Miles: 11.6 miles RT (to the talus fields), 14 miles RT (to the pass)
Elevation Gain/Highest: 2000ft/3200ft (this trip), 3000ft/4000ft (to the pass)
Map: Green Trails No 110 Silverton
Favorite Eats/Drinks After Hike: Mirkwood Public House, Glorybucha Microbrewery, River Time Brewing, or just Pack A Cooler. You can learn more about these places in my Must Hike Must Eat Eating Out Guide.
Find out current conditions and as always, practice Leave No Trace. Pretty please.
My hike:
6/16/2018
I have had this hike on my list since 2016 when we were up power brushing the beginning of the trail for a PCTA trail work party. Having not hiked the trail before, I wanted to return to see how far I could make it to Squire Creek Pass. I knew there was a more maintained trail via Eight Mile but what fun would that be?
I parked at the “new” parking lot about ⅓ before the official one due to the road being eroded away. It looks like some folks have driven over it but running close to the trees and brush on the inside but I wouldn’t chance it myself. I started walking from the car at about 8:45am.
The trail was basically flat for the first 4.5 miles as it runs on the old road along the creek that used to lead up to the original trailhead before the massive washouts of 2002. A new trail register sat at .8 miles in and little path down to Squire Creek was on the right a quarter mile further in before the trail takes a switchback up to a tack a bit higher up from the creek. Columbine was prolific and the thimbleberry was still green.
It is always interesting walking trails that once were roads, especially when you hear streams running underneath where old culverts lay. There was even a washout where you could see remnants that remind you it was once possible to drive in this far before Mother Nature reclaimed the area.
I could see that the work we did 2 years ago has started to grow back and there was a few patches that looked like someone has been up since to do more brushing. I was glad I had worn gaiters, the early morning dew on the brush would have soaked my pants in no time. I consider a trail overgrown if you can’t even find it but the foliage is definitely closing in.
There were several good sized creek crossings along the 4.5 miles in, some requiring rock hopping or crossing on logs someone had placed across but I managed to cross without getting my feet wet.
Just a short distance after crossing the third creek, the original trailhead appeared at about 3 in (from my car) followed shortly by the Boulder River Wilderness sign at 3.5 miles. There were some nice beginning views of Three Fingers and Bullon here as the trees thinned out.
I reached the last creek at roughly 4.5 miles around 10:45am and made my way across. Having read the previous trip report, I knew to head down stream to connect with the trail again. What I hadn’t caught was that in order to see the trail (and flagging), you must be down in the creek bed.
If you are up on the bank (as I was), you will travel down for aways and run out of bank and think that someone must have removed the flagging. So, thinking the trail was overgrown at this point with all the warnings about route finding needed, I simply headed up into the trees on the other side (following the map and a glitching GPS), figuring I would run into the trail eventually. I won’t bore you with the details but 1.5 hours later after an insane amount of bushwhacking and tree gymnastics, I did indeed catch up with the trail at 2800ft after the switchbacks and as the trail begins to sweep across the slope on the contour towards the talus fields.
I hit the first talus field at about 12:30 and couldn’t have been happier. The rock slab walls rose up to my left above and Whitehorse and Three Fingers majestically posed to my right. The view made it all worth it.
I stopped for a snack at the second talus field and continued on with hopes for the pass. However, coming around to a smooth granite slabbed slope at about 3180ft I was stopped by a large snowfield and snow bridges with pieces in the process of breaking off.
I knew the trail continued on the other side, I could see a small break in the slide alder. I looked up in hopes that I might be able to circumvent the snow by walking around on the slab but after hiking up 20ft on the edge of the snowfield, I was stopped by a break in the snow and an 8ft drop.
No thanks, I called it at 1pm. I’d had enough adventure for the day. Returning on the trail was much easier (obvious) on the way back, much of it a deep trench of rock, moss, roots and runoff. There was plenty of pink flagging now, albeit not really necessary except at the creek. The trail offered lots of practice in maneuvering downed trees both over and under and poles were handy for all the little stream crossings.
I was back down to the creek around 2:15pm and on to the last 4.5 miles out. I passed two couples on the trail headed up and one down at Squire Creek on the first mile. There was plenty of cat scat all along the trail but no paw prints that I noticed. I was back to my car by 4pm with my GPS calling it almost 13 miles but with all the glitching I can’t count on it being super accurate. However, my guess is that from the new parking lot to the pass has to be at least 14 miles RT.
Directions: From the four way stop in Darrington on the Mountain Loop, head south to Darrington Ave (past the skate park) and turn west. This is the same road to take for River Time Brewing, a great stop after your hike! Follow this road past residential homes and it will become FR 2040. It becomes gravel after 1.5 miles and the new trailhead is 3 miles in. There is room for about 8 cars with judicious parking. No permit needed.
For more hikes in the area, check out my Mountain Loop Highway page.
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