Wandering Around Washington: Hiking: Tarbell Trail IV

Had a chance to chase the low snow again yesterday and it was great! This time, I drove to a trail head nearby Rock Creek Campground. This trail head is just south of the campground on the map. It begins at the intersection of L-1000 and a yellow-gated logging road. The roads leading up to it coming from Washougal (L-1000 straight up) is about 1/3rd paved road and 2/3rds gravel road -- all of which is void of warning signs and the speed limit is a measly 25 -- so keep that in mind.

Near the top of Larch Mountain (maybe?)

For more pictures and the rest of the story, click below!

You need:
A Discover Pass
Hiking Boots,
Snow Shoes (if you want to go above 3000ft comfortably)
Water (I drank 2.5L in 5 hrs)
Snacks (powerbars, fruit, granola, etc)
First Aid Kit (band aids, wrapping, antibiotic ointment)

Just in case:
Flashlight
Rope
Winter Jacket
Lighter

I ended up wearing regular boots, some wool socks, longjohns, normal hiking/active pants, a heavy, long-sleeve shirt. It was never cold enough to wear my big jacket, but I had it anyway. It was 35-40 degrees out with no wind.

The Tarbell Trail head is a great mountain biking trail. I was hiking, but you can see where people have made small jumps and the trail is wide enough to accommodate hikers and bikers alike. No motorized vehicles are allowed. For the first 2 miles, you wind through a combination of dense forest and logged areas. The logged areas are great habitat for rodents, rabbits and therefore wild cats, which are abundant in this area. Bobcats are specifically abundant, but the even more elusive Lynx is known to inhabit the areas higher in elevation. The bobcats are particularly abundant because they are fond of the log piles that the loggers leave behind, which make excellent dens. However, it is unlikely you'll actually see one because they're extremely shy about humans, and they are most after from dusk to dawn.

As you ascend the hills around Silver Star Mountain, there are lots of springs feeding into the river below, right of the trail. A detour is currently in place that bypasses part of Tarbell Trail and goes left onto a mountain biking trail. This is due to a bridge being out and the Cold Creek Mountain Bikers are apparently looking for funds to fix it. When you reach this bridge from the detour, you start ascending more rapidly, left, up the hills around Larch Mountain. Only about 1/2 a mile up, there was snow on the ground. It was hard packed, but not slippery, making it very easy to walk on in regular hiking boots without any snow traction device. This is where I saw the hard-impression of a bobcat's paw in the snow. Throughout the hike, there were bobcat tracks EVERYWHERE. They are known to walk along paths made by humans and other animals. Other tracks I saw were deer and rabbit. I'm not familiar with the types of rabbits that roam the hills of Silver Star and Larch Mountains, but they had some big feet (maybe Snowshoe Hares). At the snow level, the trail meanders through fields of log and stick piles from previous logging in the area. This makes for some really great, unobstructed views of the surrounding hills, and specifically Silver Star Mountain.

The snow stayed at a nice, hard, walkable level until what I believe was the side-trail to the summit of Larch Mountain (3496ft). Tarbell ends at a clearing where there is a sign that says "Pack out your garbage" and there was no sign of either the Larch Mountain or Tarbell trails. So, I walked up toward Larch Mountain through some areas of thigh-height post-holing. It was pretty lame until half way the snow was a bit firmer and was able to hold my weight -- probably just from the sunshine solidifying it. At this point, I was just wondering through the woods, which wasn't very dense because of how high the snow was and I left a trail of markers and footprints which easily lead me back down the hill after I was done. I came across a tree-stand in the woods, with a feeding barrel -- I assume for hunting deer. That was kind of weird, but I hiked up hill until I reach more thigh-high post holes and was at 2 hours, 45 minutes anyway. I needed to turn back at 3 hours to get back by sunset, so I turned back after taking some pictures in the clearing I'd reached. The pictures of the clearing with the trees and airplane were at this point. I don't even know if I actually got to the summit of Larch Mountain because there weren't any trails or markers.

Anyway, I walked back through the trail I'd made in the snow, and took my flagging-tape markers with me. It ended up being a pretty sunny afternoon most of the time, which was great for the pictures and my spirits. Oddly enough, on a side note, I had 4G service on my Verizon phone 80% of the time I was on the mountain. So that gives you some confidence you won't get stuck out there without a lifeline if you're hiking alone.

Enjoy the pictures!