Thu Oct 25, 2007 8:08 pm Tour du Mt Washington 10/25/07
Taking advantage of a somewhat favorable forecast, I took a long rambling journey on Mount Washington to check out trails old and new. Here's a map of the route:
The journey began at the upper Twin Falls trailhead. I headed up the standard Mount Washington Trail, enjoying the many mossy cliffs and waterfalls that the route passes. The trail was built on an old logging road; the drivers who took fully loaded log trucks down this steep grade must have had a lot of guts. Due to work by the Trail Man, the trail is in fine condition, though rocky from years of uncontrolled erosion. I noticed fresh (and badly needed) drainage work that could have been done by Paul the Trail Man, or possibly an official trail crew...the authorities seem to be taking notice of this area now.
The Owl Hike view was as good as ever. Not too far beyond that spot, I encountered the major Y junction. The now obsolete sign there had been removed. The right fork is now the official standard route to the peak. I put up a set of new signs reflecting the current reality.
After Lex (my new dog) enjoyed a swim in the "Dog Pool", constructed by "The Trail Man" at the Washington Ck ford, I headed on up the valley on nicely restored logging road/trail. The upper basin of Washington Creek was quiet and lovely as usual. Fresh snow started appearing at about 3500'.
Next to a pond, the recently constructed trail begins. The North Ridge/Pinnacles route, built by "The Trail Man", branches right across the pond's dam, and the new trail branches left. I'm not sure who built the new trail...I'm guessing the Mountains-to-Sound organization, who has a lot of money. The new route initially follows old logging roads, then becomes freshly constructed tread switchbacking up the side of the Washington Ck basin. Passing through alpine garden rock slides and making a brief jaunt along the north ridge of Mt Wa, this trail is very scenic. It's sure to become very popular in the future.
The summit of Mt. Wa. was shrouded in clouds, so I chose to skip the final summit climb and head back on the now obsolete Great Wall route. The snowy roads at the ridge crest were very picturesque and I couldn't help thinking how good the ski touring would be up here in winter.
Though times have passed it by, the Great Wall route has great views and I wouldn't write it off. I hope that the route gets continued maintenance; we need all the trails we can get. This is the only part of the hike where the sun shone brightly and I felt a touch of balminess in the air; otherwise a wintery windy chill prevailed on the ridge crests.
I eventually veered off the Great Wall route and followed the old Change Creek logging road down. This area is little visited; I saw a lot of bear scat (bruins seem to love this valley) as well as other animal droppings I couldn't identify (Coyote? Cougar?? ). I took the shortcut trail down to the pond at the head of Change Creek, where Lex enjoyed a chilly swim .
Then it was a long slog down the old logging road/ trail, followed by a rapid descent on the rough but ever-improving Change Creek Tr to the Iron Horse Tr, which I followed back to the car.
Ok, so the white dog drops you off at the trailhead, and the black dog is photogenic and jumps into water. What do you do?
(Cool pics! I did not even know there was something called "Mt. Washington" along I-90.)
For some reason, Mt Washington gets much less hiker use than Mt Si or Mailbox despite having a similar drive time from Seattle. The terrain on Mt Wa is much more diverse and interesting, with cliffs, basins, alpine meadows, and ponds. Unlike those other two peaks, Mt Wa accumulates a lot of snow in the upper basins. Supposedly the snowshoeing is quite good (I haven't tried it).
Thanks a million. I will try this next year...maybe sooner. Am all booked for the weekend and next, gone to Mom's funeral in Ohio. I guess it is then November weather for sure. I love exploring...and Mt. WA has been on my mind for years. Went up routes for a mile or two some years ago.
Love the pooch! He loves the wild walking, I see! My pups will enjoy this hike.
Wopper: Drive I-90, take exit 38, turn right, drive a few seconds and turn right into the parking lot. Up the trail, west on Iron Horse, and look for the path on your left, going down, then up. You can see the start on WB's map. It's probably 8-9 miles for the North Ridge, and 12 miles for the Great Wall variation. Either way you gain about 3120'.
I see Magellan beat me to the punch but here is some more info...
From the usual parking spot, Upper Twin Falls just off Exit 38, it is a 3100' climb to the 4300' summit of Mt Washington, 8 miles RT. The old route via the "Great Wall" was quite a bit longer. It is a good idea to invest in the Green Trails map 206S...it shows the trails on Mt Wa pretty well ( but not the new trail up to Mt Wa or the Change Creek trail). You can use the map I posted to fill in some of the blanks.
Signage is lacking on most of the trails, and Mt Wa has a reputation for confusing hikers. The newly built trail will help this situation, as it is a more direct and obvious route to the summit. Notably, there is no sign to mark the start of the Mt Wa trail where it leaves the Iron Horse Tr. To find it, park at Upper Twin Falls trailhead, walk up the trail to the Iron Horse Tr, then walk west about 0.1 miles. Look for an obvious tread heading into the wooded hillside.
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). I took the shortcut trail down to the pond at the head of Change Creek, where Lex enjoyed a chilly swim .
