I met with my good friend Mark, at Starbuck's in Monroe, tentatively to go on a hike out towards Steven's Pass. The weather was nice and sunny from my place in Puyallup up to around Woodinville, but still at least dry in Monroe. Mark and I browsed through his hiking book, and the Mount Forgotten trail sounded most appealing to me, which is roughly 25 miles outside of Granite Falls. Unfortunately, the weather got worse as we headed north, but we were prepared with the rain gear!



The rain wasn't the only obstacle on this hike. We encountered three mini-rivers that required crossing. It appeared as though the trail would normally do this, but certainly there was far more than the usual volume of water and snow present! They could have been waded across, but not with our footgear. The first and third crossings were made by going downstream a bit and walking over a snow 'shell' over the stream bed. At the second stream, we decided to build a bridge out of logs littered nearby. Our efforts didn't go unappreciated, as on our way back, we encountered several hikers who used our bridge! Our final hurdle was a large, steep snow slope covering the trail. We could have use an ice axe on this one, but managed to make it across without much trouble.



Due to delays and extra effort required to this point, as well as the lack of any improvement in the weather, we decided to call Perry Creek Falls our lunch spot and turnaround point, two miles in. It's a great spot for a break. Large trees sheltered us from any rain, and the falls are incredible. We estimated that they were plunging at least 100 feet, and you can look over the edge almost all the way to the bottom, if you dare. It must have been barely 50 degrees here, as we got quite chilled while eating and spectating. We took a gander at the trail beyond the falls, which looked to be covered with either running water or snow.



The lush vegetation and number of waterfalls truly amazed us on this hike. In just one small section of the valley wall, it's easy to see half a dozen different waterfalls, many going all the way to the top. We saw entire fields of nothing but ferns, vast rock slides with immense boulders, and several areas of hillside which appeared to have been stripped bare by avalanche. Of particular note to me were flourishing maidenhair ferns, and columbines in bloom. Mark spotted a snail on the trail, and managed to save all our bacon by holding up a falling boulder as we passed. The final shot doesn't really do this tree justice. Apparently, the top had been cut off numerous times during it's life, as the base was immense. There were several branches as thick as the main trunk of a normal tree it's height, extending up higher than the central trunk.

This is a spectacular hike, and would be fairly easy once the snow and the resulting torrential meltwaters subside. It's fairly open most of the way, so bring sunscreen if the weather is nice. This also means there are some great views of the opposite valley wall. There are meadows a bit less than two miles from Perry Creek Falls which I read are quite beautiful, with the summit of Mount Forgotten an unknown distance/elevation beyond that point. The only downside to this hike for me, is the distance from Puyallup!