Being snow-averse, my objective today was just the bridge over Granite Creek.  Taking the Granite Creek Connector, instead of the regular trail, adds some mileage to the trip making it about 7 miles RT, 1000' gain or so.  Find the small parking area less than 1/4 mile beyond the Mailbox Peak mega-parking.  

Thanks to the unknown crew(s) who have cleared the blowdowns.  The trail is in excellent shape.  There are no difficult creek crossings on this trail.  All in all, this is a good conditioner until higher country melts out.  Let's hope it's soon!  And, the roaring creek is a lovely and satisfying objective.  

A deputy was checking speeds along the first mile of the Middle Fork Road, so watch yourself.  Also, the residential section of the Middle Fork Road (between the two ends of the Lake Dorothy Road, where they split) has received a much-needed layer of new pavement.

I hiked the granite creek connector trail then took a detour up the granite lake trail a little past the bridge before turning around. There was snow on the trail but easily traveled without traction. There were no obstacles on the trail. The creeks were easy to cross over. 

It was a quiet day in a beautiful place. The combination of snow, sun and water are very nice. 

Skied up the Granite Creek Connector to ~1 mile after the bridge over Granite Creek, then we explored the forest above that for access to Zorro Point. Didn't have much luck off-trail (lots of blowdown and shrubbery), but the trail's in nice shape. We whacked snow off several dozen trees so they sprung back up and no longer blocked the trail. There are a few trees blocking the trail, none super difficult to get past. The creek crossings are all easy (on snowshoes; skis were a bit tricky).

We saw two groups snowshoeing and saw tracks from two folks booting. Snowshoes aren't necessary up to the bridge, since the snow isn't that deep (maybe 2' at most). And with the traffic today, the path is pretty beaten down.

The road is nicely plowed to the Mailbox TH, then the snow was ~8 inches deep after that. We opted not to go to the main Granite Creek TH, since we were already scraping getting to the connector TH. Saw plenty of other traffic go that way though. By later in the day, the snow had compacted to maybe 6" deep on the road.

The Mailbox TH parking lot was almost full when we left around 3 pm. It's at about 1/4 capacity since it's not fully plowed. The gate to the upper lot is still closed.

Today's NWAC forecast was "considerable" at all levels. Even though the Granite Creek trail does not cross steep slopes, there are steep slopes above the trail (altho the slopes are tree covered), as well as more heavy snow expected as the day progressed. If anyone reading this report has information about the avalanche risk of this trail, please comment.

We opted not to proceed. So this report is about condition of the Granite Creek TH parking lot and the Granite Creek Connector parking area. The road past the Mailbox Peak parking area appears to not have been plowed for some time. My vehicle has 8" of ground clearance and by the I reached the entrance to the Granite Creek TH parking lot, snow was scraping the bottom in some places. The parking area for the Granite Creek Connector TH had much less snow, just a couple inches. The vault toilet at the Granite Creek TH parking lot is open and clean.

King County maintains (snowplows) the Middle Fork road and TH parking lots. If you want KC to make the Granite Creek TH parking lot accessible, contact your KC council representative and contact KC road maintenance (206-477-8100 or 1-800-527-6237). Since other snowshoe trails are not accessible this winter (think: Mt Rainier NP), it's important that local trails become accessible.

Today we parked at the Mailbox TH, walked the brief stretch of road to the Granite Creek Connector Trail, and walked the old road, I mean, trail.  The trail was mostly snow, where we were able to boot easily in someone’s old snowshoe trough, passing some alders and other tree branches, and a few small creeks, to the junction with the main Granite Lakes trail, elevation 1700’.   It was here that we encountered fresh tracks of other humans, as well as donned our snowshoes.  Snow at this point ranged from 4-8 inches deep.  Within a half mile of this junction, we arrived at the bridge over Granite Creek, elevation 1880’.  At this point, the snowshoe and the boot tracks we had been following turned around, and the snow got deeper, at points up to a foot deep.  We continued up the road/ trail about another mile, before reaching our lunch spot and predetermined turn around time.  

Heading back down the trail, we realized that someone in boots had followed our snowshoe tracks for a bit above the Granite Creek bridge.  Overall, for those with a goal of the Lakes, I would HIGHLY recommend bringing snowshoes and putting them on at the junction of the Lakes and the Connector trail, definitely by the bridge.  Postholing makes for challenging travel, both to the person postholing, and to others who follow behind, especially after the snow consolidates.