Alpine Lakes Wilderness #6 - CCC Trail

The CCC Road Trail stretches for 23 miles, but today wasn’t about the miles.

Andy was home for the weekend, and it felt like a gift—an opportunity for an early morning forest stroll before life pulled us back in different directions again. No pressure to push pace, no need to rack up distance. Just time.

The forest was awake in that quiet, layered way that only comes with spring mornings in the Pacific Northwest. The air carried sound more than light at first—birdsong echoing through the trees before the sun fully arrived. A Pacific wren filled the understory with its impossibly loud song. Somewhere deeper in the woods, the clear, haunting trill of a varied thrush drifted in and out. Then came the sharp, rhythmic drumming of a pileated woodpecker—like someone tapping out a message on the forest itself.

We even caught a quick glimpse of a ruffed grouse before it disappeared into the brush, as if it had somewhere more important to be.

We walked and talked. Not constantly—just enough. About college. About how things are going. About the small adjustments that don’t always show up in texts or quick phone calls. He’s finding his way, building his own rhythm. I told him I was proud of him. I meant it.

And somewhere in between the conversation, I realized how much I miss him when he’s away.

That’s why this morning mattered.

The Turn Toward Nordrum

My favorite part of the hike came when we veered off onto the side trail to the old Nordrum Lookout site.

“Trail” might be generous. It’s more of a suggestion—something you follow as much by instinct as by tread. Still, it wasn’t hard to stay on course. The climb comes quickly: about 300 feet in just 0.3 miles. Short, steep, and enough to get your attention.

Andy handled it well, though we paused a few times. Not because he couldn’t do it—but because that’s what you do on a hike like this. You stop. You look around. You let the forest set the pace.

Near the top, I told him I was going to wander ahead a bit.

I had something in mind—something like the fire lookout on Thorp Mountain. I was expecting at least a foundation. Maybe some scattered remnants. A hint of structure. Something.

Instead, I found a small sign:

Nordrum Lookout1934 – Mid 1950s

And that was it.

What Remains

No ruins. No timbers. No obvious trace that anything had ever stood there.

Just forest.

It was surprising at first—almost disorienting. After all, a lookout would have once stood here, watching over these same ridgelines, scanning for smoke, for danger, for change. Someone spent seasons of their life right here.

And now, nothing.

Or maybe not nothing—just everything reclaimed.

The forest doesn’t erase history so much as absorb it. What once stood above the trees now exists within them.

We stood there for a few minutes, not saying much.

The Real Reason We Were There

On the way down, the trail felt a little softer, a little quieter.

It’s easy to think of hikes in terms of miles, elevation, pace—all the metrics I usually track. But days like this remind me that those numbers aren’t the point.

The point is being there when it matters.

Walking side by side. Talking a little. Listening a lot.

Watching your kid grow into his own life—and being grateful for the moments when your paths still overlap.

The CCC Road Trail may be 23 miles long.

But today, we only needed a few of them.

If You Go

• Trail: CCC Road Trail (Middle Fork Snoqualmie area)

• Highlight: Side trip to Nordrum Lookout site (~0.3 mi, +300 ft)

• Best Season: Year-round; especially good in early spring when higher trails are still snowed in

• Conditions: Typically snow-free at lower elevations; expect mud and wet roots

• Wildlife/Birding: Pacific wren, varied thrush, pileated woodpecker, ruffed grouse

• Tip: Don’t expect visible ruins at Nordrum—go for the history and the feeling of the place