No Drugs Needed for this High (Frog Mountain)

When Adam told his co-workers he was going to climb Frog Mountain, they asked him with all seriousness, "Is that a drug thing?" 😂 Admittedly it's a strange name for a trail, though we did actually find the frog.😜 

Hiking season will be closing soon, which is such a shame when you have finally gotten your legs in top form. I wanted to challenge myself, and see some fall color; so when I saw a TR on my favorite hiking website for Frog Mountain, I knew it was the perfect fit.

 

Not only was it the perfect amount of miles and elevation, but it was also almost a perfect half way meeting point for Adam and I. (Between North Seattle and Skagit Valley - we actually met in Monroe and car pooled from there.) Because Adam is always ready for a punishing workout, especially now that he's training for a marathon, I knew he would be down for it. 

I should probably take the time to explain Adam (who does not do drugs, btw) since I did get a question on my IG post of "who is replacing Ken?" No worries, people, I am no cougar. Adam is my son in law's brother, and like another son to me as well. And even though his normal fitness bar is far above my top fitness bar, he is patient enough to hike with me. 

Though I will say he is making me think I can push my bar up a couple notches. On the way down, out of nowhere I just started doing a little jog. Adam was like, "what is going on here?" 😄Honestly, I don't know what got into me because I am NOT a runner, much less a trail runner! 

Sammie is sitting in a mushroom cup😍

But let me tell you, this is the trail for it. It's a gradual grade the whole time, and it actually felt quite comfortable. I was able to keep at it until we were almost the whole way down, when it started to get a little too rocky and dark. 

So nearly 4 miles at a jog! Look at me - the slowest hiker has now become the slowest trail runner! Haha, I am almost certain it will not become a thing for me, but it was good I tried it out for this hike because I got home WAY past my bed time as it was. Happy "ribbit ribbit" trails! 😜Things to know list below.

THINGS TO KNOW ABOUT FROG MOUNTAIN:

1) It's a newer trail, so it' a hidden gem at this point. We saw 4 people total. 

2) It's just past Skykomish, with a 13 mile forest road drive once you turn off of Hwy 2. About half of that is paved, and the half that isn't paved is still pretty nice. A few potholes, but any car can make it easily.

3) Our navigation brought us to a huge parking area (actually it's Jack's Pass) but the trailhead is just a bit further up the road. Huge parking area there too, so even if this trail gains popularity (which is should!) parking should never be a problem.

3) A very straight forward 4 miles up with about 2k in elevation. Took us close to 3 hours I think, including picture taking and some rest up top. Total of 4 hours on trail, so down was of course way faster.

4) As is obvious from the pictures, the fall colors are really popping this time of year! I gave this trail a full five stars, which I think is my first time. I just couldn't think of one thing wrong with it. 

Perfection. I tried enhancing some of the photos, but nothing could make them any better.

 

 

 

Eight Mile Trail

First off, this trail is not 8 miles. I was like, "Why are Washingtonian's always naming things Eight Mile for no apparent reason?" - so I finally just Googled it. Turns out, just like in Leavenworth, one thing is named Eight Mile because it is actually that distance from town, and then several things (like Eightmile Lake) get the same name. Seems people are not very creative when it comes to naming things. 

But I digress; I didn't choose this hike because I was looking to hike 8 miles. I only wanted to take advantage of a beautiful day and I didn't want to drive more than 2 hours. Because I don't typically like to re-do hikes, I did my scavenger hunt on the WTA website to try to find something that suited my needs. 

Sammie loved the big stumps

As I explained on my Pharmaceutical Hiking post, this is a technique where you bring up the Hike Finder Map and just start clicking. It's not efficient, but it's surprising what you can find this way. I was very intrigued to find this "Squire Creek Pass via Eight Mile Trail" off of the Mountain Loop Hwy, because I really thought I knew all of the hikes in that area.

A beautiful biggie that is still standing strong

I wasn't expecting much...I mean if it was any good I would have already heard about it, right? The first review I read on Alltrails confirmed my assumptions by saying "Views at end are nice but I don't think it's worth the major effort to get there." But how can a 5.2 hike with under 3k elevation be a major effort? What a baby 😉...so with just an hour and half drive from my house, I went to check it out. 

You'll get some nice views mid trail too!

I was glad there was at least one car at the trailhead because after driving the 6 mile forest road it really felt like I was in no man's land. The trail started off really nice, but progressively got worse and worse. I used my hands in a couple places to climb the root ladders, and tried not to think about how my legs and knees were going to feel on the way down. 

Finally getting out from the trees I came across the other two hikers. "Enjoy the view at the top" they said as we passed each other, but unfortunately that put in my head that I was almost there. And in actuality,  another half mile is not all that far. But if you are a hiker, you understand just how far this can feel. 

A tradition on my Intragram

I started doing my "this has to end, this has to end" chant. Partly just to make noise (this really feels like bear territory with all the blueberry bushes) but mostly because it's what I do when I'm in a bad head space. (Last time was just before the Desolation Peak Lookout.) I was fully expecting the smattering of clouds in the sky to be covering the "nice" view of whatever mountains may have been visible from this pass that felt like I was NEVER going to get to. What a baby.😆

Sammie needed a rest by the infinity pool ;)

I do love when you get your mind blown in a situation like this; I was almost brought to tears. Though I also had to ask myself, "why is nobody here?" Yes, it was a bitch of a hike, but no worse than Mailbox Peak's old trail, and everybody is clamoring up that thing. And IMO, this view is far superior. How amazing to have it all to myself on a glorious Labor Day weekend. 

Driving through Darrington on my way home I passed what I teasingly referred to on my IG story as a "sign from God" and stopped for my post hike treat.

It says "BEER" in case you can't see it

The River Time Brewery is a really cute place with great outdoor seating that I highly recommend. Happy "don't be a baby" trails! Things to know list below for those interested. 

Things to Know about Eight Mile Trail

1) You should have navigational assistance unless you are very good at reading a trail. It's not that it's super unclear, there are just a couple tricky spots that are easy to miss. 

I almost missed a right turn here because I was so distracted by yet another huge tree ;)

2) A couple people mentioned in comments that they believed the mileage to be longer than stated. Normally I would just say they are being babies 😜but I do have to agree this feels closer to 6 miles RT. 

3) You could make this a thru hike with two cars by hiking out the Squire Creek Trail, but it doesn't sound worth it to me. That trail is even less maintained and has an added 2 mile road walk due to a wash out.

4) Alltrails will tell you that you are at the TH when you actually have about 15 more minutes of driving to do. I'm guessing this is because the road was blocked at some point, but as of 9/6/2026 it's clear all the way to the TH and as far as forest roads go, it isn't that bad. 

5) I personally cannot imagine doing this with a full backpack, but there is amazing looking camping at the pass. Maybe in a few years I'll forget how brutal this hike was and go back, because seeing that view at sunrise and sunset really might be worth it.

You'll need to know big rock/little rock to camp here

6) There is a rock climbing area about a mile in. Bring a rope if you are so inclined. 

It's called 3'o clock rock...looks fun, right? 

7) I have to point out that you can actually see the Three Fingers Lookout at the pass! I thought it was pretty cool, since I'll never be doing that one. Well, never say never, but I highly doubt it.

5) Not trail related, but The Oso Memorial is not far from Darrington. You should stop if you can; they've done a really nice job with it. Hard to believe it's been 12 years since the tragedy, but it needs to be remembered. 

 

 

Sucks Getting Old

We humans grow old. It's a tough pill to swallow. But it's a reality none of us will escape...unless of course we die before we get the chance to age. I used to teasingly use the mantra "die young, stay pretty," when I was a teen. How dumb is that?

Thankfully my years of worrying about retaining my youthful beauty are behind me. In fact, age itself has become quite beautiful to me - it's given me perspective and wisdom that my childish self could only mock.

Though there is something about becoming old I could really do without: having your body fall apart on you. My dear friend, Heidi, has really had to deal with this lately. But thankfully, with the help of modern science, she is being rebuilt! Back to back knee replacement surgeries. Ugh. It's been a really tough summer for her. I know Julie has had her health struggles too. Sucks getting old.

Though Heidi has been completely out of commission for the entirety of this year's hiking season, and I know it has added tremendously to her already large amount of pain. So I've been trying to think of ways to help her enjoy the summer that don't involve double digit miles and sleeping on the ground. I know my friends will help me out too when life decides to put me on the bench. 

So if you are a person that for whatever reason wants low miles and no tent, this trip report is for you. I didn't think I'd write anything up for this short girl's weekend getaway, but both trails we did are in my Alltrails App so I figured, why not?

A trail is a trail, no matter how short. Happy "for creaky and healing knees" trails. Oh, and stay tuned for Heidi's master plan for adventure requiring no major hiking coming up soon. It's going to be good! 

LOG: 

1) It's a long drive to Squamish, so a stop at The Beach House in West Vancouver for brunch is a nice break. There's some very nice boardwalk beach walking you could do here, but we opted to just be ridiculous instead.

We chose to stay at the Howe Sound Inn and Brewing Company in Squamish because of it's proximity to the Sea to Sky Gondola, NOT because of the beer 😉though if you do have a couple beers, there is a bus you can catch just a block from the Inn, and it's free on weekends! Plus it's much easier than dealing with the parking at the Gondola. 

You could actually hike up to the summit and take the tram down, but you can also go after 4 pm and get 40% off a round trip fare, which is of course what we did. Our only hiking was the less than half mile Spirit Trail Loop you can walk after crossing the very cool suspension bridge at the summit. I think it may even be wheelchair accessible? I know you can at least get a chair across the bridge because we saw it done, though it took a few helpers and did not look easy. 

2) We tried to stop at the Shannon Falls Lookout on the first day, but it was a madhouse with not a parking spot in sight. But now that we had mastered the bus system (and knew it was free!) we used it again and went to see the falls after all. This is also only about a half mile of walking (maybe wheelchair accessible too?) though there is a short side trail that is mostly stairs that will take you up for a closer view. Heidi pushed herself to do that too, even though her knee was really hurting. She is such a beast! An old beast 😆but still a beast.😍 

Heidi's bionic knees will be fully activated in no time!

To end I'll give a shout out to the Copper Coil Still and Grill as being a super cute and quirky place to eat, and a warning that even though you see a line out the door at the Fox and Oak doughnut shop all weekend making you think they must be amazing...they are not.  

I even did some rock climbing! I just needed to push the children out of my way first 😉

 

Scott Paul Deserves the Best

How cool would it be to have a trail named after you? I mean, I would settle for a bench...heck, even a port-o-potty (reference to an old story of mine) but having your own trail puts you in the big leagues. So I did a little "research" -- which is simply asking AI nowadays -- on why Scott Paul got his own trail. 

"Scott Paul was a dedicated Forest Service ranger, visionary trail builder and coordinator for the Mt Baker district." No shocker there. But what I was surprised to read was that the Scott Paul Trail is a secondary tribute to his name. His main memorial is a plaque at the 240 feet suspension bridge at Drift Creek Falls in Oregon, where Scott lost his life while helping build it. 

A private construction company finished the bridge after the tragic accident - and get this; the company was owned by Scott's close friend and fellow trail builder, Carroll Vogel. Around the same time, Vogel's crew secretly put an official looking sign renaming the Sulphur Moraine Trail to the Scott Paul Trail, and the Forest Service kept it.

Sammie says, "Take a right!"

 

Unfortunately, Scott Paul has to share his trail with the HIGHLY popular Park Butte Trail. At only about a tenth a mile you make your turn to get on the Scott Paul, though hardly anyone does. You will have another chance at the two mile mark with one more intersection, but the masses continue on to the left...either to Railroad Grade (and maybe a Mount Baker summit) the Park Butte Lookout, or even all the way to the ocean if you are doing the Pacific Northwest Trail. 

But I would encourage anyone and everyone to get off the well beaten path and try out this beauty of a trail for themselves. The only hiccup with doing the full 8 mile loop is that a pretty important suspension bridge is gone.  

After hearing Scott Paul's story, this seems...I know ironic is not the right word, but I can't think of one that fits. So I'll just say it seems wrong. I don't think he would be too happy with having his trail missing a bridge that could possibly put someone's life at risk. (Some years it gets put up, some years it doesn't...although one of the supports is gone, so that will need to get fixed before it gets put up again.)

One of the few people I saw on the loop

I was thankful the water was low enough this day that I could cross without incident, but I would recommend you try and ford it earlier in the day; which means going clockwise. But I would also suggest that this trail would be just as good as an up and back...maybe even better. 

In fact, next time I do it, that's what I plan on doing. Make the early turn, avoid the crowds, get up to those amazing two miles at the top where Mount Baker is in your face the whole time, then turn around well before the missing bridge and enjoy those views for the second time before heading down.

IN YOUR FACE!

I think this would only be a mile longer than the traditional loop - and I think it would be more enjoyable. I rarely do trails more than once, but I can actually see myself doing this one multiple times, I was that impressed by it. Thank you, Scott Paul; and I hope that bridge gets put up again soon. Happy "well named" trails.