This prime time to visit waterfalls. The three waterfalls on Cougar are all looking quite attractive right now with all recent rain.
We started at the Red Town trailhead. Lakemont Blvd is closed at Coal Creek so you can only access Red Town from the north right now.
Deceiver Ridge is one of my favorite places on Cougar. It feels remote. The forest here is virgin(never logged). The trees are probably around 200 years old and likely grew after a fire. I assume that the loggers passed over this area because the trees were too small 100+ years ago when Cougar was being logged.
Doughty Falls is flowing better than I have ever seen. This waterfall is often a disappointment even after heavy rains. This year is exceptional.
The trails are very well maintained. I've been impressed with the excellent trail up keep by the crew under the leadership of Steve Wilkinson. I'm especially impressed with the emphasis on keeping the waterbars cleaned out and functioning. This is one of the least sexy, often neglected, but by far the most important task for keeping trails from eroding.
7.1mi loop, 1200 ft
Comments
hikingwithlittledogs on Deceiver, Far Country, Red Town Meadow & Trails
Love the photos!
Posted by:
hikingwithlittledogs on Dec 07, 2023 07:46 PM
Maddy on Deceiver, Far Country, Red Town Meadow & Trails
Thanks
Posted by:
Maddy on Dec 07, 2023 09:03 PM
DRDana on Deceiver, Far Country, Red Town Meadow & Trails
Great route, thanks for sharing it! All the years I've lived near Cougar Mountain, I never explored it at this time of year when the falls are running strong.
Posted by:
DRDana on Dec 08, 2023 11:04 AM
AlpsDayTripper on Deceiver, Far Country, Red Town Meadow & Trails
Thanks for the info about Deceiver Ridge, now I know why it is so pretty! Thanks for always sharing local knowledge, it's a great service! I am always struck by the incredible trail maintenance on Cougar. Can you see if Steve's crew can spend a week or two on the TMT between WT2 and Middle Tiger? ;-)
Posted by:
AlpsDayTripper on Dec 18, 2023 03:16 AM
Maddy on Deceiver, Far Country, Red Town Meadow & Trails
Wouldn't that be nice. Steve's crew works for King Co. Tiger is state land. Oh well.
All of the great info about the Issy Alps comes from the old books written by Harvey Manning and the gang from the 1970, and 80's. Info about Deceiver ridge comes from Hiking and Strolling Trails of Cougar Mountain (Harvey Manning and Ralph Owen). When Harvey first discovered Deceiver ridge he described a "terrifying adventure". No details, but without a trail he probably got bogged down in swamps and Devils Club thickets. I love learning about the history of the Issy Alps. They only exist as public land because of the years of hard work, making political connection and campaigning by the IATC. Most of the trail were illegally built to get people into the woods to discover how worthy they were of protection. Few hikers have an appreciation for the back story and just assume it was always public property.
Posted by:
Maddy on Dec 18, 2023 08:02 AM
AlpsDayTripper on Deceiver, Far Country, Red Town Meadow & Trails
Thanks for the additional info, I'll have to read those books (I bet that KCL has them, another fantastic county organization). I did know that if it weren't for IATC, Cougar Mt would be covered with houses; I lead many Mountaineers' hikes on Cougar and I always tell this story.
Posted by:
AlpsDayTripper on Dec 23, 2023 05:15 AM