Road to trailhead is in good condition and was passable without AWF, high clearance or traction tires. I counted about ten logs over the trail in the first four miles before the junction with Cow Creek Trail. Otherwise the trail looked to be in good condition. There is a single grove of mature trees about one and a half miles from the trailhead but otherwise shade is scarce and precious. We saw innumerable bees, songbirds, chipmunks and butterflies playing chase through the abundant wildflowers along the Entiat River Trail. The vegetation here is dense with young trees and in every direction you look there is a diversity of all kinds of green, flowering shrubs.
The bridge over the Entiat river is sturdy steel and concrete and makes a great, shady and cool spot to take a break. Upon entering the Wilderness after Myrtle Lake, the trail gets rougher but is passable and we never had trouble finding our way. There are a handful of logs on the cow creek trail that need logout. Tread work, erosion control and brushing could be done as well. The junction with the Myrtle Lake to Larch Lakes connector trail is unmarked. Take a left to go up to Cow Creek Meadows.
As we climbed the young trees become more sparse and vegetation is mostly huckleberry. Thousands of bleached white snags with black burn scars still stand like skeletal remains as if frozen in time from some fateful battle. Hiking amongst this ghostly forest inspires the imagination to wonder far away into dark fantastical realms of demons, giants and forest spirits.
You need to cross Cow Creek to get into the meadows. Wading across the creek is simple enough and was below our knees. Alternatively some folks bushwhack upstream to find a log to cross.
Cow Creek Meadow doesn’t disappoint, the peaceful sound of the waterfalls interrupted only by pikas and marmots whistling to warn of our arrival. Overall, this hike has a high payoff, low traffic, and relatively low effort.
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