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Entering the Pratt Valley

      As of this update (January 2010) there are no easy ways to get into the Pratt Valley. To many, this is part of the charm of this valley. If you go there, you can expect solitude and a true wilderness experience only miles from Seattle. You can also expect to be very isolated with no cell service and it is a tough place to be rescued (although people have been rescued from here). The U.S. Forest Service is planning to build a new trail from the Wilderness Gateway bridge (the start of the Middle Fork Trail) to the Pratt Valley. This was originally intended for 2009 but the flooding early in that year did not allow it.

      If you would like to go to the Pratt Valley, you essentially have four choices:

      1) Hike on the remains of the old, and direlict for 35 years, Middle Fork Trail

      2) Wade the Middle Fork River just up stream from the mouth of the Pratt River. This alternative is EXTREMELY HAZARDOUS in all but the most dry conditions but can be safely done by those with river fording skills and low water.

      3) Cross the Middle Fork with a canoe, kayak, or raft.

      4) Enter from the connector trail from Pratt Lake at the upper end of the Pratt Valley (in spite of the friendly looking green line on the Green Trails map, this route is indistinct at the beggining and end and requires considerable route finding skills).

Option #1: Hike the remains of the old Middle Fork Trail

When we hiked this trail in 2009 we found the trail from the Middle Fork trailhead to the Pratt Valley easier than expected. There was a "trail" the entire way. In fact, we found that if we did not see trail tread, flags, or blazes, we were off route and would go back aways and find our error. This happened, probably a dozen times. If you are uncomfortable with that kind of trail finding, turn left after the bridge and do not attempt to hike to the Pratt Valley.

      A hiker named "Whitebark" posted a very good description in 2005 on the WTA website that we used to get us into the Pratt. (WTA description)       I have taken his description below, removed some of the comment and added some details we found useful. If I ever find "Whitebark" I will thank him profusely for his write-up.

      From the bridge over the Middle Fork turn right (west) onto a rough path paralleling the river. This path actually is a remnant of a once major trail heading toward North Bend. Some old cedar puncheon is still visible in places, a sad reminder that this once was an important and well maintained route, before being abandoned after logging roads were built up the valley.

      After a quarter mile, the path goes out onto the gravel bar along the river. You go a short ways and then take an obvious path through small trees on the gravel bar. This "path" is marked by a pink ribbon to your right, across from the opening. If you take the actual gravel shoreline, you will end up at a cliff. The trail is above the cliff. In high water you may have to work your way to the left to access the trail.

      Once on the trail above the cliff, follow it to Rainy Creek. There are a couple of places where there is a lot of brush and the trail may get confusing. If you start heading up the Rainy Creek drainage, you have turned left way too soon. It is easy to get lost here. There are several locations to cross the stream. You want to keep going right, you are aiming to cross close to the Middle Fork River. The more obvious trail is the Rainy Lake trail, it goes left and ends up in the Rainy Creek drainage. The junction, is cleverly disguised as a creek bed. Ribbons and blazes soon confirm that you are back on route.

      Follow this down Rainy Creek, at one point it forks, take the trail to the left. You will come to a log across the river with tread marks cut into it. The log is an easy crossing and very obvious.

      The next half mile or so of trail is rough, as the path was forced up onto a steep slope above the river (this is the toughest part of the trail and the only place where the risk of slipping is more than muddy pants). Most of the old trail's tread has collapsed. This is definitely the toughest part of the trail and you need to be careful. Do not trust any old wooden structures (such as boardwalks) and be very careful on the creek crossing. There is a creek crossing with a log with steps cut into it, pay attention to the trail here, for your return trip (you don't want to go down on return). In one spot the path traversed a ledge that had been blasted out of a granite cliff; at another spot the trail passed over collapsing wooden structures that once reinforced the old trail. After the cliffs, the terrain eases, and for some distance beyond the walking is easy on well-preserved tread. The easy walking eventually ended at the edge of a rockslide that has swept down from the heights all the way to the river; for the next mile the way trail twisted and turned to avoid brush and logs, generally taking a course that climbed away from the river. Frequent flags and blazes mark the course pretty well in this difficult stretch.

      Topping a high point, the trail dropped through some dense second growth trees and reached the bed of an old, brushy logging road. The walking surface here becomes a bit easier, although the scratchy salmonberrys which had grown over every square inch of the road were annoying. The logging road and trail gradually descended to the river bank, where a bit of rough path led to a grassy clearing in the spacious flatlands of the Pratt River Valley. Ribbons to the south marked the start of the Pratt River Trail. From the Middle Fork Bridge to this point is about 3 rough and slow miles; allow plenty of time (about two hours) to get here (note: the trail can take you one of two places, that look alike. One clearing is by the river and the other along the hillside. Both will lead to trails that go to the Pratt Valley).

      The path gradually climbs away from the river. The trail leads into into a ravine where it soon goes to the right onto a small rise. Watch carefully for this, if you run out of blazes. You can camp here and water is available to the right towards the Big Trees.

      A way trail goes down to the right, towards the "Big Trees" (it initially looks like grade). The main trail goes left, up a couple of switchbacks, then meets the railroad and continues up the valley.

      At the end of his WTA trail report, Whitebark added this, I couldn't agree more:

      "If you do want to explore the little used Pratt River Trail, you will save a lot of time if you park on the Middle Fork Road and wade the river, which should be easy to do later in summer. Most people will find this trail viewless and frustrating. It should be avoided by all except troglodytes, malcontents, and misanthropes."

I can only conclude that I am all three.

Option #2: Wade the Middle Fork River

There are two places to wade the river near the start of the Pratt Valley trail (they are shown roughly on the map below as red arrows. Fording the river is never easy and you should check the water level below (on the USGS site) before going. Note, you should only cross when the level is 2 feet or less (this is pretty sensitive, we were forced to cross once when it was at 2.5 feet and it was very dangerous and I would not choose to repeat that).

You can access this crossing area using a fisherman's trail that goes to the river. Just past the forest boundary you will cross the new metal bridge. Past that you will cross two minor culverts for streams at about mile 8. Just past the second one, which goes into the river at a bend you can see from the road, park near some rocks and note the well-used trail. Follow this to the river and carefully cross. Once on the other side, work your way east until you hit the trail remnants. It will feel further than you think and you have to go up hill some to reach it but it will not require you to go up a steep hillside (you have gone too far). This half-mile can range from easy (with a visible informal trail) to a hellish, sticker-infested bush whack. That's the Pratt...

Link to the USGS River Data for the Middle Fork gage near Tanner.

Use the USGS link to get real-time data on the river level for the Middle Fork. The most useful information is the Gage height: feet graph partway down the page. IF YOU ARE EXPERIENCED IN RIVER FORDING: the Middle Fork is usually safely forded when this gage runs 2 feet or less. Do not get in over your head! The river will sweep you down and you will drown!

Option #3: Cross the Middle Fork on a Canoe, Kayak, or Raft

This is a very reasonable and pleasant way to cross the river. Drive to about mile 9 on the Middle Fork Road to where the road returns to run along the river. You will note some big rocks and a campsite here. This is a great launch site. Launch your canoe, raft, or kayak (wearing a life preserver, of course) and float down river to the first bend. As you come out of that bend to the right, look for a place to land. Land, pull your boat up on the embankment and hike due east to meet the Pratt Valley trail. It will feel further than you think and you have to go up hill some to reach it but it will not require you to go up a steep hillside (you have gone too far). This half-mile can range from easy (with a visible informal trail) to a hellish, sticker-infested bush whack. That's the Pratt...

On return, launch your boat and head across the river as quickly as possible. You can either use the fisherman's trail directly across the river to get to the road or float to the rocky shore on the next left-hand bend and pull out to the road (WARNING: That little creek you can drag your boat up has quick sand. No, I'm not kidding, sunk up to my waste in it! Be careful!!)

A not very serious video showing a canoe cross of the Pratt with a homemade helmet cam but you can see the state of the river (it was running at 2 feet gage when we did this) and the rocky beach you land on. "Canoe Camp" is right above those rocks. Very nice site.

Option #4: Enter from Pratt Lake on the Pratt Connector Trail

Link to a more thorough description to navigate the Pratt Lake Connector Trail

The Pratt Lake Connector is only informally maintained and poses some challenges. This sections addresses how to enter the Pratt from the up-stream end.

Some of the features discussed above are shown on this map:

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