Living

<< Previous   of   Next >>   ADVERTISEMENT   CONTACT THE HERALD Melanie Munk, Features Editor munk@heraldnet.com   Published: Saturday, June 27, 2009 Several trails still closed due to flood, construction Some river, forest roads remain shut down Sometimes it seems as if half the hiking population in Western Washington has taken to the hills. Generally, trails are rapidly opening, including Mount Townsend in the Hood Canal District with its blooming wildflowers, and Perry Creek Trail at Stevens Pass, which features three easy creek crossings and a waterfall in spring-runoff glory. But access to many trails, and some of the trails as well, are closed, mostly because of floods and construction. Here are a few of the road and trail conditions. Suiattle River Road: The road, northeast of Darrington with access to Glacier Peak Wilderness, is washed out at milepost 12.6; Canyon Lake road access is closed; Green Mountain Trail is inaccessible. Mountain Loop: (Access from Darrington or Granite Falls). Ashford Lakes still has snow; Forest Service Road 49, once with access to Curry Gap, is washed out at milepost 6.3; Bald Mountain Trail starts at Ashland Lakes trailhead because of road blockage; Barlow Point is open; Boardman Lake Trail is mostly snow-free but snow lingers at the lake. Glacier Creek Road, a bit farther north, is closed to Thompson Creek Bridge, killing access to the Heliotrope Ridge Trail (one of my favorites) and the Mount Baker Vista Viewpoint. Going down: Once I thought hang-gliding was adventurous, but Tyler Bradt has given new meaning to the adventure concept. Usually he does it by himself. Not that's he's the loner type; it's just that no one wants to go with him. Perhaps it's his penchant for paddling down waterfalls that's not very inviting. In April, after weeks of preparation and countless visualizations, Bradt changed the sport forever by riding on spring floods over the 186-foot-high (the state parks department says 198 feet) Palouse Falls in Eastern Washington. He broke his own world record. It took him about 4 seconds to reach the bottom of the falls but longer than that for him to come out from under the pounding water with only a broken paddle. Work in Paradise: Repairs are under way on the flood-damaged road to Paradise at Glacier Hill, milepost 12.3, and Stevens Canyon Road east of Backbone Ridge Viewpoint, milepost 14.1. Expect delays and temporary closures as well as limited parking at Paradise because of construction. A free visitor shuttle from Ashford, Longmire and Paradise will run Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays through Sept. 6. For updated information, go to www.nps.gov/mora. Opening today: The Ice Caves bridge should be open today. The bridge over the Stillaguamish River was washed out in 2006 floods. It was the access to the Big Four trail to the ice caves, one of most popular trails in the Mount Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest. It was scheduled to be open today. The barrier-free trail is 25 miles east of Granite Falls on the Mountain Loop Highway. Yes, free: During the weekends of July 18 and 19 and Aug. 15 and 16, visitors to Olympic National Park will get in free and can take advantage of area retail deals. Delays: Plans to develop Nisqually-Mashel State Park, at the confluence of the Nisqually and Mashell rivers along Highway 7, have been delayed by budget cuts. Serious debris: During the Washington Coast Cleanup, 1,230 volunteers removed more than 30 tons of debris that littered the shore from Neah Bay to Long Beach. Columnist Sharon Wootton can be reached at 360-468-3964 or www.songandword.com. READER COMMENTS Be the first to comment. You must be a registered user and verify your e-mail address to post comments to blogs or articles on HeraldNet. To register, click here. To read other terms and conditions, click here. Log out

1. Boeing 787 Dreamliner lifts its nose at Paine Field; flight set for Tuesday 2. Arlington assault leaves man critically injured 3. Recession hard on Snohomish County eateries 4. Up to 3 inches of snow expected in some parts of Western Washington 5. Washington could see new taxes in a host of areas 6. I'll see you in Hell's Kitchen 7. Biz week 8. Veteran, teacher, painter — and now, Mukilteo man is an author 9. Gov. Gregoire knows her budget is doomed 10. See the holiday light spectacle at Warm Beach 2 - Top 10 Stories Most Talked about 3 - Top 10 Stories Most Emailed

• Zambian woman thanks students for their help • Food banks see rise in use • ‘Making Spirits Bright’ in Edmonds • Wolfpack takes aim at state • Seahawks help students smile • 95 and still volunteering • Sno-King joined by local TV king • Veterans back for Wildcats • Lynnwood seeks to plug $2 million budget gap • Snohomish County offers the best and most affordable venues for conferen ... • Boeing will build, flight test and deliver 787s in South Carolina to spe ... • Snohomish County EDC promoting job growth in key industry clusters • $4 million grant to advance brain tumor research has Everett links • Providence medical center construction tops off its 12-story steel frame ... • Tulalip affordable housing project to be financed by KeyBank, Raymond Ja ... • Arlington's Lak of Ink has a growing following for Luke Kooyman's creati ... • Bank of the Northwest formed