Hike #3: Stegosaurus Scramble

The hiking bug has bitten after our first two outings, and I resolve to find something nearby and uncrowded to entertain us on a sunny Saturday on August. I elect to try out the short trail to Stegosaurus Butte, which branches off the Middle Fork Snoqualmie Trail just south of the trailhead. We're getting used to hiking in the time of COVID, but on weekends it's certainly more enjoyable to hike on lesser-used trails to avoid hassle with masking on and off. This hike is rated as steep but short. Kyra and Jeannie join me for the adventure today.

We cross over the iconic Gateway Bridge and turn right on the Middle Fork Trail. Families are playing in the river below - this time of year it's quite gentle and has lots of nice spots to enjoy.  The Middle Fork Trail is lovely year-round, and is always a study in mosses, ferns, and other rainforest scenery. This section of the trail south of the bridge has been extended 2.5 miles to the Pratt River, providing easy access to the old Pratt River Trail. From there it's a long 9 miles to Pratt Lake. At exactly a quarter mile from the parking lot, we take a left onto the unmarked trail to Stegosaurus Butte. It's an obvious trail, but the turn is easy to miss if you're not paying attention. Initially the climb is moderate, through salmonberry and sword ferns, and we duck under or crawl over the occasional blowdown. We have seen a few hikers on the Middle Fork Trail, but aren't expecting to see many on this one.

The trail on the way up doesn't have much in the way of views, but I enjoy the walk through the mature forest. The Middle Fork valley is always a pleasant refuge in times of summer heat. The trail steepens as it nears the top of the butte, at times a full scramble, though not for long distances. After slightly less than an hour, we reach the "top" of Stegosaurus Butte and enjoy views of Mount Garfield to the northeast and Preacher Mountain to the south. This vantage point is actually a false summit - the true summit is covered in trees so we decide this is a good place to turn around.

After having a snack and marveling at the imposing rock face of Mount Garfield, we find a short path leading to the other side of the butte. This provides an overlook to the Middle Fork Valley to the east, and the Rainy Creek valley to the south, which leads to Rainy Lake via an old fisherman's trail. Rainy Lake is on my Alpine Lakes Wilderness list, along with another off-trail lake called Nine-Hour Lake, which sits behind the a prominence to the east of Rainy Creek. We return to the trail and make our way back down. When we reach the Middle Fork Trail, we spend about 15 minutes on an out-and-back detour looking for the Rainy Lake Trail, but it's a bit farther down and we turn around before we reach it.

Stegosaurus Butte is not thrilling or long, but it does provide good views of Garfield and Rainy Creek, as well as the Middle Fork Snoqualmie far below. The trail itself has some nice forest sections and is a good workout for a couple hours. If you have more time, it would be great combined with the new trail to Garfield Ledges, or simply hiking along the Middle Fork Trail to enjoy the river. It should be noted that the Middle Fork Trail heading east is closed due to a landslide as of June 2020.

Stats

Time: 2 hours

Distance: 1.7 miles

Elevation Gain: 1100'

Photos and Videos

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