The USFS Verlot Ranger District has corrected one such situation as best they could. The Perry Creek Trail to Mt. Forgotten Meadows now starts a full mile further down the valley than it has since the logging road was punched up Perry Creek's mouth back in the 50s.
Click HERE for a map of the area.
It's an elegant solution -- a new trailhead parking lot had been built a mile up the Mountain Loop Highway for the Mt. Dickerman Trail a few years ago. If you could follow the 2000 ft. contour from there back down the main valley, you'd intersect the Perry Creek Road just a hundred yards or so from the trailhead. So the road was blocked with huge boulders, the parking area was increased and a new trail was built through some beautiful old forest in the Stillaguamish River valley to connect to the old trail. This has several benefits to the area and the users:
- No more motor noise or wheel dust on the Perry Creek Road. The road will gradually green-over.
- Savings of taxpayer money - no more maintenance on the road.
- The additional mile added to the trail means hikers get a more realistic experience of how long it takes to hike up into the high country. The original deep forest walk segment has been restored.
- Hikers looking for an easy stroll on almost level trail through old forest have a new place to go (the first mile). This should help reduce some of the load on the nearby Ice Caves Trail.
So if you're looking for a fun full-day or overnight trip, or a short forest stroll, try the "newly re-wilded" Perry Creek Trail. And think how this can be an example of re-wilding in other Cascade valleys.
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