Just 45 minutes east of downtown Seattle, the Pratt, Middle Fork and South Fork Snoqualmie Valleys are the closest mountain valleys to Puget Sound population centers.
And I was fortunate enough to backpack through this exceptional area in the summer of 2005, enjoying a lovely lunch on a bridge overlooking roaring Thunder Creek.
Multiple flood events have made the Suiattle River road impassable, extremely limiting opportunities to explore some of the best hikes, lakes and peaks of Glacier Peak Wilderness, such as iconic Image Lake and the Pacific Crest National Scenic Trail.
