Forum Index > Trail Talk > Mtn. Road Snow Report - Verlot Area
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McPilchuck
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McPilchuck
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PostFri Apr 19, 2002 1:15 pm 
The following is a mtn. road report done this morning by myself whilst attempting to climb Mt. Pilchuck again: (all mileage road reports are from paved Verlot Hwy) Mt. Pilchuck Road: bare until 3 miles where a few good snow patches occur, at about 3.5 miles the road is covered completely with snow and gets real slushy at that point, evidence of vehicles getting stuck, 4x4 (two) trucks were parked here. With another 3.5 miles of road walking ahead I opted out of any continuing thought of bagging the peak toady, for I hate walking on snowy roads for miles just to get at the start of a climb. note: When the snow-covered road is solid even iced as in Dec. - early March, it's feasible to drive (with good ground clearance) clear to the landing/trailhead, as I did, though some 4x4 trucks won't attempt it, for a climb either by way of the North Face or the other route up of the trail. Boardman Lake Road: bare only to .7 miles where snow drift is impassable. Mallardy Ridge Road: bare only to .4 miles where accumulative snow is too deep for further 4x4 driving. Three Fingers/Green Mtn. Road: bare until at 3.7 miles where accumulative soft snow drifts make it impassable for further 4x4 driving. Trash cleanup activity along road in progress during prior week. Lower Green Mtn. Road: bare and drivable to 2.6 miles (from cutoff at Three Fingers Road junction) where road becomes impassable due to amounts of soft snow. Upper green Mtn. Road: did not drive figuring would only get a few miles, too. McPilchuck note: took photos of waterfalls on Lower Green Mtn. Road

in the granite high-wild alpine land . . . www.alpinequest.com
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Stefan
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PostFri Apr 19, 2002 3:25 pm 
Can you do this update once a week? Thanks!

Art is an adventure.
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McPilchuck
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Location: near Snohomish, Wa.
McPilchuck
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PostFri Apr 19, 2002 5:23 pm 
You are quite welcome. I would if I could, but until this snow eeks out quite a bit more on those roads, I am putting away my (Pilchuck/Three Fingers) climbing gear at least in that area. Think I'll go fishing instead for awhile, need some fish for dinner...grin. <<Can you do this update once a week? Thanks!>>

in the granite high-wild alpine land . . . www.alpinequest.com
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Sore Feet
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PostFri Apr 19, 2002 10:11 pm 
I'll add a few in here (off 2). Miller River Road - Clear to about 1/2 mile before the West Fork bridge. Money Creek - Clear about 2 miles in, heavy snow beyond Old Cascade Highway @ Scenic - Lots of blowdown over the road, at least one tree near Alpine Falls that may be impassible for cars.

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janders
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PostSun Apr 21, 2002 6:47 pm 
FS 9030 (road to Talapus Lake trailhead) clear up to about 1/2 mile below the trailhead. There is a snowbank across the road at that point but if you have a high clearance rig and decent tires, it's pretty easy to make it over. Getting over that bank of snow buys you another ~600 yards of not walking until the snow cover gets pretty consistent on the road.

"Oh dang!" - Captain Amazing
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MCaver
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PostMon Apr 22, 2002 9:03 am 
Anyone been near Beckler Road off US-2 lately? I was there about a month ago and the whole thing was still unplowed and snowed in.

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3fngrs
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PostMon Apr 22, 2002 4:38 pm 
Howdy McPilchuck!! Thanx for the road report. This would be a good thread to keep updated. One of those p/u's you saw on the Pilchuck road the 19th was probably mine. Only a couple of summit sign-ins up there since we met there at the beginning of March. No sign of any boot paths, and lots of avy debris just over the saddle. It was a beautiful day till the clouds rolled in.

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Fried Beckler
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PostMon Apr 22, 2002 6:03 pm 
Two weeks ago, we drove two miles with no problem. Then there was a problem area for low clearance cars. But it got better, and we made it another two miles before getting majorly stuck. A one-mile walk to the Rapid River road. But the 4x4 with big tire folks were getting through. Several logs down on the road, so bring a saw.

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McPilchuck
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McPilchuck
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PostWed Apr 24, 2002 5:26 pm 
3fngrs: I thought one of those trucks looked familar up on the Pilchuck Road that day...grin. I thought about continuing on hiking the road, but decided to survey the area instead. Spent most of the day over on Green Mtn. shooting waterfalls with the Contax SLR. Boy, today would have been grand up there on the summit of Pil! I suspect things will loosen up a bit up there soon. Did you do the North Face Route up? Good to hear there hasn't been much traffic (boots), probably due to that road condition, eh?

in the granite high-wild alpine land . . . www.alpinequest.com
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3fngrs
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PostThu Apr 25, 2002 4:51 pm 
McPilchuck, Yep, always do the north route. Was up there again today the 25th. There's been a bit of foot traffic up to the saddle but not much to the lookout. Had to laugh when I saw a big old macho Suburban sunk up to its axles about a mile up from the start of the snow on the road. Maybe they thought the trail of Coors Lite cans that they left on the road would give them some extra traction!!

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MCaver
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PostSun Apr 28, 2002 9:53 am 
I had planned to hike the mile or so of Downey Creek that's not under snow according to the MBSNF website, but the sun came out way earlier than the NWS predicted, so forest photos were out. I decided to explore forest roads around the Darrington/Rockport area instead and maybe hike to Slide Lake if I could get to it. Illabot Creek Road (FS-16) - I made it about 12 miles up this road -- 1 mile beyond the FS-1610 junction -- before hitting snow. There are a lot of blowdowns in the last mile but most have been cleared. The ones that aren't are small enough to drive over with high clearance. The snow started abruptly and was at least 6 inches deep instantly with a good sized blowdown just afterward, enough to make me turn back still many miles from the Slide Lake trailhead (the MBSNF website reports on 4/12 the road is open all the way). The first 10 miles of this road has been extremely logged, which is probably why I could drive as far as I did. It allows grand views of the whole region, but every hillside I could see had the shaved look of extensive logging. Ugly, ugly! Finney Creek Road (FS-17) -- I started on the Rockport end and hoped to follow it back around to SR-20 in Hamilton, but didn't get that far. The road is clear until about 1 mile before the junction with FS-18. The snow started abrubly here as well and got deep enough to get my Rav4 stuck. tongue.gif Fortunately, I always carry shovels with me! There's some logging at the begging of the of the road near Rockport that allows views Mt Baker and Glacier Peak, and some major road construction at the 10 mile marker to fix a washout and replace some culverts. Signs warn of a 60 minute wait, but there was no work on the weekend and it was passable. Squire Creek Road (FS-2040) -- Scouting out views of Whitehorse Mountain for photos, I thought I'd see if there were any clearings this close, and maybe see how unmaintained the Squire Creek Trail really is. I only made it a mile or so before hitting a jersey barrier proclaiming the road closed. Others had squeezed around it, but I decided against it. The MBSNF website says it's due to "an enormous mudlside". North Sauk River Road (FS-22) -- Still looking for good shots of Whitehorse, I crossed Sauk and tried from the other side. I only made it 4 miles or so before the road is permanently closed. From the amount of overgrowth beyond, it looks like it's been closed for a while. The MBSNF website doesn't even list this road any more, even though it is quite long on the Green Trails map.

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