Trip Report
Day hike - Licorice Fern Trail, Indian Trail, Quarry, Coal Creek Falls
3 of us enjoyed a pre-Turkey hike starting at Licorice Fern Trailhead and turning around at Coal Creek Falls. Blow-downs from the bomb cyclone are passable if you're willing to scrabble a bit. A large tree has fallen in the middle of the Falls view so photo ops are a bit disturbed. Great day!
Courtenay Schurman
- Thu, Nov 28, 2024
- Licorice Fern Trail
- Day Hiking
- Successful
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- Road suitable for all vehicles
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This is a lovely trail that is being improved by WTA work parties over the next three months. I participated on Day 1 earlier in November and it's truly amazing what two weeks of concentrated efforts have done for the Licorice Fern trail.
Note about parking: at the base of Licorice Fern TH there is a small, faded pink and white sign that says "Do not park between here and driveway." Please read and respect the signs and do not block the mailbox.
From experience this week, I've learned to unleash my dog through blowdowns so he doesn't choke and put him back on once we've passed through the downed debris. Nobody deserves to choke on tree limbs!
Three of us took my dog for a pre-Turkey Day scouting hike on a beautiful brisk morning with frost and fog that burned off by mid-morning to make for lovely photos. We parked at the bottom of the Licorice Fern Trail so I could show my trail friends where the recent WTA work parties have been improving the tread, widening paths, building new stairs, and laying straw, I assume to absorb moisture.
We left the cars around 7:15 a.m. and encountered an early-riser trail runner, with more people and their dogs the later it got. It was nice to see so many people out enjoying themselves pre-feast on such a beautiful morning.
After checking out Licorice Fern Trail, we continued across the street to join with Indian Trail and encountered several downed trees from the bomb cyclone that hit the area a week ago. If you're willing to deal with some clambering, the trail is passable. It smelled like Christmas in places with all the fresh pine boughs.
Our next destination was a right turn onto Quarry Trail where we started a more serious climb to our final destination, Coal Creek Falls. We stopped for a 25-minute snack, drink, and some photos. The falls are raging! I'd only seen it once with a trickle. Unfortunately, the cyclone blew a tree down right in the middle of the view so I had to clamber around to get a decent Falls shot.
Two of us had a strict turn-around time and my dog was trembling from the cold. We scrapped the idea of seeing Doughty Falls, instead returning the way we came. Trail runners and an official group of Mountaineers were out (hi Susan!) as well as a few dog walkers.
By the time we returned to the cars around 11 a.m., the sun's rays created steaming pavement and great photo ops. On the day, we heard 11 bird species including a downy woodpecker, got some lovely fresh air, traded stories, and got in about 5.8 miles and 830 elevation gain. The rating of "3" was due to the abbreviated nature of the trip (I hate not meeting my objective!) and the social dynamics of mismatched pace more than the trail itself. I'll save Doughty for another trip.