- View from Old Baldy Trail
The route through the clear-cut on White Iris was easy to follow, helped by the grasses being matted down. Lots of vine and animal hole trip hazards. We saw one car on the road walk along paved FR-4615 and heard the near constant sound of shooting not too far away. The Bissell trail was steep and a little more difficult to follow. We followed an obvious trail which took us to NF-4615, where we checked out position, knowing we should not be at a road. Backtracking we found a path which took us uphill to the right trail. There were some blazes and orange paint on the trees, but no flagging, although we saw some shreds of orange tape on the ground occasionally. The Old Baldy trail was in great shape. Before reaching Githens Mtn. the Old Baldy trail turns right and down off the ridge. We continued up the ridge along Githens. There was no trail or noticeable path, but there was occasional flagging. We stayed just right of the ridge to avoid walking through Rhododendrons. Shortly after the peak, we headed down and met the trail. There is a very long orange ribbon right where this route meets the official trail. There were no views from Githens. I recorded >2500 feet elevation gain.
The trails did pass through nice forested areas and had a couple of viewpoints, but I'd likely not return or recommend it unless the flowers were blooming.
