Forum Index > Trip Reports > Historic Mid Fork Trail from Gateway Bridge to Pratt River
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whitebark
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whitebark
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PostThu Jun 14, 2007 8:25 pm 
Getting to the Pratt River from the Middle Fork Snoqualmie trailhead is an entertaining exploration. Some sections of the three mile route are on traces of the old and historic Middle Fork trail, other sections are just boot-built way trail. I spent a few hours poking around the area today. I noticed that somebody has been working the route a fair amount, removing logs and marking the way. Thanks, whoever you are! To get there, park at the Middle Fork trailhead (trail pass required) and walk across the Gateway Bridge. Turn right at the far side of the bridge, heading away from the main trail, and go west on the rough trail along the riverbank. After a quarter mile or so, the trail seems to end at the river's shore. Continue walking west on the rocky beach or in open areas just inland from the river. At length, the rocky floodplain ends at a cliff. There is a marvelous swirling pool in the river at this spot and a lovely beach. An obvious trail scrambles up the bank, then follows a shelf on the top of the cliff. Old puncheon is visible here: an artifact of the historic trail. The path then drops into the floodplain of Rainy Creek, crossing a jumble of logs at one point Not far beyond the jumble is an obscure junction. The more defined path going straight ahead is the start of the Rainy Creek Trail. A lesser path splits right; this is the continuation of the route to Pratt River. It is marked with ribbons. If you soon reach a crossing of Rainy Creek, you have missed the junction. The Pratt River path briefly approaches the river, then turns left to cross the remainder of the Rainy Creek delta. Salmonberry brush is thick in places here. Much of this section appears to be on intact historic tread. Finally, the path drops down a bank to a ford of the creek. The water level has subsided, and if your boots are reasonably waterproof, you can ford the creek without too much difficulty. The next half mile section of trail is very rough as the path traverses a steep rocky slope. Some sections of the historic path appear to have been blasted out of the rock. Other sections have collapsed down the hill completely or have washed away in gullies. Another tattered remnant of puncheon is visible at one point, hanging in midair. With patience, this nasty section goes by quickly enough. Eventually the terrain gentles as the trail passes an impressive cliff with a cave (possibly an old mine) in it. The next half mile follows an exceptionally well-preserved section of the old trail and the walking is pleasant on nearly intact tread. The smooth going ends at an rocky debris flow. On the far side of the debris, the trail resumes, well-marked but no longer following the historic route, which appears to be lost for good in the brush. The new trail is crude in spots but well marked and generally finds a practical route that is not too brushy. It gradually climbs away from the river, reaching a high point after a mile or so, before dropping down onto an old roadbed. At this point I turned around, having started much too late to do the full hike to the Pratt River. From a previous hike here, I recall that the trail follows the old salmonberry-infested roadbed for some distance as it gradually descends toward the Pratt River valley. A short piece of way trail brings you to a meadowy flat by the Snoqualmie River, which may have been the old site of the "Halfway House" marked on my historic map of the area. The Pratt River trail begins here; look for ribbons in a salmonberry thicket. Allow about 1.5 to 2 hours to get from the Gateway Bridge to the start of the Pratt River Trail.

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Quark
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PostThu Jun 14, 2007 8:49 pm 
Most excellent stuff! Is the new trail going in here, or elsewhere? I'd love to hike the old one before it's obliterated by new stuff, if they're using the old trailbed.

"...Other than that, the post was more or less accurate." Bernardo, NW Hikers' Bureau Chief of Reporting
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whitebark
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whitebark
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PostThu Jun 14, 2007 9:49 pm 
Hi Quark, I think that the FS actually had a plan to rebuild the trail to the Pratt River, but something happened...lack of money, lawsuits (this may be a Grizzly Recovery area). They actually had surveyed the route with flags (you could once see the line of flagging when hiking up Rainy Creek). But I think the proposal to rebuild the trail is now completely dead. The good news is that some bootleg trail maintainer has taken things into his or her own hands, and created a usable route to the Pratt. Looks like he even used a chainsaw...serious stuff.

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Kat
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PostFri Jun 15, 2007 5:06 am 
Thanks whitebark for the excellent description. I've explored a little ways down that trail but got stopped by higher water a year or two ago. Looking forward to exploring further smile.gif

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Magellan
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Magellan
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PostFri Jun 15, 2007 5:14 am 
Thanks for the TR Whitebark. I did not realize it was so hard to access Pratt River valley. I did not even know about the trail up Rainy Creek. I have often wondered about this area. Rogue trail maintainence rocks! rockband.gif

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lopper
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lopper
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PostFri Jun 15, 2007 9:11 am 
The Rainy Lake trail was a numbered trail on USFS maps until the mid 1960s. There were cable-sling footbridges at Camp Brown (for the Rainy trail) and just upstream from the Pratt/MFK confluence (for the trail to Pratt Lake). I wonder if the yellow-topped wooden poles are still there in the flats SE of the confluence. They used to mark the trail across the meadows to the treeline.

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ridgewalker
Mountains and Rivers



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ridgewalker
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PostFri Jun 15, 2007 6:41 pm 
Two years ago I hiked up the Pratt River trail. It was definitely a challenge. The trail is hit and miss. Fording the river in Late season (August) at the confluence and then starting off from the Gravel bar. I found that the trail was worse in the beginning, and followed what looked like a tread. Once past the "Delta" the trail became pretty obvious through the forest, with some clearings. I made it pretty well to the Old Stand of Old Growth on the Pratt, where a sign still existed. After that following the old route I keep losing from time to time, I pushed further up about to half way up the river valley. At which time it was a mixture of "follow the Compass Needle" through the valley and "I think that is the trail". There is definitely a couple different swatches and remnants of a road at places... The final destination was Pratt Lake, which I never made it to, instead feeling that pushing forward would take more then the two days I had. So I made camp and pushed back... My feeling is that it would make a great route to the back-country, but likely was never maintained due to the old logging features, lack of a crossing, and the fast access into the Pratt and Melakwa area via the I-90 corridor hikes... Yet my Pulaski's blade is still bright and needs some work, but there are a multitude of trails to work on before this one... Thanks to who ever is pushing it on forward... -- Ridgewalker

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Magellan
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PostSat Jun 16, 2007 6:37 am 
Looking at my North Bend Ranger District map (1991) I see no trail on the other side of the river! Of course it shows a footlog across the middle fork to access Pratt River drainage. I wonder what that was like.

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whitebark
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whitebark
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PostSat Jun 16, 2007 9:30 am 
Well, you have to go a bit farther back in time to see the trails. Here's the 1901 map:
Old mid fork map
Old mid fork map
This map comes from this interesting site: http://www.wsulibs.wsu.edu/Holland/masc/usgstoposindex.htm

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Backpacker Joe
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Backpacker Joe
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PostSat Jun 16, 2007 9:39 am 
Years ago I crossed the river and hiked the Pratt Valley trail to Tuscohatchie lake. It looked (at the time) to me that any trail that had once existed going the direction (read North East) of the ole Middle Fork trail had long since been washed away by the changing Middle Fork. Thanks for the description WB. That Pratt Valley trail is a long one, inside the darkness of the forest.

"If destruction be our lot we must ourselves be its author and finisher. As a nation of freemen we must live through all time or die by suicide." — Abraham Lincoln
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Magellan
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Magellan
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PostSat Jun 16, 2007 11:27 am 
Thanks for that link WB, I will have to explore it. I like the 'halfway house' on the MF map. It used to be all trails where there is now roads. Build a road, and a trail or two disappears. It's a wonder half the mountains in CO have trails when there is also a road to or near the top. I would love to see the darkness of Pratt River Valley. A link on another thread mentioned the ALPS role in keeping that valley from being logged. If it was worth saving from logging, it should be worth visiting.

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lopper
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lopper
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PostSat Jun 16, 2007 8:59 pm 
The Pratt Valley got logged pretty good in the 1920s. The wood was brought out by rail. In fact, the PR trail follows the trace of the old RR grade for most of its length. There are still some remnants of old growth at higher elevations on Preacher Mtn and Russian Buttes. If you look up the PR valley from the S slopes of Bessemer, you can see the pattern........the mowed lawn of new growth lapping up against the shaggy old good stuff. Here is a view from a snowshoe hike in early 1986
from ridge near Bessemer
from ridge near Bessemer
Feb 1986

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Magellan
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Magellan
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PostSat Jun 16, 2007 9:39 pm 
Thanks for that information. It makes the ALPS claim kind of funny. It should say 'Kept it from getting logged again.' I have only really looked at the valley recently. Probably the additional twenty years of growth kept me from really noticing the buzz cut. Or my total inattention to detail. lol.gif

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Mikey
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PostSun Jun 17, 2007 8:33 am 
Bridge Across Snoqualmie Middle Fork To Access Pratt River
Quite a few years ago I recall there being some sort of cable suspension bridge across the Middle Fork Snoqualmie river near the mouth of the Pratt River; but about 8 feet of the bridge boards were missing on the east side when we attempted to use this bridge. So we waded the river (it was deepest on the east side). We hiked up the old Pratt River trail a couple of miles (as I recall, the trail was on the north side of the Pratt River), then dropped down to the river and fished downstream to the mouth, catching some native cutthroat trout. The Pratt River valley was logged many years ago.

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lopper
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lopper
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PostSun Jun 17, 2007 11:16 am 
Here is what the MFK bridge near the Pratt confluence looked like in March of 1973 (looking S). The pairs of wire nooses held unsecured horizontal "ties". The planking was also loose, and getting across required some "do-it-yourself" footing adjustments.
wire bridge at Pratt.
wire bridge at Pratt.

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