Mine Road Trail 1-13-2019

This is actually the 3rd hike of the year, but I didn't get anything written about my last two hikes, which were in the same general area.  All three have been fairly short trails with little elevation gain.  Last weekend, Beaver Lake and White Chuck River Bench Trails just out of Darrington on the Mountain Loop Hwy.  Today's was just before Darrington off of Hwy 530, and Dave came along for the adventure! 

I was given verbal directions to this trail, and in my head combined those with the WTA directions.  The WTA directions were spot on, so lesson learned there (a bit of driving around in Darrington before realizing I needed to turn off before I got there). 

It was somewhat cold out, but the day was absolutely gorgeous!  Not a cloud in the sky.  This hike was a little on the dark side, due to being on the north slope of the ridge. 

This trail follows an old road, so it is nominal and gentle in elevation gain, as well as being pretty wide and flat.  The trail crosses, and meanders by different streams, under a pretty forest of maple and evergreens.  Cedar and Luna got to take advantage of the fairly unpopulated trail by dashing about unleashed, leaping up on logs, wading in the streams, and keeping an eye out for squirrels.

Just before the mine, you get a nice little view of the peak Whitehorse Mountain with waterfalls tumbling from it's rocky snowy sides, as well as some more little water falls cascading down the hillside in the woods. 

At two miles in you come to a beautiful stream, Larson Creek, to the left, and the old mine to the right.  The mine was cut into solid rock and seems as safe as a mine can be.   No one has closed it off either, which you tend to find on unsafe mines. 

The inside of the mine is a little stream of water, so prepare to be wet.  You'll see the old rail tracks under the water, which is interesting since it's not a particularly deep mine - maybe less than 100 ft.  We also saw quite a few frogs hanging out in there as well, which surprised me.  Maybe it stays warmer in there.  I did see quite a few little gnats hanging out in the old drilled holes (for dynamite?) so the frogs have a good food supply. 

This was a really peaceful hike, a tad on the short side, but most likely accessible year round if there isn't lowland snowfall.  I hope to go back and visit in the spring or summer as well.