[bonobo]

Hi y'all, I'm back after a protracted abscence due to the terribly sad, premature death of my car. On the 4th, my boyfriend and I were planning on heading up north and checking out the fireworks in Arlington. I talked him into a hike, and tried to figure out where to take him. After assessing the short trails in the area (as well as considering how busy they would be on the 4th), I decided on taking him up a trail I'd never been on, the Walt Baily trail up to Cutthroat lakes.I was longer then I thought he's want to hike, but the meadows sounded beautiful, and I figured we could turn around there if need be. After the drive out, and onto the forest service road (which, BTW, is signed Mallardy Road, not Mallardy Ridge Road as stated in my Glacier Peak Hiking guide - just some info for anyone working out of the same one!) which was paved for the first couple of miles, what a treat! We then headed up the rest of the gravelled road to the trail head. Road's in good condition, but it is quite narrow - headlights on and watch for people zooming down the hill! Parking, as expected, was very tight. Next time I'll add a half mile or so to the hike and just park in the large, semi-circular turnout down the road - way less hassle. There were about 8 other cars at the trailhead when we arrived at about 11:30 (yup, another late start by yours truly). We were swarmed by bees as soon as we opened the car doors. We quickly grabbed our gear and got outta there. The weather was beautiful - sunny and low-mid 70's. Of course, I realize once we're half a mile from the car that I forgot my poles, bummer bummer. I decide to leave them and we continue on our way. We hike, up, up, up, including the shortest switchbacks in history, brutal. I trip many times on the roots and rocks that are everywhere. My short legs and lack of poles don't help much - some of those rocks were big, and I had to scramble where most could step up. Despite this, I loved the trail. It was just beautiful - lovely views and then the meadows - simply beautiful. There are numerous small streams to cross, and there is still plenty of mud on the trail. Bugs are out - the mosquitos preferred my boyfriend to me, which was nice. Flies were buzzy and annoying but not biting. The gnats, however - oh, the gnats. They flew up my nose. I ate at least 7 or 8. We had lunch by the stream towards the far end of the meadows, and then stashed the packs and went to explore a bit. The boyfriend wanted to head back, so we headed down the trail. We only saw about 8 people the whole way and back, way less then I had expected. We enjoyed the beautiful day, and I remembered what America means to me. All in all, a great trip. Can't wait to get back and go all the way to the lakes! Oh, we had dinner at the Timberline in Granite Falls. That place was a trip. Good eats, though.

[dicey]

Wow you ate all those bugs and lunch and dinner? I too, have eaten at the timberline cafe, but I don't really know what to say about it. Maybe I need to eat there again to form a proper opinion Thanks for the bug report!

[Slugman]

bonobo wrote: "There were about 8 other cars at the trailhead when we arrived at about 11:30" The hike in to the meadows is a fine little jaunt all on it's own, but the lakes are delicious and well worth the extra time and effort. I've been on this hike more than any other, six or seven times if you count just snowshoeing into the meadows a few times, and I can't recall ever seeing another car there, or maybe one car one time. Ah, the joys of hiking mid-week!

[Snowshoe Hare]