The recent snow had almost all melted and we saw only a few leftover remnants starting at about 500':
By the time we arrived at the west Chetwoot junction, we were both pleasantly surprised to see lots of wildflowers starting to bloom:
The western junction of the Chetwoot loop:
Even a few grass widows!
The views were as spectacular as ever and the wind was nonexistent all day with the Columbia as smooth as glass:
The trail is easy to follow but there are a few spots where the tread is gone and a little bit of adjustment is needed. Here's one of those places:
There are five big trees down on this loop. Kelly wondering whether to go under or try to get over this one:
She went under this one:
This is the only really difficult log - about 3 1/2' or 4' diameter, high angle and nothing to grab onto. It looked like a few folks have forged a boot path up and around the root ball of this one so the problem can be circumvented.
There's a log over the creek at the Perham crossing but it could use a little stabilization. Still, It worked well.
This is really a very nice route but is not for the uninitiated. There are a couple of places a flag or two would be helpful but 95% of it is good to go.
dn
