Osborne Mountain — Saturday, Jul. 12, 2008

South Cascades

For me there are many changes to the lower portion of the Osborne Mt. Trail from Big Creek Campground. Private property on either side of the trail has been logged. On the left side of the trail, logging was about 3 years ago. On the right side towards the very beginning of the trail, logging must have been in 2008. The mossy mini-rainforest character is gone. But, the charcoaled old-growth snags are still there as some sort of reference from how the trail looked 4 years ago. Many new species are filling in the newly cleared area which is interesting to see. The area has been replanted with Douglas Fir, so the intermediate alder and fireweed stage of the clear cut will not last so long. Some of the small branches have not yet been cleared from the trail, but someone has been working on it. The trail is easy except for where the trailbikes have eroded into the sandy soil on the uphill stretch. Wear long pants to avoid nettles and thistles. Creek and river levels are fairly high. Weather was gorgeous. I saw a large Cascades frog, Stellar's Jay, Crows, Thrush, and Ravens. Big Creek campground was full Saturday night, but nearly empty on Sunday night. After the hike you can find the busy Copper Creek Cafe on Hwy 7 doing brisk business on long hours. I think it's the most reliable restaurant in Ashford, WA, just over the Nisqually River from Osborne Mountain. Trail park pass required at the Big Creek Campground TH of Osborne Mt. Trail. You can buy one at the historic Suver's General Store on your way through Ashford on Hwy 7.