To kick off my 2012 hiking season, I headed W - across the wilds of Beaverton - to the Kings Mtn TH in the coast range. I knew from recent trip reports that, despite a dusting of snow overnight, the trail behind Kings was largely free of snow and wouldn't require heroics to traverse. There was only 1 other car at the TH when I arrived and, despite the lot being full when I got back, I only saw 7 other folks the whole day - and all of those on Kings. I went E on the Wilson River Trail to its junction with the Elk Mtn trail, then started up the steepness that is Elk. It was a "graybird" day - alternately overcast, cloudy, foggy, with a few sun breaks - which made for a lot of atmospheric photos.
From the top of Elk, I could see across to Kings shrouded in clouds and mist, with a light dusting (1-3") of new snow.
The trail from Elk to Kings was largely snowfree, and there were only a very few spots where wet slick snow (no ice at all) made travel tricky. The most snow (3") was at the junction with the Elk Creek road.
I arrived on Kings to find it still enveloped in clouds,
which had (of course) cleared by the time I reached Kings Jr.
The sun came out for my walk back to the TH on the Wilson River trail, so the day ended on a meteorological up-note. Getting up Elk, along with the ups & downs between Elk and Kings, made this loop feel tougher than its 11 mi, 3500' EG stats would suggest. But still a fun hike on a day with weather that turned out better than expected.
Elk/Kings/Kings Jr Loop 07-Jan-2012
Elk/Kings/Kings Jr Loop 07-Jan-2012
Last edited by VanMarmot on January 10th, 2012, 5:07 pm, edited 2 times in total.
Re: Elk/Kings/Kings Jr Loop 07-Jan-2012
Excellent choice of trails!
Looks like today was a great day for doing that loop. All that scrambling on the back side of Kings & Elk makes that loop seem much tougher, just as you suggested.
Looks like today was a great day for doing that loop. All that scrambling on the back side of Kings & Elk makes that loop seem much tougher, just as you suggested.
Re: Elk/Kings/Kings Jr Loop 07-Jan-2012
the pictures of the clouds mixing with the hills are amazing! made me feel like I was there...
Better to live in the wild - feel it, smell it, see it - and do something real that succeeds. - Jack Turner
Re: Elk/Kings/Kings Jr Loop 07-Jan-2012
I love the 2nd pic.
Re: Elk/Kings/Kings Jr Loop 07-Jan-2012
Im with rad, the 2nd and 3rd pics look amazing. Thx for posting a conditions update for the whole loop van, looks doable and still fun
Re: Elk/Kings/Kings Jr Loop 07-Jan-2012
Thanks! Very doable & much fun - although by next weekend there may be no snow at all.Thum wrote:Im with rad, the 2nd and 3rd pics look amazing. Thx for posting a conditions update for the whole loop van, looks doable and still fun