Young Love by King Benchmark in Marckworth State Forest / 青春之愛

  • Reading time:5 mins read

Young Love by King Benchmark lies in northern Marckworth State Forest. It overlooks Youngs Creek north of Moss Lake Natural Area. Meanwhile, Highway 2 by the Skykomish River offers the fastest way to the starting point.

Young Love above the road
Young Love above the road

See more trip photos here.

Young Love at a Glance

Access: Dagger Lake Road
Round Trip: 3 miles
Elevation Range: 650′-1440′
Gear: none
GPS Track: available
Dog-Friendly: yes
Driving Music: Urban

Dagger Lake Road

Happy April Fools! We were three hours behind schedule this morning due to an errand. But the typically fewer people on DNR land wasn’t too concerning for me. After stopping by Sultan Bakery, we crossed the Mann Road Bridge to Dagger Lake Road.

The intermittent pavement narrowed past the neighborhood homes. Meanwhile, it went over small potholes and crossed two bridges over Youngs Creek before becoming a dirt road. We parked by the gate before Grandall Creek.

The fun starts at the road's end
The fun starts at the road’s end

See more trip photos here.

West to South Route

The towering summit was visible through the dense forest past the gate. The road dipped slightly before rising below the north of Young Love. Then it went along the west and gained a modest 250′ to the road fork in half a mile.

Taking the old, brushy road, we soon reached the end on the south in half a mile. Then it’s 200′ scrambling through salal to the flat, open ridgetop. The final part went through dead trees and the narrow crest to the mossy, rocky top.

The mistyHaystack Lookout of Ten-Four Mountain
The mistyHaystack Lookout of Ten-Four Mountain

See more trip photos here.

Young Love Summit Plus Exit

We hung out by the obelisk that marked the high point. The small clearings to the east viewed hills by Dagger Lake and some of Ten-Four Mountain. It was a rain-free start but finished on top with hail and rain as in the forecast.

As we left the top, target shooting sounds went off but soon stopped. Then we poked around for views and saw some of Cherry Creek Valley. The sun made a cameo at one point before the rain took over again.

Exciting via Young Love's north ridge
Exiting via Young Love’s north ridge

See more trip photos here.

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