[Sallie4jo]

Does anyone have the history of the White Chuck River trail that was on the other side of the river. I had remembered seeing a map with the trail years ago and good hiking buddy Stan was able to track it down on a roots and rocks map...but i can not find any mention of it anywhere but that map. Looks like started around camp creek. Anyone ever look for it....back in the day i would look across the river while going up to kennedy hs and further trying to see if i could see any indication of a trail coming out to cross the river close to where glacier creek came down. I started thinking about it after hiking up the old wc trail about a month ago. Just curious. Thx

[Malachai Constant]

It used to be on the other side in the 60s. There were a couple places you could see it before the 2003 floods. I once found the footings of the bridge by the road. I am sure to 03 flood obliterated any trace of it as a lot of material went down the creek.

[Kim Brown]

I tried to locate it from Camp Lake several years ago, but I didn’t want to bore my hiking buddy while I bashed around for hours and hours, so I didn’t spent too much time on it. I had an old map – but didn’t find it. I sure wouldn’t mind bashing around some more from Camp Lake, or from the hot springs campground and seeing if any remnants remain; but a Google Earth view shows a gigantic swath of devastation as Malachai points out – but perhaps during the floods, when the river was sloshing the other side, this side might have been spared here and there. From what I could see on maps, the old trail head this side of the river was located in an area that is marshy, full of salmon berry, skunk cabbage and devils club, then a cliff. The map might have been a little off, but that marshy area runs along the road for a long time, so I don’t know where the hell they put the trail. Could be that it wasn't marshy then - that dozers dug up the earth and piled it onto the new roadbed approaching the new bridge, so the wet areas weren't there back in the day of the older road approach to the roadbridge. I couldn’t even find a reasonable location; but trailheads and trails weren’t often in a reasonable location back in the day, so I might have found it on terra firma the other side of the marsh. I don’t have any old trip reports anywhere that detail the old trail; I have seen one report that gushes about the new trail though. The sill logs of the old road bridge at the present road crossing are indeed still visible. They are way down below the current bridge, so it’s obvious there was LOT of engineering and construction at the present road bridge site, and the old trail head likely obliterated. If you go back there and mess around, let me know if you find a Moonstone Profusion jacket, women’s size Small. It dropped off my backpack around Kennedy Creek back in 2001. It was the only article of clothing I ever wore that made me look damn fine. It won’t even fit my legbone anymore, but still; it’s the principle of the thing.

[Roy Jensen]

Here are some selected images of Forest Service maps which might inspire exploration for the old trail system that was once located on the south side of the Whitechuck River. It seems that crossing the Whitechuck River is a major challenge anytime of year. This spring I was on the current bridge which crosses from the south side to north of Whitechuck River (at the eastern trailhead Whitechuck Bench trail) and thought this would be the best to start searching for the old trail system. The maps are very busy but the trail symbol indicates that a telephone wire was colocated with the trail. Appears to have been several cabins at the mouth of Fern Creek. Because of the low elevation these trail are good targets for early season exploration before the salmonberry/devils club have leafed out. The downside is that it is a long ways to Kennedy Hot Springs. Good hunting and take your loppers. Please report back with any successes or failures.

FS 1953

FS 1949

[Kim Brown]

Thanks for the maps, Roy. Looks like there was a leanto there as well, (Fern Cr). I have looked for the beginning of the trail from the current bridge as well. There's no reasonable terrain on the south bank of the river. The north bank, where the campsite is - yeah, but I don't know that the trail was on the north bank. Yet something about that is familiar - long long long ago maybe it was and I read it somewhere. I've also looked for the trail from Bingley Gap down to Pugh Creek (haven't tried the reverse look); no trace, but .... not sure when the fire was at Bingley Gap - might have been post-trail...? I know there were a lot of fires 19-teens and 20s... It was probably a fisherman's bootpath at best, so chances are slim there would be remnants.

[Dusty Trale]

My topo map that came with the "Routes and Rocks" books shows the Old White Chuck Trail as well as the Camp Creek Ridge Trail that left the river and went up to a junction ( a little west of Little Siberia ) between Camp Lake and Lake Byrne. There is info on these trails in the book. The Old White Chuck Trail is also shown on the 1940 Forest Service rec map, "Stillaguamish-Sauk-Suiattle Recreation Area" that puzzlr put on the nwhikers History page back on June 30, 2018 under "Mountain Loop Recreation Area map - 1940". My dad Bill bought the "Routes and Rocks" book on Dec. 13, 1965 when it first came out for $4.50. Still have the invoice.

[Malachai Constant]

The original trail was for fire fighting back in the day so in assume it was quite wide. Never went on it however, the trail from Camp Lake Little Siberia was very prominent before the flood. Never went down it. So it goes.

[timberghost]

Very nice area and good hiking

[Sallie4jo]

You all rock...thanks for the information and i so love old maps...allows for imaginative wanderings.