After I sent the trip report below to the friend who accompanied me, she said her version of a trip report would have simply read "early spring weather, sun, blue sky, nicely empty, beautiful trees, picturesque river and a nice easy walk." So I'm including her report as a tl;dr version of the below.
I've been eyeing this hike for a while, but today was my first visit. It was really lovely - the weather helped; it only drizzled on us when we were within five minutes of the car - and we only saw one other person all day. Definitely a great option for a day when the weather forecast was a bit iffy. I see no trip reports since November, so I'm just chiming in with a handful of quick notes:
- We took the Hop Craze trail on the way down ("Hop Craze" according to the sign on-site, "Hop Trail" according to the King County map WTA links to) and just walked back up the service road on our way up. There appears to be some trail construction happening inside the area encircled by these two trails, judging by the trucks parked at their intersection and a sign informing us of the same. If anyone knows what they're up to in there, I'd be curious to know - my best guess is they are trying to cut a trail down from the big access road switchback but I don't see why that would be worth the effort.
- Both King County's online map and the maps etched on wooden trailhead signs throughout the park suggest there is river access just beyond the picnic area/clearing described in WTA's description of this hike. There is a permanent sign at that intersection indicating the trail is closed, and directing trail users to the Potter's Trail or the Miner's Trail for river access.
- Speaking of the Miner's Trail - WTA's description for this hike is very specifically an in-and-out adventure along the Potter's Trail. Including the Hop/Craze trail, it sticks to trails to the east of the access road. I do not see any official WTA trail entry/description for the Miner's Trail (or any other other trails to the west of the access road), but that might be well worth an entry! I look forward to getting back down there myself to find out.
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