The drive out there is deceiving. Only the last half mile or so is gravel, and while certainly not good for your shocks and struts, it is possible to ease a passenger car out there fairly easy. Having a paved path all the way to a remote trailhead had me comfortable in the knowledge that I wouldn't have to rattle my brains loose for half an hour first thing in the morning. And thus the deceiving part. The hiking book I took with me with directions very simply states the proper turns and intersections...however it forgets to mention about 2/3 of the other possibilities...all of which are similar to the desired route. After two wrong turns, plowing through some snow (love my Forester), and having to get out of the car to move brush and large tree branches, I was forced to turn to the my GPS and its loaded maps to find the right turns.
Lucky for me, someone recently cut a snug space out of a blowdown that would have been a little too large to drag out of my way!
At the trailhead I was not surprised to see I was the only one. There was a large area closer to the trailhead than where I parked, but it has a large dirt berm that has seen more than a little use as a firearms backstop as evidenced by the computer cases, propane tanks, stove, milk jugs and 40,000 casings or so which were scattered around. Not wanting to risk a mid-day showing from any "enthusiasts", I parked as far away as possible.
Of course, one thing I have noticed from parking at trailheads is that these "shooters" always seem to hike in as far as the first trailhead sign. It was no different here. It was nice of one such person to sign his artful handiwork!
The trail started off lovely, and within the first fraction of a mile I was already being treated to some great views across Eagle Creek far below to Githens Mountain.
By 4,000' I was in heavy snow on the west side of the mountain. At times, the trail's location was easily made out by the spacing of the trees...and at other times, not so much.
The top of Wildcat was entirely snow free; which is odd because literally 15' in any direction from the small clearing at the summit and its back to 2-4' deep. Rocks must get warm up there and melted everything away. The view to Mt. Hood showed just how much 1500 fires in California can do to our skies!
Dropping off the top, I poked my way along the ridge to the rock garden. The trail heading out this way was a mess of low use, snow and blowdown. BTW, for anyone heading up here soon, my face says "Your Welcome", but next time YOU get the spiderwebs cleared out.
The rock garden itself was simply amazing. Without a doubt, this little spot is one of my favorite places around as of today. The flowers blooming, the bees buzzing around, the sound of water racing down below, the interesting rock formations and the views of Mt. Hood all combine in very understated fashion. Just a peaceful little place...and snow free!
After hitting the summit and the gardens, I had just one stop left...back along the trail, past Wildcat and North up McIntyre Ridge to the bench. Thanks goes to GrannyHiker for posting a photo of this locale recently and tipping me off to it. It was another 2 mile round trip through snow, but once again, within feet of the destination it opened onto a perfect viewpoint.
Back down to the car was a ton easier (following my own prints) and with a little help from the GPS I was on the right series of roads and out of there. I must have been a little early for critter activity in the morning, but the way out saw dozens of rabbits, some deer and a couple of Ospreys. A great morning overall...just over 7 miles total and around 2000' total elevation gain.
-aaron
