About dinnertime last night I decided that we were gonna get onto a trail today. I put an open invitation on facebook and got a few nibbles but by this morning the guest list was whittled down to us Smittys + 3 (M, D and S). We all piled into the dad wagon and set off for the Middle Fork Snoqualmie River. We got to the trailhead without incident. Lake Dorothy Road was it’s usual pot-holed self. It wasn't anything the dad wagon couldn’t handle with a little careful maneuvering.
I was curious to drive a bit further up the road to check out the repairs on the automobile bridge over the Taylor River but S the dog was getting really excited and needed to run. There were 2 cars already in the lot when we pulled in. Not a bad crowd considering how crowded this trail can get. We took our time as we began down the trail. The footbridge across the Middle Fork is very impressive but is sorely lacking in the guardrail department. It would be very easy for a curious kid to slip between the wires and fall down to the river. We got across without incident.
I was tempted to go right to check out the Rainy Creek Pools but we decided to stay on the main trail and go left. We only made it a few hundred yards up the trail when we spied a sandy/ pebbly beach. It was nearing lunchtime so we made our way down to the beach and took off our packs.The buffet of snacks came out and I heated some water on the stove. M turned me onto a new trail snack… Bacon and Brie. The bacon was left over from breakfast and we just sliced pieces of Brie onto it. The flavors and textures complimented each other. It was definitely an idea to file away for future use.
We sat for a while and enjoyed our snacks and hot cocoa while contemplating how one might ascend the south face of Garfield Mtn which was looming something close to 4000ft above us. A few rocks and sticks were thrown into the river. Sam went for a dip but hurriedly returned to shore when she noticed she was rapidly being swept downstream. Eventually it was time to go so we packed up and made the 10-minute (at kid pace) trek back to the car.
On the way home we cruised through the town of Snoqualmie to see the trains and made a quick stop at the falls. We were home with time to spare before kids needed to be picked up after school.
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