Caught a ride with a friend to hike the loop. Trails are all in great shape with the lone exception being treefall on the way up, but was easily climbed. Much evidence of recent WTA work here. A couple of trailrunners, two other hiking groups, and two solo hikers were all we encountered for our full 7.2 miles.
At the top, we heard much chattering and gossiping from eagles before seeing two juveniles flying around. Is there a nest up there, or is this just a favorite hang for the kids? We couldn't say for sure. Went to sign the trail log at the top and found that someone thought they were amusing by leaving their blunt wrapper behind. Stoner friends: pack it out means pack out your blunt trash, too!
I saw a single salmonberry berry amidst the leaves and possibly some thimbleberry flowers (these in lower elevations), half a tiny shell from a bird egg, three slugs setting upon the carcass of a large mouse or small rat (who know slugs are carnivorous? Not me, until today). Abundance of Pacific Bleeding Heart in bloom and salal with blooms forming. That is the short list.
We also made the suggested side trip to Doughty Falls, themselves just a trickle and far less impressive than the lovely new railing at the overlook that some work crews put in. I'd skip unless you are there early enough in the season - although like all the trails we did, it remains a lovely hike overall.
Instead of backtracking to the Deceiver Trail after peeking at Doughty, we took the Ring Road Trail and reconnected with Shy Bear before retracing the last 1.5 miles on the Whittaker Trail back to trailhead. We hiked Margaret's Way last week and while that was a fine early season hike to get in condition, the many trails we hiked today offered much more variety and overall loveliness, so I might stick to the Whittaker side of highway 900 from now on.
Notes on the directions in the hike guide: the sign for the side trail up to the "summit" reads .1 mile, as does the WTA hike guide description. By my intuitive sense, it was .3 miles, confirmed by my hiking companion's GPS.
The WTA Extending Your Hike section notes that the junction with the Deceiver Trail is .5 miles beyond the boardwalk - but this is confusing. It is about .5 miles beyond the first *short* boardwalk you encounter, but only a very short distance after the more extensive boardwalk that winds through the swamp. There is also a new sign for the Deceiver Trail.
Speaking of new signs, there were many! Including the aforementioned side trail sign that needs correcting from .1 to .3
Pro-tip: Trailhead Direct starts running this weekend and if you are careful about crossing the highway you could use it to access the Whittaker Trailhead and let the crowds head up Margaret's Way.
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