A Rainy River Family Hike «

A Rainy River Family Hike

March 28, 2017July 30, 2018
by Ashley Gossens

This weekend we finally got out for our first family hike. The weather looked somewhat promising so we jumped at the chance to get out on the trails. We headed to the Middle Fork Snoqualmie River for a low key meander through some beautiful forest.

The trail begins by crossing the raging river on one of the coolest wilderness bridges I’ve ever seen. The suspension bridge was built in the 1990’s and before then it was a dangerous ford across the river any time of year. After lingering on the bridge we headed left along the turquoise river.

The trail soon climbs away from the river to higher ground with views of Garfield Mountain in the distance. Fresh snow dusted the top and clouds gathered around the cliffs giving it a majestic appearance.

Moss carpeted the ground as we continued through second growth forest and past the shear wall of Stegosaurus Butte looming hundreds of feet above. Later the trail widens as it crosses many creek outlets on an old railroad bed. The route was once used to transport logs and you can even see some old rusted track along the trail.

Until this point it had been a mix of sun and clouds, but as we got about 3 miles in, it started to rain on us. We pulled out the little rain fly on the baby’s ergo carrier and found a place to sit and eat lunch. Evie got her first wilderness diaper change and nursing. I felt a bit like a wild animal while I nursed her on a rock covered in moss while the rain fell around us.

The rain wasn’t letting up so we headed back. We spotted what we thought was a dark colored deer and later when looking at the trailhead board, saw that elk lived in this area. We thought maybe it was a juvenile or female elk. This was a treat as we seem to rarely see wildlife on the trails.

As we packed Evie back up into the car, we decided that she is a true Northwest baby. She didn’t so much as fuss the entire time and the rain didn’t seem to bother her a bit. She babbled away in the car seat as we headed back home which is a new (and very fun) phase. I talked back and listed all the things we saw today: trees, river, rocks, bridge, ferns, moss, lichen, doggies, babies. How many trees do you think we saw? How many rocks? How many ferns… and on and on all the way home.

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Middle Fork Snoqualmie River

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