Today was too nice of a day to go to work -- or at least that was what Jared thought! It was unseasonably warm (around 80 degrees), sunny, clear, and just one of those perfect Washington days. So, after checking to make sure there were no emergencies at work -- Jared decided to take the day off and go scout some new areas. Of course Indy got to go along and she couldn't have been happier to spend the day outside hiking around and exploring with Jared. As one of our friends likes to say, "Days that don't suck!". :)
Ah yes, it was a gorgeous day indeed. Indy and Jared decided that they would head east towards the Cascade Mountains. Specifically, they would head up the Skykomish River Basin towards Stevens Pass on Highway 2. Jared's research had pointed him towards some major tributaries of the Skykomish, namely, Foss, Miller, and Beckler Rivers.
They made their way up the road, past the town of Skykomish, through a tunnel, and then off onto Foss River Road. The road quickly turned from pavement to dirt and they found ourselves meandering up alongside the Foss River. Jared headed towards "The Westfork Trail" but was quickly stopped by snow. Jared sat there looking at the snow all over the road and in the trees and then looked at the outdoor temperature gauge that read 74 degrees. What a strange combination... snow drifts and 74 degrees. Jared and Indy flipped it around and went down another road. It wasn't long before Jared started spotting snow alongside the road in little drifts, but then they came upon a bridge. Jared parked and got these pictures of the Foss:
Look how nice and clear, regardless of all the snow melt!
They jumped back into the truck and back tracked a bit to where we saw a turn out for a trail head. It was a nice trail head with a clean restroom and nice parking. Reading the sign, they could see it was the Necklace Valley Trail and that it eventually leads to a string of alpine lakes... in fact, those lakes are in the "Alpine Wilderness Area". One problem though; they didn't have an up to date "Northwest Forest Pass". Indy wanted to go up this trail so bad it was just sad. She kept running to Jared and then running up the trail. It did look inviting, that was for sure! And it was about 76 degrees now, so the shade of the thick forest was really nice! Jared explained to Indy that they would come back and take that hike as soon as Jared tracked down a forest pass. We hopped in the truck and headed back towards the town of Skykomish not far away.
Turns out they didn't even have to go that far! Just a few yards from the turn off to Foss River Road, there was a ranger station... and of course they have passes! Jared and Indy stopped, bought the yearly pass and received some additional info about the area from the ranger. Then, to Indy's delight, they hit the road and shot back up the Foss to the Necklace Valley trailhead!
The trail was in excellent shape, easy to follow, and mostly clear of downed trees. This may sound trivial, but in Western Washington, trails in good shape and that are not washed out, overgrown, under water, or filled with downed trees are actually more rare than you might think. Here's Indy at the very start before Jared could get her leash back on her!
Woodpeckers?! Is this a tree, or Swiss cheese?
One of many streams that come out of the side hill and across the trail. Indy dipped her toes and drank at every single one of them!
This was the biggest side stream we encountered. It was really roaring and made you question the integrity of that bridge. Definitely wouldn't want to fall in to this one, as it kept roaring down the hill as far as the eye could see.
Indy tied up while Jared took pictures... she wasn't too happy about being left behind for a minute!
Ah, time to cool off. Jared and Indy had hiked about two miles or so when we decided to turn around and head back. Indy found an acceptable stream and decided she'd lay down for a few.
They returned to the truck and loaded up. The Necklace Valley Trail was really nice, but it is nine miles to the first lake, plus a 3500ft climb to get there in the last two miles. Not sure we'll make it any time soon!
Next, they headed up Beckler River Road. Beckler River is pretty large, and the road was really nice (all paved). They drove for a ways and then stopped for a snack and to let Indy swim a little. Then they flipped it around and headed for the Miller River area to sneak a peak before heading home.
The Miller River Road was quite nice as well. It was all dirt, and the stream looked like it might be decent fishing once the high water recedes. They drove up to were we crossed it at one point and it was very rough and fast as it charged down the canyon.
They turned around not far from here. The road keeps going and eventually stops at a trail that leads into the Alpine Wilderness and to another string of mountain lakes. There are tons of mountain lakes up there, and hopefully we all can get to one of them later this summer. The 80 degree weather can definitely trick you into thinking the snow is gone everywhere, but the ranger Jared talked to said that pretty much every lake in the area was still snowed in... the one they checked recently was under eight feet of snow! Maybe July or August.
