Kosmos Wildlife Area

Trip Date: September 29th, 2020

Going for an explore at the east end of Riffe Lake in the Mt. Baker – Snoqualmie National Forest. The Kosmos Wildlife Area, situated in the flood plane below the Mossyrock dam, consists of open fields of grasses and reeds. A good place to do some bird spotting or hunting it seems to me.

At the far end of the lake there is a good size park and campsite called Taidnapam park. This was an unexpected find. The park is maintained by the Tacoma Public Utilities and is not on your typical list of places to visit. Taidnapam was a gem of a campsite with plenty of places for day visits to the lake, full RV hookups and walk in campsites. The handicap parking spots were also well developed, with asphalted walkways and washup sinks located next to the site. The toilet facilities were clean and the pay shower stalls were sparkling clean.

We were in the area just to the North of Mount St. Helens National Volcanic Monument, so we decided to explore the gravel back roads for access to the monument from the north end. There is indeed a road ending just inside the monument, with a small trail head going up the Goat Creek valley, further into the depths of the park. The forest and mountains are rugged at this trailhead; a good place to start a hike (on day).

On our way home we stopped by the town of Mineral and took in the views at Mineral Lake. This is a famous place for trout fishing, but it was the offseason so only a few anglers out on the water today. As we explored the road around town we came upon what claimed to be the smallest post-office in the US. The hand painted sign on the side provided some back history of the area and smallest post-office claim.