[Dayhike Mike]

Went up the Middle Fork of the Snoqualmie River this weekend to revisit a failed effort from last year. First half of the road was in good condition; the last few miles to the trailhead were pretty well pitted. Trail was in good condition, with a light dusting of snow, but most sections weren't too muddy due to the cooler conditions. The weather was clear and sunny, and I had some nice views of a dusting of snow on Mt. Garfield. 3.25 miles from the trailhead (.75 mi west of Cripple Creek), took off up a ridge to the southwest. Snow wasn't an issue under the tree cover, but got a little snowy/icy in exposed sections and up against the cliffy canyon headwalls. Enjoyed the sights, the silence, and the solitude for a bit, then headed back down to the comfort of the valley.

Mt. Garfield from the Southwest; Middle Fork of the Snoqualmie river in foreground

Face between Cripple Creek and our ridge

Top of the talus, crossing to ridge to west.

[Sore Feet]

Peaked my interest, I'll say that much. Awesome shot of Garfield!

[Dayhike Mike]

Didn't realize just how sparse my original post was. Long story short, my dad and I were scouting out routes up to Elbow, Shamrock, etc. and were going to go up the drainage just west of Cripple Creek and come back down Cripple Creek to compare the two. About a thousand feet above the river valley, he slipped as we were crossing the river bed and slid down three pitches of water fall (20 feet at 20 deg., 75-80 feet at 40 deg., and the last 35 feet at a 65-70 degree incline). Luckily he had no fractured bones, but he did have an 8-inch cut in his thigh and I knew I wasn't going to be able to get him out alone. Search and Rescue, in all their forms -- the RAD team, SPART, ESAR, SMR -- came out in full force and did a tremendous job of getting him off of the hill. With their help, he was able to walk himself down (in harness) another 400 feet to a makeshift Landing Zone and was airlifted out by an Army Blackhawk helicopter. I'm incredibly thankful for the Search and Rescue teams and I owe them a great debt. Thanks to their help, my dad is fine today and we'll probably spend many more years enjoying the backcountry -- better equipped and better prepared in case we're ever in a similar situation again. In any case, it was a good return trip -- a trip I've needed to make for the last nine months. In any case, I probably won't be going up there again; I found out there's a fishermen's trail to Derrick Lake, near Cripple Creek. I'll likely be checking out that route sometime later this year, perhaps as a quick descent to a waiting truck at the Dingford Creek trailhead, after a day-long ramble past Snow, Gem, Upper and Lower Wildcat, Caroline, Hatchet, Derrick, Horseshoe, Shamrock and Elbow Lakes. Anyone game?

[Backpacker Joe]

Heck ya. First in that area ah-la 1982. Been in there since too. I'll go with ya M...... TB