Cold Creek Loop

A couple of weeks ago I could check out the Cold Creek Loop: it has its name because it is a circular trail. It was a very beautiful hike, even better because of all the flowers blooming at this time of the year, but unfortunately this trail may not exist much longer. Let me tell the whole story.

For starters, getting to the trailhead is not easy: after reaching the Snoqualmie Pass you have to go into an unpaved road that is in pretty bad shape. Furthermore, part of it was washed out leaving a trench crossing the road, and as such regular cars cannot get through: you need a truck or SUV with high clearance. On the other hand, that meant that there was no problem finding a place to park by the trailhead.

After a short walk you reach a couple of small lakes appropriately named Twin Lakes. By them, there are already some nice views of the water and the mountains. But, as you walk past the lakes you discover that the trail is pretty much gone. The bushes grew over the trail, so I had to proceed incredibly slowly in the middle of dense vegetation, keeping an eye on whatever was left of the trail under the leaves. It was really hard and pretty soon it will be impossible to go through it, as the plants keep growing. As I got away from the lake and up a ridge, the trail got slightly better, but still not in good shape: it will require quite some work to bring it back to a decent state.

Once you reach the top of the ridge the trail reaches the famous Pacific Crest Trail, which goes all the way from the Canadian border to the Mexican border. A small stretch of the PCT is part of the loop and at least this part was in excellent shape. Then, interestingly enough, the trail goes through the actual road that takes you to the trailhead, but just for a small stretch: before you get to the trailhead you get back in the woods, and back into another poorly maintained part of the trail. The bushes are covering the trail again, which means more bushwhacking until you finally find yourself back in the trailhead.

It was a pretty challenging trail, but it was worth it. I just hope that eventually it gets restored and more people can go through it. As it is now, I cannot recommend it to anyone.

















Location: Snoqualmie Pass, WA 98068, USA

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