Bad-Weather Blues? Take A Hike -- Bellingham Author's Book Offers Cloudy-Day Alternatives To Remaining Indoors

Now what?

Summer, such as it was, is a distant blur fading fast in the rearview mirror. Up ahead, the only thing visible in our headlights is some 800-pound deer named La Nina II.

So, with the next prolonged sunbreak not forecast until July 5, 2000, what's a recreational hiker to do?

Maybe take a tip from author Bob Mooers: Search out some doable fall and winter hikes.

If you typically approach outings with a fair-weather hiker's mentality, Mooers suggests that you snap out of it; this is the Pacific Northwest, a place where sunny-and-75 comes around only slightly more often than Halley's comet.

Equip yourself with some Gore-Tex and gumption, he urges, and you can sample some above-average Western Washington trips, even catch occasional views at middle elevations, on cloudy-and-45 days.

Mooers is the author of "Winter Hikes in the Puget Sound and the Olympic Foothills" (Sasquatch Press, 1998; $15.95), a guide to 60 potentially manageable winter-month trips in Western Washington.

A New England native and former St. Louis resident now living in Bellingham, Mooers, 66, encourages local hikers to push past any mental hesitancy that might keep them off the trail on non-threatening days that are simply overcast or chilly.

"The average rainfall in Bellingham is only three inches more per year than in Boston or St. Louis, but rain has a greater effect on people here," he said. "Back east, the sun shines until it rains. Here it rains, or we have lots of clouds and gloom, until the sun shines.

"So in the Northwest we celebrate outbreaks of sun. Back East, you might celebrate the rain after a dry spell. People here tend to equate cloudy days with rainy days, so they won't consider hiking when it's cloudy. But there are some good places to explore here when it's cool or cloudy, or in a few cases even if it's rainy."

Mooers says not all of the hikes in his book are guaranteed snow-free. A tough, snowy winter will put most of the higher-elevation trips in his book beyond the reach of non-technical hikers.

Still, on milder fall and winter days, Mooers says well-prepared walkers in need of a local leg-stretcher can ramble to worthwhile destinations despite un-summerlike conditions. You might not feel the triumphant euphoria of a mid-summer march up Sahale Arm above Cascade Pass, but modest trail satisfactions are within reach. He offers a few favorites:

BEAR MOUNTAIN

The trip: A slightly strenuous 5.6-mile round-trip climb (from 2,360 feet to 4,200 feet) up a logging road that begins on Crown Pacific property north of Lyman, east of Sedro-Woolley. Views to the east take in the Twin Sisters Range.

"Some of these hikes are places I wouldn't go to in the summertime," Mooers said, "because you don't need to. You can walk ridgelines in the high country then. This is an example of a hike to a decent elevation that can be done if there's not too much snow on the ground that gives you good views of some nice peaks.

"When I scouted it out, I was guessing Bear Mountain would have a catbird seat for looking at the Twin Sisters, and it does. A logging road isn't my favorite route to follow, but at least this gives you a place to go while you're waiting for the high country to open up."

Directions: From State Route 20, take the Hamilton turnoff left at milepost 77.4. Go north seven-tenths of a mile, cross Muddy Creek and turn right. After three-tenths of a mile, obtain an entry permit at the Crown Pacific guard station. Follow Main Line Road (Road 100) about six miles and bear right at a fork. Go right at the next split, then left at the next (a gated road is to the right). That puts you on Forest Service Road 200. Cross the South Fork Nooksack River and start climbing. About 13 miles from the guard station, park where a gate blocks the road.

WHISTLE LAKE

The trip: An easy-to-moderate, 3.5-mile round trip around an unusual lake within the Anacortes Community Forest Lands. High point: 740 feet (400-foot elevation gain).

"One of tenets of the book was to highlight places that offered good scenic impact, not necessarily just long-distance views," Mooers said. "To me, this is a hike that would be interesting to do even in the rain."

Whistle Lake, Mooers says, has a split personality. Its north end looks like a typical woodland lake, while its south end is carved up into a series of rocky mini-canyons and fjord-like coves.

"It's a lowland hike," he said, "and walking around lakes can be a little boring, but this one is surprisingly enjoyable. The outlet end of the lake is pretty cut up with lots of small canyons."

Directions: Take Exit 230 off I-5 in Burlington and head west on State Route 20, then follow Spur Route 20 toward Anacortes. More than 14 miles from the interstate, watch for Commercial Street and turn left. A series of turns follows: left on 37th Street, right on S Street, left on 38th Street, which curves south into V Avenue, where you take a slight jog left, then south on Whistle Lake Road. When Whistle Lake Road ends, turn left on Whistle Lake Terrace for one-tenth of a mile, then take a gravel road to the right. In about another 10th of a mile, go right where the road forks. So you've now gone 2.1 miles from that first left onto Commercial Street, where you'll find the parking area for three trailheads, including the Jerry Wallrath Trail.

MOUNT TOWNSEND

The trip: A moderate-to-strenuous 8.2-mile round-trip hike to a 6,280-foot peak (elevation gain: 2,880 feet) near the Olympic Peninsula town of Quilcene.

"To call this a `winter hike,' it would have to be done in one of those years with practically no snow," conceded Mooers, "but most years you can do this hike into November or as early as May.

"I've heard horror stories about another La Nina winter coming, so this might not be the best winter to make this trip. But the mountain sits in the Olympic rain shadow, so the snow it gets usually melts off a little sooner.

"You don't need to go to the actual summit, just to a squared-off point near the top of the mountain. If you get a clear day, you can see Mount Baker and right into Canada. I love views, and this one is tremendous."

Directions: From Quilcene, travel 1.3 miles south on U.S. 101. Turn west on Penny Creek Road (Forest Service Road 27); stay left on F.S. Road 27 at a junction in 1.4 miles. At 14.6 miles, turn left on F.S. Road 190 (signed as a "Service Road"). Drive one mile to the upper trailhead at road's end and hope to find a parking spot. Go right at both trail junctions you will encounter.

THREE WATERFALLS

The trip: This two-stage, easy-to-moderate walk involves a pair of trailheads 20 miles apart on U.S. 2. Part one visits Sunset and Canyon Falls near Index; part two leads to Deception Falls, 20 miles further east toward Stevens Pass. Mooers calculates the combined trail distance covered to be 3.6 miles.

"Even with snow on the ground," Mooers said, "it's not hard to follow the trail. So many people visit these falls, there's usually a path beaten into the snow that's easy to follow."

Sunset Falls is a thundering, 90-foot drop just three-tenths of a mile from a parking area at 720 feet. Canyon Falls, another high-powered tumbler involving output from Deception Creek and the Tye River, is a little more than a mile away, accessed via an old railroad grade. Deception Falls, at 2,040 feet, is a popular roadside attraction along U.S. 2.

Directions: Sunset and Canyon Falls can be reached from the same parking area, near U.S. 2 milepost 36.6, site of a large gravel turnout on a curve. The parking area is two-tenths of a mile below the turnout via a dirt road. Deception Falls has a posted parking area on the north side of U.S. 2 at milepost 56.8.

GEE POINT

The trip: A moderate-to-strenuous three-mile round trip starting at 4,400 feet and culminating at the site of a former fire lookout at 4,974 feet. Mooers acknowledges that this trip is best done before heavy snow falls.

On a clear day, all of the Cascades' major peaks can be observed from Gee Point, Mooers says.

Directions: From State Route 20 near Concrete, turn south on Concrete-Sauk Valley Road (at milepost 88.2). At 10 miles, turn right (southeast) on Finney Creek Road, then in a half-mile head right on a gravel road. Two miles later turn right at a fork, then left at another fork in 3.5 miles.

The road ends 7.1 miles from Finney Creek Road, and where the road peters out the trail begins, ascending to the right. Mooers reports that the early section of trail can be difficult to locate and follow.

Mooers also recommends an easy 2.4-mile round trip to the top of the Town Wall of Index, which puts visitors atop a 1,200-foot cliff that offers a splendid view of peaks towering above the Skykomish Valley; the 400-foot climb (2.6 miles one-way) up 2,409-foot Mount Constitution within Moran State Park on Orcas Island; and the 2,000-foot climb (3.1 miles) up the Mount Walker Trail that puts you on Walker's 2,804 summit (also accessible by car) south of Quilcene.

"I knew there had to be more good winter hikes than the dozen or so I had done over and over again," Mooers said. "It's nice to have some choices when you're waiting for the high country to melt out."