I headed up to the hinterland of Clark County for a jaunt along this trail, which serves as a connector between the East Fork Lewis River at Moulton Falls and the Tarbell Trail - and thence to the complex of trails around Silver Star.
I visited both Moulton ”Falls” (not worthy of the name) and Yacolt Falls before crossing the East Fork on the high bridge and heading down the East Fork Lewis River Greenway on the “baby stroller” trail on the old railroad grade. The Bells Mountain splits off from here about half a mile down. It has been designated part of a 31-mile “National Recreation Trail” which begins at the Hantwick Road Trailhead and ends at the Bluff Mountain Trailhead. This moniker strikes me as slightly ironic because there is no trail in our area that takes in so many clearcuts and brand-new logging roads; in this respect, and because of destructive ATV incursions, it has been declared an “endangered” trail by the Washington Trails Association. The trail was constructed by the Chinook Trail Association, using a substantial grant, which has included it in their vision for a 300-mile loop trail around the Columbia Gorge.
The trail gets in most of its elevation on the out section in the first one and a half miles and then the clearcutting begins: I lost count of how many because one clearcut runs into another with slivers of forested creek drainage and little islands of spindly Douglas-firs left in-between. What the clearcuts do provide for national recreationists plying the trail are views down to the Dole Valley, back to Yacolt, Kloochman Butte, and on a clear day, Larch and Silver Star Mountains and Mt. St. Helens.
I traversed the ravaged forest along Bells Mountain, dropped to a large creek, and then walked around the slopes of Spotted Deer Mountain, hitting more cuts before making a descent to Cedar Creek for the last couple of miles.
Heading along Cedar Creek is quite pleasant, with lush bogs, groves of cedar, and the clearcuts out of mind at times behind a screen of conifers. At least at this season, there were no signs of ATV activity, and the ATV trail that parallels Cedar Creek has been abandoned since the last time I hiked this trail. I sat for lunch at the bridge over Cedar Creek, near the Cold Creek Day-use Area, and then headed back.
The weather was much balmier than expected, with a light snow shower near the beginning of the hike and a few drizzles on the way back. Also, I should say that the greening that comes with the spring should mitigate some of the eyesores along the way as clearcuts often support swaths of colorful blooms.
About 15 ½ miles in and out
