After seeing the reports and photos from Tom, Robert and Jamie's separate trips showing the damage and changes along Multnomah Creek I thought I'd get up there to see what has happened farther up the trail. Another good reason was that I had heard a second-hand report that the road is now open to the top of Larch Mountain and I thought that strange, since I had been up to the snow gate just a couple weeks ago and there was still five feet of snow. As it turned out, the report of the opening was very premature: The snow gate is closed and there is a ton of snow on the road - IMO, the road will not be open for another month - or more!
So, here's the first major change above those documented in previous posts. This is at the 2,200' level just upstream from the last bridge:
At 2,600', a giant old-growth snag has snapped off, taking out a half dozen live trees:
A few feet above this, yet another giant across the trail:
By the 2,800' level, it's all snow but hard packed enough to easily navigate in hiking boots. Here's the view at 3,200' approaching the spur road 1.6 miles from the top: The snow is over six feet deep.
Just above the previous, one more big tree across the trail: Mother nature has outdone hereself pruning the forest this year!
Above this point, there's no trace of where the trail's supposed to be, so I just angled over to the crest of the ridge and eventually got to the top.
The railroad tie stairs up to Sherrard Point are under the snow here:
The summit parking lot is growing a new ice cap!
Here's the top of the information sign on the upper left of the lot. If I remember correctly, this thing is about eight feet high or more:
I decided to return via the road - here's the view as I approached the first switchback:
Looking back uphill below the first switchback. Still about eight feet deep.
Lots of windfall about mile 12 and the snow is still about four or five feet deep.
Here's the view downhill at mile 11.5 at the junction with the spur road:
By now I was soaked through and through and getting a bit tired so I called it a day and traversed through the woods to rejoin the trail I came in on and hiked back to the car. Total for the trip: 5 1/2 hours, 16.4 miles and 4,200' vertical.
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