I was on that trail a couple years ago, but have not been back since. It is a relative sanctuary in a heavily impacted land...
Life, huh? It does get in th' way, last weekend was my first time out in a month. I'm taking this forest ecology class at PCC which is very interesting, but hasn't allowed me much free time. Man, science sure takes a weird look at forests, all that counting and categorization.
I would like to take 1 more camp trip before it gets all cold and rainy, but we'll see.
Old Baldy is pretty cool, goes thru a noble fir forest. It's a very old trail, not as evenly graded as the "newer" ones. The view is better at Squaw Mountain. There's also a trail that drops down into Salmon Huckleberry but I've yet to check it out.
Last weekend worked some more on Rho Creek. A couple chainsaws went thru the lower area as well. It's now very easy to follow to Tumble Creek.
There's quite a few low elevation trails that stay clear most of the winter. It's how I aviod going more crazy...good raincoat and rainpants and you don't even get wet.
Hillockburn is a nice one, and it continues up the other side, although abandoned. Creek waters are high in winter.
I like Cripple Creek, very beautiful country and nice views. One of my favorites.
Dry Ridge is very grueling, but it gets pretty wild up there....
There's also Eagle Creek trail up in Salmon Huckleberry, but it's sort of hard to find. Worth the effort though.
I was able to get out to Thunder Mtn., Skookum Lake, and Baty Butte, twice last month. Took down yards of 'fire escape route' flagging that followed the 542 trail down to Skookum lake. The trail that heads east to Baty Butte off of 542 is in excellent shape. The 545 trail is practically untouched except for a narrow fireline that was cut at about the point that the trail tops out right below Baty Butte. The line is well established and heads right up to the top of Baty. I decided to scramble up the steep slope and check out the view; which wasn't much, mostly limited to the SW. My next trip was an adventurous bushwhack to the Camelback and Surprise Lake. This is definitlely one my favorite areas in the district and I'm looking forward to exploring it more next season.
When I hiked the trail in September the road to the trailhead was still technically closed. So I think I was the first person to get in there after the fires. As soon as I hit the junction with the skookum lake trail the pink flagging showed up. They had the trail flagged about every fifty feet, sometimes much less, all the way down to skookum lake and the old 350 road. My pockets were loaded with the stuff by the time I got back to the car. Y'know Baty butte itself is not an ideal destination, but you can make a good loop out of it if you first hike to skookum lake, then drop down to the old 350 road and head west until you get to the baty butte trail. Where the butte trail begins there is a decent meadow and some nice views to the south. I thought it made a good lunch spot. Then coming back you would leave the 350 road at the, 'baty butte cutoff?' that begins at the old 400 road and heads east to the skookum lake trail. The cutoff trail is well graded and offers plenty of flora and springs to observe. Overall, the loops a little short for a day hike but there are plenty of areas you can burn daylight exploring; or in my case fishing...
Yeah, Skookum lake has a good population of brookies. Unfortunately, they are not as easy to target as the fish at Big Slide. I have bushwhacked to the far side of Skookum Lake and had some good luck fishing the shaded, shoal areas. Though, all the thick vegetation makes it hard to backcast, and the muddy bottom doesn't allow any significant wading into the water. It's even more of a challenge to fish when the bugs are thick in the early season. Still, it's a good opportunity to catch lots of small brookies.
The road that is downhill from the campsite is the old 350 road that I described in previous posts. It heads west towards Baty Butte.