Silver Star via grouse vista route

[Bushmaster]

tried silver star 4 weeks ago via grouse vista route. too much snow then,, decided to try again last saturday. still some snow. very enjoyable,, lots of wildflowers.
lots of blowdown to start.

still plenty of snow in places.



lots of flowers blooming where their is no snow.

gets a little steep after pyramid rock.

Sturgeon Rock

beneath



pyramid rock

[BeaverDawg]

Thank you for the report we've been wondering how it was up there as we want to get up there this weekend.
Have you done the Bluff trailhead before? How were the roads?

[Bushmaster]

roads are fine,, completely clear of snow at this point. Will be heading back up this weekend to do a little more exploring around sturgeon rock and the tarbell trail.

[fettster]

Good stuff, thanks for posting. It's been interesting to see the changes over 2008 at Silver Star including a visit there myself in February. Could you tell many downed trees had been cut or cleared off the roads?

[mcgib]

I went to Silver Star today (Sunday 6/22) via the Grouse Vista route. Bushmaster, you undersold the amount of snow that is still up there! An impressive snowpack above 3500' (over 6' much on much of the trail) makes the going a bit tricky at times but not enough to deter most users of this site. The route is well-worn; you just have to negotiate around pinned trees on sometimes steep, slippery grades. Hearty boots and poles are recommended & gators would be a good idea too.

I reached the trailhead via the directions in the Field Guide. Road L1200 is nasty in spots but clear of trees & large rocks.

Bushmaster: did you explore the Sturgeon Rock area? If so, could you find the Sturgeon road trail where it meets the Grouse Vista? I wanted to do the loop but couldn't find the connection & didn't feel like route finding by myself on that much snow.