For many years, the approach to western trailhead of the Mount Mitchell Trail was through Amboy from the south. Then the footbridge over North Siouxon Creek got washed out and the road to the trailhead slid down the slope. The new, but unsigned trailhead can be reached from FR 90 as for the former (now closed) approach to the short route to Mt. Mitchell. From FR 90, it’s about 10 miles south on a decent gravel road, the caveat being there is much logging activity here during the week, so weekends are the best time to go.
A fairly new section of trail drops into an alder/big-leaf maple bottomland, passes below a clearcut and undulates in and out of creek gullies. Now that the rains have begun, there is water everywhere. Springs gush along the trail and numerous small creeks require some agility to cross. Large snags attest to the devastation of the 1902 Yacolt Burn: it’s difficult to imagine the intensity of a conflagration that consumed giant Douglas-firs and cedars six to eight feet across over many square miles.
Eventually one sights North Siouxon Creek and the old trail coming up from the former bridge crossing. Near here, there’s the first of several interesting tributary crossings: this one a salal-encrusted trunk over the rushing spate. After this, the trail hangs high above the North Siouxon Gorge, with occasional views down into the narrow defile. You reach the second big tributary crossing, where you can balance across a rotting, mossy log.
The tread, which has seen comprehensive maintenance recently, now runs through a lush, wet bottomland, the track sometimes becoming a series of ponds. Fungi were fruiting in more abundance than I have seen all fall. I reached the first remaining footbridge from the original trail construction and arrived at another interesting creek crossing: here, a couple of 2 x 4s are tacked to a log with a very loose length of twine between them.
Finally, you arrive at the first sign on the trail where the path for the Black Hole leads steeply down to the cold, brooding amphitheater on North Siouxon Creek which holds this thundering 50-foot waterfall. The sun doesn’t reach down here this time of year and temperatures were many degrees cooler than above on the main trail. The conditions create their own turbulence and soon my extremities were numb.
Having enough hours in the day, any demi-loony could continue from here to Mt. Mitchell itself: it’s only another 5 ½ miles one way from the Black Hole.
Note: While this is Washington DNR land, there was no sign at the trailhead about the Discovery Pass. The hike to the Black Hole is about 9 ½ miles round-trip.
