User getpeachy suggested the idea of climbing to the McIntrye Ridge bench viewpoint, and today's weather seemed ideal. The clouds never did fully burn off while I was on the ridge, but the views were pristine as always.
Despite the sunny forecast, it was mostly cloudy when I arrived at the snowline on NF 36. Skiing up to the Wildcat cliffs is easy and detailed in the other report.
The Douglas trail from the cliffs is easy to follow for the first half mile through the switchback, but then I lost it.
When the trees spread out, the trail was no longer discernible. Because I've hiked here many times, I had a pretty good idea of where I needed to end up to hit McIntrye Ridge. I occasionally saw blaze and wilderness boundary signs until I found the trail again near the McIntrye junction. The section out to the bench was completely off trail through tight trees. Not recommended unless you know this area very well, cause it all looks the same in young silver fir forest.
When I made it to the bench, I was soaked from the fresh snow melting from the trees. It was like skiing through a rainstorm in the tight sections of the forest. The viewpoint was completely socked in, and all I could see was snow, fog, and a few trees. Then 5 minutes later, a little something popped up over Huckleberry Mtn:
Wy'East slowly revealed itself...
Then I skied around the open meadows near the bench...
Skiing back was just as crazy as the way up. The more open E slopes of McIntyre Ridge were catching some major rays, and I was worried about starting a small loose wet avy as I traversed somewhere near where the trail was. But luckily, the steepest aspects were avoidable and it took just a few ducks and limbos under branches to avoid the danger. I would have stayed high, but wanted to stay with my original track so as not to get lost. Overall, this was a very worthwhile trip to see a place that is almost untouched by humans in the winter, but I would not repeat it. OK, ready for April flowers now.
