[yew]

FR 2060, the Clear Creek Rd is passable although there are a few spots where a sedan will have to go with care. There's an avalanche deposit that narrows the road and 2 dips with big gravel. I had to chop out 3 windfalls over the road with a Pulaski. An SUV was there when I arrived at the TH.

Wilderness boundary sign on 8 Mile Creek Trail

The trail starts on an old skid road in second growth then enters old growth at the Wilderness boundary.

Helena Peak area from 8 Mile Creek Trail, Boulder River Wilderness, Mt Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest, Washington.

Good view from an open area with rock slab above and some snow. The trail is steep, rooty, rocky, muddy and wet!

wet, rocky, rooty, steep 8 Mile Creek Trail to Squire Creek Pass

waterfalls over slab on 8 Mile Creek Trail

waterfalls over slab on 8 Mile Creek Trail

western trillium on 8 Mile Creek Trail

Barely any snow before the trail crosses the pool below the upper slab waterfall. Patchy snow for about 1/2 mile after the trail crosses the pool.

waterfalls over slab on 8 Mile Creek Trail

Marsh marigold on 8 Mile Creek Trail

Continuous snow after where the trail crosses a steep, snow-filled ravine. The snow was surprisingly walkable. I wore trail runners, shorts and a T-shirt with a stick picked up along the way for support. It was quite warm and sunny but the snow was not that wet and slushy. There's some good backcountry ski terrain here but the snow is bumpy and a little dirty with pollen and dust.

looking northeast from west of Squire Creek Pass, Boulder River Wilderness.

I lost the trail after the ravine, where the terrain mellows out into glades.

Mt Bullen and Whitehorse Mtn from Squire Creek Pass, Boulder River Wilderness.

Mt Bullen and Whitehorse Mtn from Squire Creek Pass, Boulder River Wilderness.

Three Fingers from Squire Cr Pass, , Boulder River Wilderness.

2 hours hike in and 1.5 hours out. Very warm and sunny on the drive home around Rockport and Concrete.

[Grizzy]

Nice! So route finding isn't a problem on the snowy portion? Thanks for the pictures, it is a very cool place.

[whitebark]

Good news that the 8 mile creek trailhead is accessible! Last Sunday, I hiked toward the pass via Squire Creek. Now that the Squire Creek route is two miles longer due to the landslide damage, the 8 mile route is probably the quickest way to the pass. Snow begins at 3000' on the Squire Creek route, just when you break out of the trees below Jumbo Mountain (check my WTA report).

[Hulksmash]

WOW! that AVI deposit already melted that much! I figured it would be July before that would happen!

[don b]

I was rock climbing on 3 O'Clock rock on Sunday and we stopped at the avy spot and rode our bikes to the trailhead. A CC.com climber had hand dug the road out as well as cutting out the big tree that had fallen during our absence. He calls himself "I need to climb" and this certainly demonstrates that! Great work on his part!

[yew]

[Quark]

Yew, the White Chuck Bench trail is pretty exciting. I didn't visit it before it was all washed out. Since then, I've visited it twice - it's a beautiful lowland trail that locals used a lot, and one that I'll use time and time again. There are awesome river views, and it's a gorgeous forest. The White Chuck Rd decision hasn't been made yet - I contacted the person in charge of the EA today, to check on the status. She said that so many people commented that they're still preparing their matrix. It'll be forthcoming in the next couple o' weeks. Cool pic of the grouse. Glad to see more trip reports on Squire Creek. I had my first visit last year. If the Forest Service knows people visit it, perhaps it'll get more regular attention. The trail from 8 Mile to 3 O'Clock rock was practically re-built several years ago, but as you know the worst of it is beyond the Rock (and the whole other side is pretty bad). I found a photo last night of the Jumbo Mtn washout (Squire Creek road side of this trail), a few months after it happened. I'll scan it and post it next week. I think fwb's trip report of the Jumbo climb had good current washout photos - I'll post it on that t hread for comparison.