As we head into spring (finally), Jake, Devyn, and I are all ready to get hiking whenever possible. Finding hikes that are open and accessible this early is challenging, but we decided to brave the chance of a snowy trail to hike to Otter Falls along the Taylor River Trail. We didn’t quite make it to the falls- the trail was indeed covered in a lot of snow, and the alleged sign for the detour to Otter Falls was no where to be found. We did, however, have a wonderful time.

To get to the trailhead, one has to endure 12 straight miles of only driving 5 miles an hour. Why? Potholes. I promise, you have never experienced potholes until you drive along this road. And I live in Seattle, which is renowned for its epic potholes. It took us a good hour and a half just to get to the trail. Devyn had no idea what was going on and spent this hour and a half very confused…and shaken.

After hiking for 5 miles we realized that we could go no further. The snow became impossible to walk on without constantly post holing, so we turned around (as had, made evident from the footprints, everyone else). We found a spot to stop for lunch and enjoyed a nice, freeze-dried meal of mashed potatoes and Pad See You with Chicken.

After lunch, Devyn was all ready to go another 5 miles.

We hiked 10 miles round trip on the Taylor River Trail which is relatively flat (gain of 650 feet). We didn’t see a single person for the 4 hours that we were hiking, which considering it was a weekday morning in March is not too surprising. The quiet solitude was very refreshing.

This is the first time Devyn has gone on such a long hike (ok…us too) and we purposely chose a flat hike to see what 10 miles felt like. We all made it and were pleasantly pooped by the end.

Then…it was the dreaded 12 miles of potholes…again. Fortunately, Devyn was too tired to care by this point.

**Note: This road will be fixed! Starting this year, construction will begin to make this road passible without going at a turtle’s pace. It will take two whole years to finish, making access to these trails more difficult, but at least they will improve this ridiculous road. That said, if you want to experience this amusement park-esque road, do it soon!