We took a 15 mile loop first up the Salmon River to Kinzel Creek and then up the ridge to Kinzel Lake. Elevation gain +3400 ft, 1645 ft at the trailhead to 5045 ft at the summit. We had hoped to catch a glimpse of the waterfalls on the Salmon River, but despite wonderful vistas of the Salmon River valley, the river was down too steep a canyon to be visible. If anyone knows a route along the waterfalls, let me know -- I'd love to see them: Final Falls, Frustration Falls, Vanishing Falls, and Little Niagara Falls.
Kinzel Lake is best approached via the abandoned forest service road above the lake. After climbing the ridge to the lake, we climbed down when we saw the water from the trail. The route was more a scramble than a trail and pushing through the dense growth at the bottom was more work than it would have taken to just continue up to the road and take it around to the other side.
After climbing back up from the lake, we continued on up to Devils Peak. Snow patches on the trail above 4500 ft on the northeast side of the peak were more of an anoyance than an obstruction. The trail should soon be completely free of snow. There are views at the summit of Mt Adams, Mt Hood, Mt Jefferson and Three Finger Jack. The most unobstructed view is to the south and trees pretty much block any views to the north and to the west. Clouds obscured all but the bases of the peaks on this day, so I don't have good photos of the view.
The route followes northwest along Hunchback Mountain and winds through large area of downed trees for nearly 1/2 mile before reaching an east-west running ridge that leads back down to the trailhead to the west. Half-way down the ridge, we discovered a small side trail that continued up and to the left from the turn of a switchback. At the top the trail opened up on a wonderful view of the Salmon River Valley to the south. A unique rock spire was visible across the river to the west. The rest of the trail down was steep, dense forest.
Aside from the disappointment of missing the waterfalls, the hike was fantastic. I'm glad I had my trekking poles! updated with photos 6/7/06 - learning how to operate the site, pretty nifty! | 
