Mountain Loop Highway remains snowed in
Published 10:37 pm Thursday, May 22, 2008
VERLOT — Don’t plan on driving the full Mountain Loop Highway this Memorial Day weekend. It’s still closed because of snow.
The picturesque 50-mile road that links Granite Falls and Darrington is under 6 feet of snow at Barlow Pass, said Diane Boyd, a forestry technician based at the Verlot office of the Darrington Ranger District of Mount Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest.
Those driving the road from Darrington can travel four miles south of the Bedal Campground before the road is closed because of 3 feet of snow. From the south, the road is closed 12 miles past Verlot at Deer Creek, Boyd said.
In addition, the road to Mount Pilchuck is gated and the closure adds a 6-mile snowshoe walk on the road to get to the trailhead there, Boyd said.
Despite the road closures, there are a number of snowshoe hikes for those who want to get out in the wild, she said.
A snowshoe hike up to the Big Four ice caves parking lot is spectacular now, as is the bottom 2 miles of the Lake 22 Trail and much of the Heather Lake Trail, Boyd said.
Avalanche danger still exists in the Cascade Range, and hikers should call the Verlot ranger office at 360-691-7791 for information. The office is open Saturday, Sunday and Monday.
