Just a quick report to say that there was no snow anywhere on this trail today, and the tread is in excellent shape the whole way. A little minor blowdown (see photo below), and Gorton Creek trail was pretty frozen but not bad at all. Turnoff to Indian Point is a little harder than usual to spot.
Also of note, though maybe covered elsewhere: A Forest Service employee told me the road up to the trailhead will almost certainly be closed until summer 2022. They cut the trees in the former campground (they were diseased, apparently) and wanted to "give it a winter" to see how the fire-damaged area just east of there dealt with weather. Lo and behold, an unburned and healthy tree fell onto the trailhead this week, falling from the west side. So they don't see re-opening that trailhead any time soon. They also plan to rebuild the campground this summer, so they probably need the space for vehicles.
Anyway, a lovely day. Six cars parked along Forest Lane, but I didn't see anybody up there all day. Started hiking at 10.
Shot this video from Indian Point:
https://youtu.be/29GzXy3v_T0
What most of Herman Creek Trail past the power lines looks like: living trees with blackened trunks.
A little blowdown on Nick Eaton Way, most of it about this (non) difficult. I never had to climb, crawl or take off my pack.
One thing about fires, they open up views you don't normally get. This is around 1,000 feet up Nick Eaton:
The most burned spot I saw was on the south side of the meadow about 1.1 mile (and 1,300 feet, ugh) up Nick Eaton:
I do miss the beargrass that used to be so abundant up on the ridge, just before Ridge Cutoff Trail:
Lunch at "Peak 3152," accessed by a pretty poor, rocky social trail that is actually on the base GaiaGPS map but needs to be properly built. I didn't feel like coming down it, so I went cross-country down the north side to pick up the trail. Mildly sketchy, being frozen and all.
Cool shadows on the river from Indian Point.
Basically the whole Gorton Creek Trail looks like this:
It was a work trip
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