Before going up Rock of Ages, we first went around the bend to the bottom of Horsetail Ridge to look at where we'd be ending up. The start of that trail is almost in the mirror image location of the Rock of Ages start, on the other side of Ponytail Falls, and consists of a few different faint paths going up, that quickly (about 10 feet up) merge into one steep scramble going up about 15 feet. We couldn't see beyond that, but it looked doable coming down with plenty of rocks to grab onto. I would later regret not noting the elevation at this point, and getting the lay of the land around this area better.
Rock of Ages ascent
We backtracked to Rock of Ages and headed up that, and as you'll know from other trip reports, it is steep and slow going. I had forgotten how much scrambling there was -- I think from about a quarter mile before the rock arch to a quarter mile after it, it was one scramble section after another. These weren't too difficult, with lots of tree roots and in some cases downed trees and branches to grab into, but in a couple places downed trees blocked the trail and made the scramble more difficult. We quickly lost any sense of shame as we awkwardly straddled and slithered over trees lying at steep angles on the slopes.
The area around the rock arch (which is at about 1 mile from the trailhead and 700 feet elevation) has a network of paths splitting and rejoining, so it's possible we could have take some easier routes, but likely it didn't matter. However, at one point below the arch the trail splits and one direction goes northeast toward a ridge and the other continues south up the mountain. We took the south option, not realizing the northeast option leads directly to the rock arch. From the south option, you will shortly reach an area where you can see the rock arch slightly below and then backtrack to it. But it was so windy on the ridge and I'm so scared of heights that we just looked from a distance and proceeded upward. In short, take the northeast branch to visit the rock arch and take the south if you don't care about that and just want to continue up the trail.
Just after this point we were surprised by a modest spread of wildflowers of several varieties on the sunny, exposed ridgeline. This continued to Devil's Backbone, where we stopped for some photos before reentering the woods for more relentlessly steep climbing, but not much more scrambling. Eventually we came to the Russ Jolly Trail junction, at about 1.9 miles from the trailhead and 1900 feet elevation and just past a strange stump in the middle of the trail, about 4 feet high, 4 inches in diameter with a lump about the size of a volleyball toward the top. The trail was distinct and dropped back down into the valley to the west; we continued upward.
Horsetail Creek traverse
Eventually the climbing eased as the trail meandered east, close to some steep drops into the valley on the east side, and before we knew it, we reached the Horsetail Creek junction and turned west. This section was nice and serene, with a gentle dip down toward several forks of the creek and then back up again. The creek crossings required some concentration to find a dry path across the rocks, but weren't too difficult. The last one was the hardest, but a low-hanging branch was helpfully located to provide stability across the first and most difficult steps. The next junction was with the Bell Creek Trail, where the Horsetail Creek Trail turned northwest, and became more brushy and overgrown.
At that point, we started looking for the Horsetail Ridge Trail, which we knew would be on our right, presumably near the peak of the ridge, while weighing our options of a descent down an unknown trail versus a traffic jam of Triple Falls hikers on the Oneonta Trail. We went past were we figured the ridge trail would be without seeing anything, then went into the woods and headed directly toward the top of the ridge, and when we reached that, started heading down it. Just when I was about to say, "This isn't working, let's go back to the trail," we started to see a faint path emerge. Before long the ridge narrowed and the path became more clear, so we continued down this way.
Horsetail Ridge descent
The first third or so of the descent was steep but easily manageable, and the ground had a cushy layer of pine needles that provided better traction than the Rock of Ages side. We were prepared for it to mirror the Rock of Ages side and get steeper toward the bottom. In a few spots, an outcropping of rocks burst above the ridgeline and in some cases the best path was up and over, and in other cases it was a detour around the side. I should clarify that the faint path we were following came and went and was the faintest trail I've ever followed. Among other trails I've seen, it was in the league of the Primrose Path, but maybe half as easy to see. Fortunately the ridgeline was still well defined, so getting lost wasn't really an option, and we saw a footprint often enough to confirm we were still on the right track.
The second third got more challenging, starting with a section of fallen trees right on the ridgeline that totally covered the path. This wasn't too difficult to pass through, but broke our momentum and introduced some doubts about our decision. The terrain was rougher after that, and at maybe 2/3 of the way, we came to some very narrow sections that triggered my fear of heights and also started some anxiety about having to come back up this way if we lost the route down. I also started noticing that we were getting closer and closer to the Columbia River but still had a lot of elevation to shed ... we were running out of room to descend. Sure enough, just when we felt like we were right on top of the railroad line, the ridge seemed to abruptly end, and drop straight down, with us stuck up there at 1000 feet.
We backtracked a bit and saw faint paths going down both sides of the ridge. On the east was a very precarious looking path that headed back south, which judging from the map was the other end of the Russ Jolly Trail. On the west was an even fainter but seemingly safer path and we chose that. This quickly started splitting and merging, much like on the Rock of Ages side, but roughly followed a second, less-defined ridgeline extending west. At this point we could have used some directions or a more detailed map. The one from the link above showed a path straight north to the Oneonta Trail, which seemed impossible, so we just had to follow whatever paths seemed to be heading generally northward. This section featured two steep drops of about 10-15 feet that we were able to butt-slide down, but I don't think we could have climbed back up, so our anxiety about following the correct route went up another notch. And then these paths got fainter and fainter. I'd choose what looked like a path and follow it maybe 20 yards until I saw a footprint or hiking pole hole, then continue to the next clue.
Here's the spot I'd rewind to if I could. My best guess at the path seemed to start going back up, toward the steep drop at the end of the main ridge, so I assumed it was going to dead-end at a lookout point, and didn't follow it. Because I hadn't noted the elevation at the bottom of this trail, I thought we were still too far above it to be looking for the final descent. Instead, we followed my second best guess, heading more directly down the west side of the ridge. But this hypothetical path quickly became obscured by a couple fallen trees and then disappeared entirely. Just when I was considering climbing back up to try the other option, I caught a glimpse of the Oneonta Trail, through dense brush but only 50 yards down a fairly gentle gradient. We basically beelined for that, not caring about the underbrush, branches and spiderwebs and happy to get back to a luxuriously well-travelled trail once again.
So where we ended up was around the other side of the ridge from where we should have been -- a short way past the lookout points that branch off the Oneonta Trail, where the memorial plaque is. I don't know if we should have taken that faint trail upward, or taken the precarious trail that I thought was the Russ Jolly before that. Looking back up the ridge from the area around where the trail starts, it was hard to believe any path could get from where we were to where we should have been. I assume I could climb up from the bottom of Horsetail Ridge to the point where we made a wrong turn, to connect the dots, but I don't think my curiosity is strong enough. It was a good adventure and we were glad we did it, but for me personally it crossed the line from an enjoyable challenge to a stressful slog, and I probably won't do it again.
I did want to post this report to flesh out some details that I haven't seen in other trip reports, and hopefully to get an explanation of where we went wrong and how we should have made the final part of the descent.
Postscript
Less than five minutes after reaching the Oneonta Trail, a park ranger of some kind heading up stopped us and asked, "Did you see anybody get hurt up there?" We were puzzled and said no, and didn't try to explain that we weren't coming from Triple Falls. A few minutes later we ran into a paramedic who asked the same thing, but the only info we could share was about the ranger we saw earlier. When we got to the trailhead there were several more paramedics and rescue staff unloading equipment. Apparently someone fell doing the Triple Falls hike and needed to be wheeled down. That made our minor bumps and scrapes feel better!
- Wildflowers before Devil's Backbone
- There's a trail under there somewhere. This is where the descent started getting messy.
- Looking up and across the valley to Devil's Backbone (I think) from the Horsetail Ridge.
- Crossing one of the points of no return on the descent.
- Overall route.
- Finding the top was hard.
- Finding the bottom was much harder.
