trails up granet falls/lk stevens/mt loop highway area?

[ThirteenthCurve]

well, i know there are some. just no idea where. im mostly looking for a place to go camping that is pretty much in the sticks and i can take my stock explorer, untill i get new tires at least. any help would be nice

 

[Albino 94LTD]

Dreamr wanders around there on foot all summer long.

We were doing some Explorer-ing north of Lake Cle Elum last week. here is the link to the ranger district web site.

Here is the link to our adventure . A stock rig can easily make everywhere we went, well there might be a little dragging of frame rails and trailer hitch in a couple spots

 

[dreamr]

I have been all over that country, and up probably every road and nearly every Hiking trail

Verlot/Darrington area:
There is nothing that I would really consider a 4x4 trail, but there are a few nasty fire roads. I can think of 1 on the Mount Pilchuk road between the Heather lake and Summit trailheads. There are a couple other spurs up there that lead to great views but are in no way trails rather just little used roads. There is one spur off the Pinnacle lake road that is downright nasty, but passable if you aren't worried about a few scratches and what not. Same goes for spurs off of the Cuthroat lake road, Deer creek road, and Coal lake road. There are a few things mixed in there that I have seen listed as trails on various 4x4 sites, but they're full of it

I have found 4 old fire roads off the above listed FS roads that likely qualify as a moderate level trail, but they are so overgrown that I left my X at the bottom and hiked them. If you head up the green mountain road there is a trail off the right just before the pavement ends that is very nasty!!!! You will see it right next to a big mud puddle. I never made it around the first corner till I locked my rig. if you do make it around the corner be careful or you will likely roll it on the way up the rest. I backed down once I got to the sidling part, started tipping, and crapped myself Once you get closer to the top of the Green mountain road there are a few mildly interesting spurs, however a lot of this area is no trespassing.

Skykomish/Steven/Index area:
Up along Hiway 2 there are a few fair trails that branch off the FS roads going up Stevens or index. There are also some fun areas back in the Sultan Basin so I have heard. Really though Reiter is your best bet for a bit of wheeling, and at least there you have others around if you need assistance. Just stay out of the Tank Trap on the Index Wall Trail.

A warning though. The rangers in these areas will not tolerate screwing around AT ALL. I have seen several people fined on the Mount Loop Hiway for treating the land with a lack of respect. I volunteer with the Forest Service maintaining these roads and hiking trails, and I love nothing more than dragging someone out of a mud puddle and taking their plate # down to the Ranger Station Nobody is concerned if you want to drive a fire road, and there are some beautiful areas at the end of many, but stay on the roads and out of the Mud!

I am sure that you could con a few of us into heading up to Reiter or follow us back into the Cle Elum area in a few weeks.

Check the Nw Explorers forum for trip reports in these areas, or click the link to my registry down below and there are links to the threads at the top of page 1.

 

[dreamr]

Now that I reread your post, I should mention that there are numerous camping spots all over up there that are easily accessible. I do mean primitive sites, as I won't stay in any developed campground with all them people. Once again though please respect the land, cause I am getting sick of cleaning up people's beer cans and garbage at these sites. Also their has been talk about closing the areas to camping, and I do not want to ever see that happen. Peoples lack of respect (garbage) is the entire reason this came up at the last Verlot district FS meeting. I wish everyone could simply haul their crap out, or better yet do as we do and always take an extra garbage box to clean up others messes as much as possible on every trip.

Sorry can you tell this is a big pet peave for me

 

[ThirteenthCurve]

ah, thanks for the info there. yeah maybe we could hit somethin up sometime in the next few months, afterall summer is commin up. Cant really go within the next few weeks, pretty busy, got some court issues to deal with.

dont worry bout the trash dreamr, we got that covered with the back of my friends truck .

 

[n16ht5]

hey i like to dink around on mt loop, i know of an area called masonic park.... give me a call guys 319 9997

 

[dreamr]

The old logging road that goes in just before the entrance to the masonic park? It actually wanders back onto Blue Mountain and eventually connects through a maze of secondary roads coming out on Green Mountain and re-entering the Mount Loop Hiway beside the Old Robe Trail?

If so the Logging road is gated since the fall before last. You can still enter the area via Green Mountain but many of the roads are very overgrown from disuse and many are washed out due to flooding in the last couple seasons. They have decades worth of repairs at the rate they are going.

Now if you are talking about a certain little road that branches off the green mountain road... It is past a big puddle and is a short little rutted hillclimb with a nasty corner at the top........It then wanders up the hill in an extremely frightening off camber section.........Then your nuts and I am afraid

 

[n16ht5]

The old logging road that goes in just before the entrance to the masonic park? It actually wanders back onto Blue Mountain and eventually connects through a maze of secondary roads coming out on Green Mountain and re-entering the Mount Loop Hiway beside the Old Robe Trail?

If so the Logging road is gated since the fall before last. You can still enter the area via Green Mountain but many of the roads are very overgrown from disuse and many are washed out due to flooding in the last couple seasons. They have decades worth of repairs at the rate they are going.

Now if you are talking about a certain little road that branches off the green mountain road... It is past a big puddle and is a short little rutted hillclimb with a nasty corner at the top........It then wanders up the hill in an extremely frightening off camber section.........Then your nuts and I am afraid

ooh i know an even more secret way.. i cant say on here.. dreamr if you want to go out there ill show you. you can get there in 2wd.

 

[dreamr]

ooh i know an even more secret way.. i cant say on here.. dreamr if you want to go out there ill show you. you can get there in 2wd.

As to the 2wd part, I like 2wd as y'all discovered during my rock flinging moments in Cle Elum One day I will learn to shift into 4wd before I really need it, but really I can go pretty much wherever I want in 2wd unless it gets muddy, snowy, or real steep.

Hmm a way in there I haven't found...............

I am not sure what the week holds, but I doubt I can meet up with ya.....
I am curious though as I have tried pretty much every access road along the Mt. Loop.

hmmm............. unless...........but if that's the case I shouldn't post up here now should I.