The trail is designed for horses (none were seen) so it’s wide, with a gentle slope that made 1800’ of climbing seem easy. There was also a youth group doing maintenance of the trail so it was completely free of any obstacles.
Most of the trail is under canopy, so there were only a few flowers showing in the understory.
Shortly before the junction with the ZigZag Mounatin trail, I came out of the forest and got the first of many iconic views of Hood. I then headed up to East ZigZag for more views of Hood and a long view of Jefferson.
Then it was back down and over to Cast Lake where I ran into the first significant mosquitoes of the day – not clouds of them, just pesky.
Heading back to the ZigZag trail, I crossed a small inlet to the lake and some movement caught my eye. Crayfish (“mud bugs”) are supposedly common but I didn’t expect to actually see one,
or go hand to pincher with it (yes, this was a catch and release).
After my wildlife encounter for the day, I continued on to Point 4877 (which should probably be West ZigZag Mountain but apparently isn’t) for yet another view of Hood.
The Horseshoe Ridge Trail heads consistently downhill with a moderate, knee-sparing grade and generous switchbacks. At just short of 3 miles from the junction with the ZigZag trail, it crosses an old road (not shown on the Green Trails map) and then continues down to Road 380 (incorrectly shown on the Green Trails as Road 382). It was about a mile down Road 380 to my car. The road is damaged about 100 yards above the Cast Creek TH (signs say it’s washed out and closed) but folks were getting through by hugging the inside track (however, without some shoring-up before winter, it might really be impassable by next Spring).
You can do this loop in either direction, but going Cast Creek > Horseshoe Ridge means your return to the TH is all downhill and there are no worries about a “washed out” road. This was a delightful loop hike – good trails, great views, wonderful weather – definitely recommended. The loop is about 14.5 miles with 3200' total gain.
