The Slate Creek footbridge was completed with lots of volunteer help.
Contributed by Methow Valley Trails Collaborative
It’s officially autumn, and an excellent time to enjoy the trails around the Methow Valley. Reports are coming that larches are turning above 6,500 feet. It will still be another week or two before they’re at their peak.
Fall can be a crowed season at trailheads. Expect full trailheads on busy weekends, especially in the North Cascades Highway corridor. If a trailhead is full, please park in a way that does not obstruct the flow of traffic. Be mindful of “no parking” signs, come prepared with a backup plan, and remember it’s a good thing that so many people are enjoying fall in the mountains.
If you’re wondering if your favorite “larch march” trail has been maintained this season, head over to trailscollaborative.org/conditions for trail maintenance reports from the summer season.
North Cascades corridor: MVTC staff and volunteers completed a hiker bridge replacement on the Stiletto Spur trail out of the Bridge Creek trailhead. The bridge crosses State Creek and accesses the Stiletto Spur and Copper Pass trails beyond. A Washington Trails Association volunteer crew is continuing trail definition and stabilization on the Copper Pass trail from Bridge Creek in the Blue Lake Fire Burn scar. This should make for another fall outing.
Mazama/Hart’s Pass: No new openings or work to report. Several trails at Harts Pass are still closed due to the Ptarmigan Fire.
Winthrop/Chewuch Drainage: First 4 ½ miles of the Wolf Creek trail were re-cleared by the U.S. Forest Service crew. There were several new blowdowns since the trail was last worked in May, so expect to navigate logs if venturing to Gardner Meadows.
Twisp River Drainage: MVTC staff logged out the trail to Slate Lake, completed logout to Silver Lake on the Eagle Creek trail, and made a second pass on the North Lake Trail to the Wilderness boundary.
Lower Valley/Loup: MVTC staff logged out the trail to Crater Lakes in the Sawtooth Backcountry. Evergreen Mountain Bike Alliance had a successful volunteer work weekend and continued progress on a purpose-built green trail, Goldilocks, at Loup Loup. Evergreen’s aim is to complete work on Goldilocks before the snow flies.
