Enjoyed the sunshine as I cruised E on the Wilson River trail.
Wasn't motivated to further wreck my decaying carcass by hauling it (yet again) over Elk Mtn, so opted instead for the gentler, but longer, Elk Ck Trail. It is possible to short-cut the Elk Ck Road (Elk Ck May 2013), but it's probably more effort than it's worth.
Snow started seriously by about 2200'
and reached its maximum (12-18") on the road over to the saddle. It must have been busy up there on Saturday because there were plenty of tracks.
The snow at the saddle looks impressive but it's not that deep - nothing remotely worthy of snow shoes.
As I headed toward King,
I figured the trail on the backside of the ridge would be OK because there was little snow and a lot of tracks - but you never know. But not a problem - the trail was slippery in spots (snow and mud) but easy to follow. Judging from the tracks, folks were sliding over it in running shoes - but that's a personal risk management call.
What really caught my attention were the large, puffy clouds floating through the area,
which obscured any views of Hood once I got near King's summit.
Leaving the summit, I passed about four people and then headed down via Kings Mtn Jr, with its aptly named...
And then the Wilson River Trail back to the TH. Home in time for the game! 12.6 mi, 3600' EG.
