4. Darrington
Updated May 2009
This sequence of buses gains you access to the Boulder River Wilderness, a ‘pocket’ wilderness contained within the loop of the Mountain Loop Highway. Some of the trips in the area can actually be done as day trips, as the early morning run drops you in Darrington at about nine in the morning, with evening runs back starting about five in the evening: plenty of time for a good trot through the woods.
In Darrington, you’re also within a good day’s walk (or less, if you manage to finagle a ride) of the Sauk River route into the area south of Glacier Peak. In two or three days’ journey, you could reach Stevens Pass, from which point you could flag down NWT back to civilization.
Darrington also used to be the closest town to the famed Kennedy Hot Springs, but alas, it’s gone. Simply gone. Don’t get your hopes up. It’s gone. I might as well tell you now. In late October ’03 a large wet weather system blew into western Washington, dumping a record five inches of rain in twenty-four hours on Seattle. It filled the rain gauges in Darrington to ten inches in the same span. An estimated foot of rain walloped the west side of Glacier Peak, causing a huge debris slide to come crashing down White Chuck Creek, burying the two-acre site of the hot springs in ten vertical feet of silt, boulders, downed trees. It tore out substantial bridges, and buried the springs themselves. The event caused several sections of the five-mile trail leading to the site to slump or slide into the White Chuck; and several sections of the eleven-mile White Chuck River road met a like fate.
In October 2011, the White Chuck River Road was reopened to about 5.5 miles, to just past Straight Creek Road #27. The former White Chuck Road beyond that point has been decommissioned; there are no plans to rebuild it. So, although you cannot use the reopened road to reach anywhere near the site formerly known as Kennedy Hot Springs, the reconnection with the Straight Creek Road will open up some (admittedly, long) options into Glacier Peak Wilderness at the northwest corner of the peak. (It will also render obsolete, or even foolish, walking all the way to the Sauk River area trailheads to enter Glacier Peak Wilderness.)
Trail Options:
A - Boulder River
Bus stop to trailhead: 4 miles
Round trip, trailhead to end: 8 miles
About eight miles west of Darrington (and about eight miles east of the tiny burg of Oso), be on the lookout for the sign on your right marking the Boulder River Road. It’s not a large sign, and it’s set well back into the trees.
Follow the road in, taking the Boulder Falls Trail to the right when the road forks. The trail is easy, gaining only 300 feet in four miles, and decorated with lots of waterfalls and some fine and locally rare low-elevation old growth forest. The trail deadends along the river; campsites can be found tucked away among the trees.
B - Whitehorse Mountain
Bus stop to trailhead: 2 miles
Round trip, trailhead to end: 7 miles
About three miles west of Darrington, that is, before you reach town, look for the well-marked Swede Heaven Road (on the left). Opposite that, take the Mine Road, on the right side of the road, two miles to the trailhead, Neiderprum Trail No. 653.
The trail is extremely steep, lacking such amenities as switchbacks. After two miles the trail becomes tricky to follow; pay attention. Meadows near trail’s end may allow for very rough camping; considering this route’s steepness, it may be better suited for a day trip. From the top, great views can be had of North Cascades peaks, Whitehorse Mountain, and the lowlands to the west.
C - Squire Creek
Bus stop to trailhead: 5 miles
Round trip, trailhead to Squire Cr. Pass: 7 miles
Leaving the bus in Darrington, walk to the southeast corner of town (it’s a real small town), find the Squire Creek Road (No. 3203). Follow it to its end, walk a bit more of the abandoned road to the trailhead. The trail starts gently, then takes a lot of switchbacks to the pass.
Behold the snowfields and dwindling glacier fragments of Whitehorse Mountain. Lie on your back and watch hawks circle in the thermals. Poke around, find a spot for the night.
Pay attention on the way back down; it can be real easy to lose your way among the scree slopes near the top.
Kennedy Hot Springs
In case you missed this information elsewhere: Kennedy Hot Springs is gone, gone, gone. See above.
D - Crystal Lake / Meadow Lake
bus stop to trailhead: 20 miles, or 23.5 miles
trailhead to Crystal: 3.3 miles
trailhead to Meadow: 2.7 miles
Before beginning, I'd like to say that for many sane people, walking twenty-plus miles for a five or six mile hike is stupid. Well, they may be right. If you agree with them, turn out here and seek out another choice. Even I would will probably only do this as a one-way trip--continuing south along the Crest Trail and exiting at Stevens Pass, picking up NWT at the flag stop there. If you're still interested, read on.
Departing CT 230 at Darrington, head south on the Mountain Loop Highway 10.5 miles, turning left onto the White Chuck River Road. Proceed 5.5 miles, turning left onto Forest Service Road 27 (Straight Creek). About 2 miles further on, you'll have two options: follow Trail 638 for 3.3 miles to Crystal Lake, or follow Road 2710 another 3.5 miles to Trail 657, which will tale you to Meadow Lake. For a third option (there's always a third option...), the two lakes are only about half a mile apart, and the saddle between them looks entirely doable (I'd be very surprised if there wasn't some sort of fisherman's trail already there).
Of the two trips, if you wish to consider them separately, Meadow Lake has the most potential. Trail 657 continues east along a ridge, passing several lakes, and offering close-up views of Glacier Peak. It connects, eventually, with Trail 643, which could lead you to the PCT.
Other options:
Bingley Gap (Lake Byrne)
Seattle to Darrington (Monday through Friday)
| Sound Transit 510 leaves | 4th &Union | @ 5:55 AM | Arr. Everett Station | @ 6:39 AM |
| Community Transit (CT) 202 | Everett Station Bay C3 | @ 6:43* | Arr. Smokey Point Blvd. & 174th | @ 7:18 |
| CT 230 | Smokey Point Blvd. & 174th | @7:43 | Arr. Darrington & Givens | @ 8:35 AM |
*Turnover time between this and the previous bus is, admittedly, tight. If you miss that 202, the 6:57 AM CT 201 will get you to your next transfer point at 7:28. The next round of CT 230’s start in late afternoon.
Darrington to Seattle (Monday through Friday)
No reason to chart this sequence. All you need remember is that
| CT 230 leaves | Darrington & Givens | at 5:56 AM, 7:01 AM, 8:45 AM, and |
Reversing the Seattle to Darrington sequence will get you safely back to Seattle. These buses run on both Saturday and Sunday, though the times are different.
Fares:
| Sound Transit | $2.50 (ask for transfer) |
| Community Transit | .00 (transfer accepted as fare) |