zigged where I should have zagged; semi-lost on Zigzag Mtn
Posted: November 25th, 2018, 5:22 pm
Well, with the snowfall since last weekend, the alpine season is over for those who don't like skis/snowshoes. So what now? I decided to reacquaint myself with the Zigzag complex, starting at the bottom (west end) of Zigzag Mountain Trail 775. Although Google's map doesn't show the easier approach from Lolo Pass Road, I was lucky enough to discover it with a little online research. Turned out it didn't matter though, as I ended up on an unintended loop, which put me at the Rhododendron trailhead on foot at the end of the day, leaving another mile to walk.
The start of trail 775 is a misery of switchbacks, with highway noise. I knew it would be. Worse, it was drippy, trailside brush was soggy, and soon I too was soggy. Gradually, I got into snow, and it deepened, and I was brushing against snowy Rhododendrons, and snow-weighted branches were drooping over the trail. If it had been 20 degrees and I was wearing a parka, I'd have been much more comfortable.
I anticipated the West Zigzag lookout site would be my first break of the day, but I missed it. I imagine it's on a unmarked spur trail, and probably requires some diligence to find when you're trudging through snow. Or maybe not, maybe I was just oblivious. I vowed to watch for it on the way back.
The next distinctive landmark was the iconic zigzag slot which I had seen in pictures. Even though I was expecting it, I was still taken aback, partly because I didn't know exactly when to expect it, but also because it wasn't snowy in any of the pics I've seen.
I came to my first junction, West Zigzag 789, dropping off the ridge to the right, then Horseshoe Ridge 774 dropping off the ridge to the left. Between those junctions I lost the trail a few times, but it's pretty much a ridgecrest route, so I always found it again.
Just after Horseshoe, I came to a nice snow-clad boulder heap just left of trail, at 4850'. Snow was getting very deep. I forgot to measure, but I think maybe around 18-20", judging by how far my pole plunged in, and comparing that to my 13" boots. Then down, then up (undulation was a theme of this hike). Wondering why I was bothering. I knew East ZZ was far off, and the snow wasn't going to get any better.
Bypassing Zigzag Mountain's summit on the north (erroneously tagged East Zigzag by Google), I began a long brushy descent. I was concerned I had lost the ZZ trail and was on one of the feeders, but a glance at my map verified the drop was to be expected. I looked down at a frozen lake which I now realize was Cast Lake. I mistook it for Burnt Lake. Kept dropping. I came to the realization that I couldn't bear to repeat my epic trudge back to the TH, and also decided to scrap my hope of reaching East Zigzag. Cast Lake looked so enticing (remember, I thought it was Burnt), that I decided to visit it and then hike out on the Burnt Lake Trail, and then walk back (hitchhike if lucky) to East Lolo Pass Rd.
Now, if you know that area, you might realize it was foolish of me to think I was close to Burnt Lake. All I had was a little screenshot of a map, no markings, basically a trail schematic. And I wasn't paying too much attention anyway, because I knew how to retrace my steps, so I knew there was no risk of being truly lost. Even If I had made it to Cast Lake and then realized my mistake, I could have exited via Cast Creek Trail. So no big deal. But there was one big mistake...
I kept dropping down that snowy trail, lower and lower, still no lake. Hmmm. And it didn't look at all familiar. Then the inevitable happened, something I'd been dreading all day: It was finally warm enough for the snowmelt rain, complete with slushbombs. I thought if I dropped fast enough, I could get below snowline before I got soaked, but it was a losing battle. I broke out my umbrella and lashed a treking pole to my pack.
Finally, I reached a junction, and saw I had been on Devil's Tie Trail. Never heard of it. Odd. But it dumped me on Burnt Lake Trail, so all is well. But as I kept descending (with a few uphill stretches that seemed strange) I never did hit the lake. This just didn't feel right. I came to a spot where the trail seemed to turn into an abandoned road, complete with what seemed to be a boulder barricade. I haven't been on Burnt Lake Trail in 20 years, but I thought I would remember something like that. Spooky, but I kept going. Eventually I knew this couldn't possibly be be Burnt Lake Trail, because I should have been alongside Lost Creek by now. Yeah, Lost Creek, lol. But I knew all creeks and roads on the north side of Zigzag Mtn have to lead to Sandy River and Lolo Pass Rd, so on I trudged, wondering where I would end up.
To my great relief, I saw the back of a signboard, and what appeared to be a wilderness permit box. When I walked around to the front of the signboard, there was a map. I looked for a "you are here" arrow, but found none. But then I spotted it, way to the south of Zigzag. I was on the south half of the Burnt Lake Trail. I didn't even know there was such a thing!
Of all the mistakes I made, the critical one was that I had thought of the Zigzag Mountains (west, central, and east peaks) as being high points along a continuous undulating ridge. So when I dropped north of Zigzag Mountain, I figured all creeks and trails had to head north or west. But nope, there's a very deep saddle between Zigzag and East Zigzag, and that's where the map shows I must have come to a T junction that I didn't notice. It just happened that the clear natural trail to follow was to my right/south. It might seem crazy that I could be 180 degrees off and not notice it, but I bet there were a few twists and turns around that junction that threw me off. I like to think so, anyway.
I considered taking West Zigzag 789 back up to the first junction I passed on my ascent, then back down on Zigzag Mountain Trail 775. I decided against it because there was a chance I might lose the trail in the snow, and it was getting a bit late to contend with a snowy bushwhack up to the ZZ crest. So I just continued down the road, which dumped me onto Hwy 26, which I followed (miserable) to Rhododendron where I stopped for a bite at DQ. I never imagined DQ would be on my hike itinerary. It was only the second time I'd had a chance to sit all day. If it had been anywhere else, I'd feel weird walking in there wet/dirty/smelly, with a big backpack, full gaiters, treking pole. But I'm sure the Rhododendron DQ has seen it all. After that, it was less than an hour to my car.
See, this is why I hate trail hiking! I never get lost when I'm finding my own route.
As you can imagine, I'm eager to get back there again to see that mystery T junction, and find WZZ lookout site, but there might be another foot of snow by the next time I can get back. Oh well, the obsession/compulsion will fade.
There will be a second set of pics, which will include a map.
The start of trail 775 is a misery of switchbacks, with highway noise. I knew it would be. Worse, it was drippy, trailside brush was soggy, and soon I too was soggy. Gradually, I got into snow, and it deepened, and I was brushing against snowy Rhododendrons, and snow-weighted branches were drooping over the trail. If it had been 20 degrees and I was wearing a parka, I'd have been much more comfortable.
I anticipated the West Zigzag lookout site would be my first break of the day, but I missed it. I imagine it's on a unmarked spur trail, and probably requires some diligence to find when you're trudging through snow. Or maybe not, maybe I was just oblivious. I vowed to watch for it on the way back.
The next distinctive landmark was the iconic zigzag slot which I had seen in pictures. Even though I was expecting it, I was still taken aback, partly because I didn't know exactly when to expect it, but also because it wasn't snowy in any of the pics I've seen.
I came to my first junction, West Zigzag 789, dropping off the ridge to the right, then Horseshoe Ridge 774 dropping off the ridge to the left. Between those junctions I lost the trail a few times, but it's pretty much a ridgecrest route, so I always found it again.
Just after Horseshoe, I came to a nice snow-clad boulder heap just left of trail, at 4850'. Snow was getting very deep. I forgot to measure, but I think maybe around 18-20", judging by how far my pole plunged in, and comparing that to my 13" boots. Then down, then up (undulation was a theme of this hike). Wondering why I was bothering. I knew East ZZ was far off, and the snow wasn't going to get any better.
Bypassing Zigzag Mountain's summit on the north (erroneously tagged East Zigzag by Google), I began a long brushy descent. I was concerned I had lost the ZZ trail and was on one of the feeders, but a glance at my map verified the drop was to be expected. I looked down at a frozen lake which I now realize was Cast Lake. I mistook it for Burnt Lake. Kept dropping. I came to the realization that I couldn't bear to repeat my epic trudge back to the TH, and also decided to scrap my hope of reaching East Zigzag. Cast Lake looked so enticing (remember, I thought it was Burnt), that I decided to visit it and then hike out on the Burnt Lake Trail, and then walk back (hitchhike if lucky) to East Lolo Pass Rd.
Now, if you know that area, you might realize it was foolish of me to think I was close to Burnt Lake. All I had was a little screenshot of a map, no markings, basically a trail schematic. And I wasn't paying too much attention anyway, because I knew how to retrace my steps, so I knew there was no risk of being truly lost. Even If I had made it to Cast Lake and then realized my mistake, I could have exited via Cast Creek Trail. So no big deal. But there was one big mistake...
I kept dropping down that snowy trail, lower and lower, still no lake. Hmmm. And it didn't look at all familiar. Then the inevitable happened, something I'd been dreading all day: It was finally warm enough for the snowmelt rain, complete with slushbombs. I thought if I dropped fast enough, I could get below snowline before I got soaked, but it was a losing battle. I broke out my umbrella and lashed a treking pole to my pack.
Finally, I reached a junction, and saw I had been on Devil's Tie Trail. Never heard of it. Odd. But it dumped me on Burnt Lake Trail, so all is well. But as I kept descending (with a few uphill stretches that seemed strange) I never did hit the lake. This just didn't feel right. I came to a spot where the trail seemed to turn into an abandoned road, complete with what seemed to be a boulder barricade. I haven't been on Burnt Lake Trail in 20 years, but I thought I would remember something like that. Spooky, but I kept going. Eventually I knew this couldn't possibly be be Burnt Lake Trail, because I should have been alongside Lost Creek by now. Yeah, Lost Creek, lol. But I knew all creeks and roads on the north side of Zigzag Mtn have to lead to Sandy River and Lolo Pass Rd, so on I trudged, wondering where I would end up.
To my great relief, I saw the back of a signboard, and what appeared to be a wilderness permit box. When I walked around to the front of the signboard, there was a map. I looked for a "you are here" arrow, but found none. But then I spotted it, way to the south of Zigzag. I was on the south half of the Burnt Lake Trail. I didn't even know there was such a thing!
Of all the mistakes I made, the critical one was that I had thought of the Zigzag Mountains (west, central, and east peaks) as being high points along a continuous undulating ridge. So when I dropped north of Zigzag Mountain, I figured all creeks and trails had to head north or west. But nope, there's a very deep saddle between Zigzag and East Zigzag, and that's where the map shows I must have come to a T junction that I didn't notice. It just happened that the clear natural trail to follow was to my right/south. It might seem crazy that I could be 180 degrees off and not notice it, but I bet there were a few twists and turns around that junction that threw me off. I like to think so, anyway.
I considered taking West Zigzag 789 back up to the first junction I passed on my ascent, then back down on Zigzag Mountain Trail 775. I decided against it because there was a chance I might lose the trail in the snow, and it was getting a bit late to contend with a snowy bushwhack up to the ZZ crest. So I just continued down the road, which dumped me onto Hwy 26, which I followed (miserable) to Rhododendron where I stopped for a bite at DQ. I never imagined DQ would be on my hike itinerary. It was only the second time I'd had a chance to sit all day. If it had been anywhere else, I'd feel weird walking in there wet/dirty/smelly, with a big backpack, full gaiters, treking pole. But I'm sure the Rhododendron DQ has seen it all. After that, it was less than an hour to my car.
See, this is why I hate trail hiking! I never get lost when I'm finding my own route.
As you can imagine, I'm eager to get back there again to see that mystery T junction, and find WZZ lookout site, but there might be another foot of snow by the next time I can get back. Oh well, the obsession/compulsion will fade.
There will be a second set of pics, which will include a map.