Boulder River Wilderness

Many are the mysteries of the Boulder River Wilderness. Less than 25 miles from Puget Sound, as the marbled murrelet flies, rise the crags and soggy forests of this Wilderness, with elevations ranging from 700 feet to nearly 7,000. These mountains are the initial wringers to wet winter storms blasting through the Straits of Juan de Fuca from the North Pacific; the hills have been sliced by glaciers past, and vigorous streams continue to cut the mountains down to size. Creeks tumbling thousands of feet from the glaciers of Whitehorse and Three Fingers create scenic waterfalls into dense woods of hemlock, Douglas fir and cedar. Feature Show Falls, along the Boulder River Trail, may be the most accessible and best known; it drops 200 feet from the base of Mt. Ditney directly into the Boulder River. Steep granite walls, a veritable little Yosemite, are tucked among the ridges on the east side and provide some of the finest rock climbing in the Cascades, for those in the know. Wildlife, while shy of humans, is common in the area. Mountain goats and black bear can be seen on the slopes of Whitehorse Mountain by those who patiently watch, and black swifts, kestrels and larger hawks patrol the skies searching for a size-appropriate meal. While Three Fingers Mountain is prominent on the skyline from Interstate 5, it remains elusive: difficult road and trail access makes it a stiff two-day hike to the lookout cabin on its summit. The historic lookout was built in 1932 after the summit spire was levelled by former ranger Harold Engles. Volunteers now maintain the building, which has a vertiginous series of ladders ascending rock cliffs on the west and a 4,000-foot cliff out the back window to the valley of Clear Creek far below.