[Jetlag]

dougwalsh64, Last year at this time there was a decent bit of water several hundred feet below the pass on the approach, but nothing from the pass up to the lookout.

[Redwic]

Agreed. I would say that you might as well expect no water sources beyond the switchbacks leading up to Mebee Pass.

[WolverineWay]

John, I'm not sure if you're still tracking this post, but I made a trek up to Mebee the "back" way from the W Fork Methow River/PCT and descended via East Creek. I wrote a trail report on WTA.org. Let me know if this is helpful. I'd love to help get this route more passable again. Cheers, ~RyanR>

[lookout bob]

WW...what a great TR. I visited Mebee 10 years or so back and was the first one to have visited in 8 years! I'm so glad John Scurlock and company are taking care of the last L5 in Washington. I very much liked your WTA report and hats off to the gent who fixed the shutters. Thanks to YOU for your report and details of your hike to Mebee. When I went, there was still a wooden sign off the PCT to mark the trail to Mebee Pass. There was no trail from the pass to the lookout. I hope the lookout continues to get work and that the FS eventually replaces the East Creek Bridge. That trail is unlikely to receive anyone's attention ( as is the upper East Fork of the Methow) because of the distances involved. I would love to do a guerrilla log out of the upper Methow trail and am proposing it to some crazy sawyers who might just do it. Thanks for your report.

[KarlK]

Lookout Bob, count me in. I and others have been trying to wrangle a way to get a new bridge put in across Granite Creek. We thought we had made a breakthrough of sorts when Tom Mix*, a guy who has built many bridges to forest service standards in "his" ranger district, offered to build us a bridge over Granite Creek for free. The initial reaction of "our" district ranger (Mike Liu, a terrific guy) was positive, but a host of issues intervened and Mike is now retired. We are hoping to meet and establish a favorable working relationship with the new district ranger. *Tom & his friend Del Sage do amazing work for Backcountry Horsemen of Washington, an organization I'm proud to be a member of. BCHW does a tremendous amount of trail work, and when my knees go south, I'm a-gonna get me a horse.

[Brushbuffalo]

[RodF]

[Brian Curtis]

We did a somewhat similar trip in 2010 and visited the lookout at that time. The map does not show the trail from the PCT to Mebee pass correctly. The actual junction is about a half mile down the PCT from where it is shown on the topo. We found that section of trail from the PCT to Mebee Pass to be in very good shape.

[Gwen]

LO Bob - I know some Sawyers would be in on that action.

[KarlK]

RodF: Efforts are afoot to do exactly as you suggest. As to your comments regarding Tom and Del, well these guys are the real deal and then some. Also your comments regarding BCHW, which I think is a teriffic organization. So far I'm "all hat and no horse" but that might change.

[WolverineWay]

Thanks for the feedback, guys, and the interest. I have a couple chainsaws (one gas, one battery powered) and willingness to operate them to back up my claim - that these trails are worth restoring. However, my first priority on East Creek would be to clear up the route on the avy paths. I'd rather hop logs than get lost in slide alder! It wouldn't be convenient for me to help on the Methow Side because I live in Bellingham, but I would start with brushing on that one. I don't have the tool to make that job quick - some kind of saw blade on a weedwhacker? Brian Curtis, the turnoff from PCT to Mebee may have been fairly easy to find if I had been looking for it. I was cruising on the PCT trying to make up some time after the Methow River Trail and forgot to pay attention. I would not say it is in "very good shape" but it's possible in 2010 it was quite good. It's not bad! Of the three neglected segments I traveled, it was probably the best (along with the upper reaches of East Creek trail on the west side of Mebee - faint but good). However, eight years will soon become ten, then fifteen, and it will become poor, then terrible, then gone. Cheers, ~RyanR>

[Highwalker's Daughter]

We just tagged this one = brutally exhausting, but we had total solitude on Labor Day weekend and excellent views from the top. Notes here were helpful! Can't emphasize this one enough: we made a mistake at first avy gully and followed bright pink flagging through slide alder, other trees and brush, only to get dumped out in woods with no other flags = they just abruptly stopped so we had GPS to tell us trail way below us which saved us from giving up. This is NOT the correct route!! Go down that first gully at least 200 feet following cairns and faded out tape which is now more white than pink. It will take you down to original trail and never through the slide alder without a real path!!! There will be blowdown on the trail to contend with, but you don't ever have to bash through the alder. Other good thing to note if backpacking this (I can't imagine it as a day trip): we filled up at stream at about 7 miles in just before where trail heads up 2500 feet to lookout so each of us were carrying 4-5 liters up that section at a point when we were already pretty tired. You don't have to!!! There is a water source 500 feet below the pass. The last 500 feet from pass is a scramble and bushwhack, but a couple of flat spots at pass or by lookout. There was also a campsite about 2.5 miles from East Creek TH if you want to break it up a bit. Might be some flat spots in the section after final ford. You will hit a ton of blowdown there, but we think we saw some potential for camping along that stretch if you went down to stream level. Contact me for more pointers if you wish.