Probably everyone here has been up Eagle Creek, so it's tempting to simply report, "It's still there!", and be done.
There were a couple things of note, however, that folks may be interested in. Most prominently, the streamflow is simply prodigious. Pretty clear the snow melt is on! Sevenmile Falls is kicking up mist as if it were Multnomah! The base of Twister Falls is visible from the Vertigo Mile! Sorenson Falls is visible beside Metlako! There were falls I'd never seen coming off the Tanner side of Eagle Creek. Worth checking out, if you'd like to see EC nearing its peak flow.
Check out the spray shooting out of the base of Twister in this video walking the Vertigo Mile...
EDIT: This wasn't in the original post. Hadn't put a warp on it yet.
Looking down into Twister Falls.
Sevenmile Falls kicking up a mist.
Tunnel Falls (had to include that, right?).
Punchbowl Falls
Metlako Falls on right. Sorenson Falls, barely visible, on left.
Loowit Falls
Previously unknown (to me) falls near trailhead. One of many "new" ones.
We decided to see how far we could go up the main Eagle Creek trail, sort of hoping we'd at least make it to the crossing that leads to the Tanner Butte trail. But we came to a creek well past the Wahtum Lake junction that just didn't look like much fun. The safest way across was clearly to just wade on through. Being as far as we were from the trailhead, there seemed like drier options we could pursue to fill the rest of the day.
Choices were to get really wet or to get hurt, it seemed. Neither appealed, so we turned around here.
I did spot this cool little growth of ferns about to unfurl, though.
Decided we'd wander up the trail to Whatum Lake for a while, to see what we might see. My knee was starting to "feel it" at this point, so the other guys kept saying we ought to turn around for my sake. That, and neither wanted to be responsible for me standing up Crusak if I shot the wad here on EC.
(Jim and I had plans to go explore Coyote Wall the next day!)
Pretty good sized waterfall on Whatum Lake trail!
Saw lots of these (fairy slippers?) on the Whatum Lake trail.
The trail wasn't overabundant in flowers, but there were a few others along the way.
I really liked these yellow things by Twister Falls.
The shooting stars were out here and there.
Lots of trillium. Mostly the purple kind, but a good number of these white jobs too.
Changes along the trail...
Saw a number of fresh falls. This one was on the TH side of Loowit Falls.
Someone tied up a rope at one of the log crossings.
New guardian of the trail?
The best news, perhaps, I saved for last. I believe the invasive English Ivy is gone! I got down and crawled all around the stump where I'd pulled some last December. Couldn't find any trace whatsoever of it anymore. Worth looking again at the end of this growing season, but I took this to be a very good sign. (Clearly, too, someone else besides me had gotten more of it out, since the snow has been gone!)
In the end, I made it down just fine. Used a knee brace for the last 9-10 miles, and I think that helped. We ended up with right around 22 miles and maybe 2000' EG? Could've been more (GPS said 2700', but they're notoriously wrong in that valley).
http://gpsfly.org/gps_map.php?gps_id=2329&w=645&h=440"
As much time as I've been spending on the east side, Tim was right, it felt really good to get wet again in the lush, deep green rainforest!
Another great day in the woods!
Oh, and I finally saw the petrified stump, too!
