Welcome to Winter in the Pacific Northwest
The rain is coming down in the Pacific Northwest in sheets, for days, and is unrelenting. The grey skies threaten to send us into hibernation. We sit inside, in our warm houses, threatening to sit on the couch until spring. It’s winter here and, well, it’s depressing at times.
If you are willing to brave the weather, grab your umbrella and raincoat, then venture out the Green River Gorge or the lower Green-Duwamish River and step into an otherworldly riverscape.
Snow has a magical way of transforming the stark bareness of a winter landscape. A white blanket of snow covering the ground hides the decaying leaves and limp brown grass. The bare branches of trees dramatically contrast against the white. Red berries hidden in dark shadows of winter bushes pop as the shadows are now brightened by snow. The forest canopy is renewed below dark snow laden clouds. Quiet lingers between crunching sweeps of footsteps through the snow...
Where the trail meets the river a giant rock spirals out of the deep green water like a whale. White foam speckles the surface of the deep green color of the water. At low water in July and August a rocky beach frames a deep green pool beneath the Whale rock. A large flat rock sits in the middle of the pool. Great for soaking up the sun on a hot day.
The road winds down a long hill. As it turns it passes a couple of houses, a spring spilling out of the hillside and what looks like an overgrown R.V. park. The blinking light is a stop sign to either stop or go for cars on either side of a one lane bridge. Only one car from either direction can cross the bridge at a time. The Green River Gorge Road (or Lawson Road as it is known in Black Diamond) crosses over one of the most beautiful sections of the Green River Gorge…and one of the more accessible areas outside of Washington State Parks.
The trail starts at the northern side of the Green River Gorge Resort. For $5 you can park in a field on the western side of the road. From the trailhead you pass through a gate from private land to the undeveloped Washington State Parks land…
Snow has a magical way of transforming the stark bareness of a winter landscape. A white blanket of snow covering the ground hides the decaying leaves and limp brown grass. The bare branches of trees dramatically contrast against the white. Red berries hidden in dark shadows of winter bushes pop as the shadows are now brightened by snow. The forest canopy is renewed below dark snow laden clouds. Quiet lingers between crunching sweeps of footsteps through the snow...
The Green River Cleanup on May 6th was a successful event with high flows through the Green River Gorge and lots of participants helping to cleanup the Green River Gorge! Check out our run through the legendary rapids Mercury, the Nozzle, and Lets Make a Deal at 3200 c.f.s.
Luckily this section is a loop starting at the resort. Getting to our starting point on the river is a bit interesting. Approximately thirteen years ago a developer bought 4 sections of land from Plum Creek Timber. Those 4 sections of land are like four sides of a box and essentially lie between Washington State Parks land and Department of Natural Resources land. So in order to get to the river at the Jellum section of the State Park you have to walk along a chain link fence and through a gate at an old logging road. You have to cross this private ownership to get to the public land. It is convoluted and is a good example of the challenges of accessing public land in this area.