Skagit River trail

Feb. 24, 2023 - Skagit River Trail in Skagit River Provincial Park

Stats: 12 km / 270m gain / 680m high point / 4:10 hours MT / micro-spikes

After two days of frigid blasting winds and bitterly cold temperatures in the Fraser Valley, we weren't so sure how long we'd last on this snowshoe excursion (25-minute's drive west of Manning Park). But it proved to be a good choice (thanks, Lori). There was no wind in this valley and at 9:00am when we parked by Sumallo Grove, it was a doable -12.5C, rising to about -8C as the day progressed.

Donned in full winter gear and eager to get going.

Sheets of ice covered the Sumallo Grove parking lot that is closed off for the winter. But the majority of the hard-packed path was on old crusty snow. So the micro-spikes stayed on for the whole hike.

The south section of bridge washed out during the floods in November 2021. But crossing the frozen river was no problem.

Looking back.

No water to cross over. Just beyond the bridge is where the river intersects with the Sumallo River, turning from west to south. Most of the trail followed to the left of the Skagit River.

Just past the Silverdaisy trail juntion, a short side-trail got us to this abandoned mine.

We decided to look again on the way back, when the lighting would be better.

1) An oxymorone: a flipflop dangling off of a frozen log.

Careful steps, crossing on this rather thin ice.

As we crossed, we heard a soft swishing sound and a thin film of water spread over the area we stepped on. We found a better spot to cross over on the way back.

Lori is showing us how high the water came a few years ago during a massive landslide. The second photo shows the 3km marker, being just two feet above the ground. Normally the ditance markers are about 7' high.

Made our destination by 11:15am - the campsite which was just over 5 km in.

Group shot: Brian, Jessica, Kathy, Qing, Lori & I.

cedars

Encased in a coating of ice.

Odd how this tree's bark was marked with a perfectly straight black line.

Back at the sketchy creek crossing. Scars of the flooding caused by atmospheric rivers in November 2021.

Back at the mine. I was the only one who attempted the sketchy short piece of washed-out trail to get to the mouth of the cave. It looked like a monster's mouth, with the icicles being it's fangs.

Access to the mine is blocked off.

Lori is saying "hello" to the inhabitants in the tree. She taught us about the way to distinguish a Douglas Fir tree by its pinecones. Her mouse story was quite entertaining.

Sumallo Grove's largest trees are almost 500 years old. This area receives over 37" of rain annually.