Darrington

Squire Creek Pass

This spot has been on my list for awhile now. The sunny weekend just seemed to be the perfect reason for finally making a visit. Well, that and the new delivery of my Pentax K-5 SLR! After trying to learn all the menus and settings, it was time to try it out. The pass is somewhat unique in that two trails provide two very different hiking experiences. Most people hike up the front side using the Squire Creek valley but a shorter (albeit more grueling) hike is using the Eight Mile trail which starts in the Clear Creek valley. A massive landslide in 2002 added an additional 3 miles roundtrip so the Eight Mile Trail seems like a more direct route in. It’s direct, all right….

On paper it’s only 2.2 miles and 2,200 feet to the pass. Everything starts out mellow as the trail follows an old logging road. The trail enters the Boulder River Wilderness at about 0.4 miles and enters a forest with MASSIVE Western Red Cedars. The diameter of trees is most impressive. This tree is one of the largest I’ve seen anywhere:

Old-Growth Western Red Cedar - Eight Mile Trail in the Boulder River Wilderness (iPhone picture)
The trail steadily climbs up & over roots and rocks arriving at Three O’ Clock Rock at about 0.6 miles. The main attraction here is the large exfoliation dome that offers rock climbers several routes to attempt. This spot also offers up some of the first views of the area (including Whitechuck Mountain down the Clear Creek valley). There were still a few small signs of fall color left so we soaked in the views before moving along. From here, the trail really gets ugly. More roots, more rocks, and now add mud into the equation.

Three O'Clock Rock along the Eight Mile Trail to Squire Creek Pass
Fall color near Three O'Clock Rock - Eight Mile Trail
Scene across the Eightmile Creek valley
Plodding along, the mirage of more & more blue sky ahead keeps you going. At about 1.5 miles, you reach the edge of the subalpine meadows that stretches out for the remaining distance up to the pass. The area is littered with large exposed rock slabs, often with water running over them. Splendid for a summer outing but a bit more precarious when the temperatures are much lower. In the shade, the water turns into ice. After a series of small ups & downs, you reach Squire Creek Pass- an immense bench of solid rock.

Summits of Three Fingers from Squire Creek Pass
Whitehorse Mountain across the Squire Creek valley
To the west lies the east face of Three Fingers, the crown jewel of this hike. To the northwest, a rarely seen side of Whitehorse Mountain. Behind you to the east, a better view of Whitehorse Mountain as well as the upper portion of Glacier Peak. A forested knoll extends to the north and a series of parkland benches rises to the south, completing the view.

Salish Peak across the Squire Creek valley - Boulder River Wilderness
Detail on one of the Three Fingers summits
Fall color was hanging on primarily in the form of huckleberry leaves. Due to the sporadic nature, I found it hard to find a good composition which included the better looking spots of color. Most impressive is the lookout on top of one of the Three Fingers, a tiny speck of white compared to the massive east face.

Unnamed tarn and Whitehorse Mountain above Squire Creek Pass
After eating some lunch, we climbed southward although I wasn’t feeling that well. We came across a couple nice sized tarns which did offer a few reflection possibilities. Fall days are short so it was soon time to turn around and head back. We made it up to the pass in about 3 hours and only took 2 hours on the way down (despite the constant punishment your joints take).

Unnamed tarn and Three Fingers from above Squire Creek Pass
Unnamed tarn and Three Fingers from above Squire Creek Pass
Everyone should probably make it up there at least once to enjoy the views in silence and solitude. As for the new Pentax SLR, I need to go on a few more outings to give more of a review. Ergonomics are great but its operation is different, especially coming from their K10d. Photo quality seems pretty good, though!

Elliott Creek

Washington’s weather has settled back into its normal pattern- sunny weekdays and cloudy/rainy weekends. Plan A was thwarted once again by the weather so I had to find a Plan B. Given the 100% chance of rain, I tried to keep in the forest and at lower elevation. After rejected a few options, I settled on returning to the Goat Lake Trail off of the Mountain Loop Highway. I had hiked this trail many years ago and remembered that it paralleled Elliott Creek for much of the way to Goat Lake. It seemed like the best option given the 100% chance of rain.

The trail to Goat lake is five miles long and actually has two options- an upper trail and a lower trail. The upper trail follows a decommissioned road while the lower trail follows Elliott Creek. About halfway in, both trails merge and continue onward to Goat Lake. On this day, I focused just on the lower trail and Elliot Creek. It gradually gains elevation as you head up valley and always stays within earshot of the creek. A nice added bonus is that the forest along the lower trail is very diverse and lush, offering even more to look at.

On this particular day, it rained steadily the entire time and both myself and my camera gear got drenched. Thankfully, Pentax makes cameras and lenses that are built to take these kind of conditions! As these outings tend to go for me, the destination wasn’t as important as the trail to it so I only managed to make it a fraction of the way in towards Goat Lake.

Elliott Creek
Elliott Creek
Elliott Creek
Elliott Creek
Elliott Creek
Elliott Creek
Elliott Creek
Elliott Creek
Elliott Creek

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