Day Hike - Skookum Flats and Falls

Eight of us enjoyed a surprisingly dry day as we followed the White River on the Skookum Flats Trail. This was a Welcome to Hiking hike run by the Tacoma Hiking and Backpacking Committee and we had several new hikers and folks new to The Mountaineers. Our Welcome to Hiking hikes are geared towards newer hikers with a slower pace and low elevation. The Skookum Flats Trail is perfect and full of lovely forest moments.

All of our hikers enjoyed the lush landscape, large Douglas-fir and Western Red Cedar trees as well as a plethora of moss and mushroom varieties. We found some edible hedgehog mushrooms which made the leader very happy. We of course talked about the importance of knowing your mushrooms  and where you can learn more if one is interested.

The trail is in great shape and we enjoyed traveling across some improved bridges done by the Washington Trails Association this past year. One of our leaders actually helped work on one of these bridges for their Stewardship Badge renewal.

We ventured to the side trail leading up to Skookum Falls. A conversation was had about the level of difficulty and cautions. Some folks held back while others proceeded with one of the leaders. The trail up to the falls is steep and proper footing is a must. Once at the falls everyone enjoyed the beauty of water flowing through the mosses and fall colors still showing their beauty. The waterfall is low flowing for now but still magical.

Returning back down safely to the rest of our group, we enjoyed a snack break before venturing back to our vehicles. The hike back was fun with everyone getting to know each other more and sharing about the many offerings one can participate in with The Mountaineers.

We made it back to our vehicles, thanked everyone for attending with hopes of sharing more trail time in the future.