Walks with Moss: Salmon in the road so had to go to Big Creek

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I’ve been sick with a really nasty head cold that just kept getting worse until it started to get better. After about a week my cabin fever was worse than my cold so I went hiking. I wanted to go scout out a lake that is about 3 miles down a decommissioned road on the 23 line. So I headed up the Skokomish Valley Road. I guess it had rained more than I had realized (and they are going crazy logging up there) so the Skokomish river was flooded and the road was impassable. I stopped to take some pictures and videos of salmon and then I turned back towards 101. The video of salmon swimming across the road and my entire hike is at the bottom of this post.

The next closest place to hike is Lake Cushman, so I went there. I opted for Big Creek since it’s less of a drive than Mount Rose or Dry Creek or Copper Mountain. I had Patches with me, so going to Staircase was not an option.

The Big Creek Campground is being renovated and it’s a year behind schedule. There is no parking at the campground and half of the loop is supposed to be closed. I parked across the street from the Campground and started my hike.

I saw that Big Creek was huge and even the dried up stream on the connector trail was running. It’s the first time I’ve seen that creek running in at least 5 years. I walked up to the overlook and cooked a free sample meal I had been given in exchange for a review. You can see that in the video.

At about 1pm I headed back down and opted to take the other half of the loop out, so I made a complete loop. The Big Creek Loop has some nice bridges but the entire trial is in second growth and it really is not very pretty.

It felt really good to get out and go hiking again and gas prices are cheap at the moment, so I can even afford to drive my Jeep until the next time it breaks down.

Check out my video trip report, it shows salmon swimming across the road and me driving in the South Fork of the Skokomish River while on the road.

Please buy one or more of my calendars if you like my pictures and want to inspire me. The price is cheap right now if you use the code 25CAL when you check out.

This year I have hiked 528 miles and gained 93,140 feet in elevation I’ve shattered my annual record by 130 miles and 7,000 feet