I was able to make it up the 24 switchbacks to the abandoned bulldozer road without encountering snow. There was a little snow on the road. The continuation of the trail 1/4 mile up the road is easy to find as there is a one meter long yellow plastic marker. Unfortunately, just a short way up the trail beyond the road a gully is filled with snow with a creek undermining it. The potential for a fall through was too great with no apparant way around it so I turned back, just short of the crest and the eventual descent down to upper Satsop Lake. The area beyond the snow-filled gully was highly eroded with several downed trees. It may be difficult to pass even after the snow melts. The snow in the gully appeared to be 20 feet thick in places and the gully may continue to be a barrier when the snow melts as the sides are quite steep. A few more weeks of snow melt will allow this trail to be fully utilized or at least evaluated. It is a beautiful hike with great valley and creek views. Silver fir, red Cedar, Douglas fir, and western hemlock are present as are huckleberry, Deer ferns, trilliums, avalanche lillies and bear grass. I hiked about a mile to the south on the bulldozer road, thinking it would connect to the trailhead. It did not, it was a dead end, apparently coming from somewhere to the north.

This will be a fantastic hike when the snow clears. I was only able to go about a mile before the trail became difficult to follow due to the snow cover. The snow quickly became universal and deep. I was breaking through the 5-6 foot deep snow where it had been undermined by melt. Too dangerous for a solo hiker so I returned to the trailhead. The forest and stream offer a peaceful environment. I'm looking forward to completing the hike later in the season. The road is washed out a few feet beyond the trailhead ( 2.2 miles from from FS 2361). I decided to hike up the road to extend the outing. I was able to go about 2 miles this time before the snow again dominated. Even though this is a road hike it is worth doing since there's a shortage of trails due to snow and road closures. The views of the lower Church Creek valley and the S Fork Skok river valley were unimpeded from the road through the clearcut. At about the two mile mark where I turned back the road splits. One branch climbs back to the south for additional S Fork Skok river views while the other continues north to eventually cross the Church Creek trail. I didn't expect to be able to recognize the trail due to the snow cover so I called it a day.

There is an error in a previous post regarding Church Creek and the shelter being gone. The shelter is still there, just follow the trail down to Church Creek, cross on a log, and follow the trail to the shelter. You can also access this shelter from Laney camp.

This is a nice little trail but on October 1st they lock the wildlife gate and make it impossible to get to the trail head by car. Nice old growth the entire length of the trail. Cute little lake at the end. There is a road .30 of a mile from the lake, I don't know if there is a wild life gate at that end. Trail climbs the divide between the South Fork Skok and the Satsop and ends at Satsop Lake. This trail was re-opened by the Oly Mountaineers in 2005 after the forest service abandoned it. It used to go all the way down to the South Fork Skok and ended at the Church Creek Shelter. The shelter is gone but there is a remnant of the trail that leads down to it. Trail needs some TLC but is in reasonable shape. This would be a great little hike to take the kids on. 7 miles round trip with some pretty good ups and downs. Lots of berries but not many mushrooms. http://mosswalks.blogspot.com

An early start with my mom again and her friend, Michelle. We drove up the Skokomish Valley Road to the jumbled mess of logging roads and clearcuts to oops! Spider Lake. Being the dog I was I needed to hike so we did the 1.5 mile trail around the lake. It is a very nice trail a few blow downs and some great bridges. Back in the car and headed the right way we came to Church Creek Shelter trail #870. Let the hiking began! Beautiful old road that must not see alot of boots or paws. We dropped down to the river and followed the old stream bed upriver maybe 1/4 mile. We came to Church Creek an easy crossing but wet for my human friends who were unprepared and unwilling to get there feet wet. So I very reluctantly headed back to the car again. At least my mom didn't give up and we headed farther up Road2361 till it's end. Upper Skok River Trail #873.( The trail also leaves the parking lot for Sundown Pass headed upstream.) We headed down stream this time and dropped down to Harp's Shelter. Nice place but too much garbage was left behind by others! Continued back up to the main trail and onward to Laney Camp. You pop out on the road to Laney Camp and then the road abruptly ends by the force of nature. We dropped down to the camp... a nice quiet spot on the river where we had lunch and a wade in the river. There was a camp fire still smoldering away when we arrived but we put it out before leaving. Taking also there garbage with us. Not to many blow downs and nothing impassable. A beautiful easy walk through the woods. We saw nowhere to cross the river except maybe on a log jam at Laney Camp. Now the only question my mom has is the mileage the greens trail map says a lot more than the sign does and I think the sign is more accurate. She will have to check a customs correct map for that area. At least I was finally satisfied with our day of hiking!