Lewis River Falls — Friday, Mar. 23, 2001

Southwest Washington > Lewis River Region

Six adults accompanied five scouts on a traverse of the Lewis River Trail. We left one car at the parking lot where road 9039 crosses the river. Road 90 to the upper trailhead has one rough spot through a slide area, but it isn't a problem for passenger vehicles. Parking at the upper trailhead was along the road. There are many fords across creeks, all under boot height except one which is crossable on a downed tree. About 2 1/2 miles in the trail crossed two small streams at the top of waterfalls, which the scouts found impressive. We also enjoyed the views across the river to the columnar basalt cliffs. Past the half-way point old growth trees begin to be seen. The forest is very dry, the moss covered logs and trees are impressive, but it gives the impression of fall, not spring. Sighted a bald eagle, elk and deer sign and elk on the road on the way out. One bridge about midway was in pretty bad shape with broken stringers and treads, most others are new and very sturdy. Bolt camp (2.5 miles from the lower trailhead) is not on the Green Trails map. This is a fine shelter with adequate space for several tents. We only encountered mountain bikers along the trail. We were also surprised to note that half of the garbage we picked up and packed out was bicycle-related (broken reflectors, toe clips, etc.) We took a very slow pace, stopped frequently for map and leave-no-trace instruction and walked the ten miles in six hours. It could easily be done in 3 1/2 by more experienced hikers. This was a long day for us, leaving Vashon Island on the 6:20 AM Tacoma ferry and returning on the 10 PM ferry.