks at 1pm, I looked back over at the privy and could see that the caution tape had been restored and the warning sign re-stapled to the kiosk.

 

 

What?!? Mind you, I had not seen a soul this whole time and there were no cars anywhere near by. What are the odds that in that 3 hour period, someone had decided to check on that flagging? Is there a game camera that watches that area?  A deputy who regularly patrols to put the tape back up?

It’s still a mystery, what do you think?

 

You can read more about the Index Town Wall here.

 

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