I finally found this trail today! Contrary to most driving directions, remain on Gold Creek road for 1.2 miles and you'll end up at the locked gate. From there, walk about 0.5 miles (stay on the main road) to the nondescript trailhead signified by a lone box of trail permits. If you want a trail with solitude, this is definitely it! Due to time contraints I went only about 1.5 miles in so I'm not certain how much of a trip report this really is. Nonetheless, it was nice to find an uncrowded trail on a beautiful day. Although I gained very little elevation in my short trip, there were some great views. One obstacle to avoid - when you actually reach the river, the trail appears to end at a pond. Back up and walk out on the pebble beach to see where the trail picks up. Except for a few patches of snow, the trail is generally free (minus one blow down) for the first mile. Shortly after skirting the river, the trail is mostly snow covered for about a quarter mile but clear after that.

Is this the start of summer or Indian summer - hard to tell. From the locked gate, follow the most obvious road to the trailhead. Don't worry about getting lost; if you take a wrong turn, you'll probably know soon enough, as there are a lot of private residences (hence the locked gate). The trail is very brushy over about 40% of the entire length. The trail has been logged out through the Gold Creek crossing at 2.8 miles. There are 7 windfalls between the Gold Creek crossing and the Alaska Lake trail junction at 4.0 miles. There are three more on the Alaska Lake Trail. There were some very small snow patches just before the trail junction. Alaska Lake is ice-free and there are some snow patches around the lake. You should have knee-high gaiters for the wet crossing of Gold Creek (2.8 miles) and Silver Creek (3.1 miles); Gore-tex boots are also nice to have. Harebell, paintbrush, tiger lily, dewberry, columbine, penstemon and foam flower were noted. A mountain garter snake scurried off the trail. Also, a short-tailed black swallowtail butterfly was flitting about. Most of the campsites at Alaska Lake are snow-free.

Went up August 10, to go fishing, the trail had snow on parts of the trail, and the creeks were high to cross. There was some trees across the trail, and the forest service was up there clearing them up. 4 miles of the trail is maintained and the last mile is not, lots of vine maple going through, and lots of rock screes, the last mile is a climb of 1100 feet. Patches of snow at the camp sites. The rocks were slick when we came down on the 12th because of rain, the night before.

Parked just off of the I-90 frontage road at the east edge of Gold Creek and encountered snow from the car. Approximately 2 to 3 feet of snow in the valley bottom. The snow was soft but snowshoes were not needed. We followed old tracks (boot, snowshoe and ski) along the route parallel to Gold Creek. At approximately 3.5 miles we started up the drainage coming from below the divide between Alta Mt. and Rampart Ridge. The route is mostly in the trees and the snow surface was good for step kicking. On our return on the steep slope right before the top we started some surface sluffs but nothing significant. Round trip to Rampart Ridge via Gold Creek is approximately 10 miles and 2500'.

Very quite, pretty trail. Brushy in spots which isn't a problem until it rains, then makes for a very wet hike. Saw three people (day hikers) and no campers, which is good because there are few campgrounds. A good valley hike unless you brave the climb to Alaska Lake or Joe Lake, wow a knee breaker. Don't try this with full pack unless you are in your twenty's and in good health.

The trailhead is located about a half mile down a gated gravel road that runs through the Ski Tur housing development. The bearing of the road is 019 magnetic from the bulletin board at the gate. The trail is very brushy in areas throughout its entire length, but is especially brushy for the first mile or so. The fords at Gold and Silver Creeks (3.0 and 3.5 miles) are calf-deep. There is a log across Gold Creek about 100 yards south of the ford, but use by anyone whose sense of balance is questionable is not recommended. There are occasional snow patches on the trail after Silver Creek. At the end of the maintained trail, the unmaintained Alaska Lake Trail climbs to the left, while the unmaintained portion of the Gold Creek Trail continues ahead. The Alaska Lake Trail is very brushy in places and very steep all the way. Watch for trail markers climbing the rock fields as it would be easy to lose the way. Alaska Lake is free of ice. There are parts of the Alaska Lake Trail that have a very narrow tread and careful stepping is required to keep from falling down the embankment. There are a few snow-free campsites around Alaska Lake. A deer skull is alongside the trail at about 1.8 miles. Columbine, tiger lily, thistle and other wildflowers are all along the trail. There are swarms of biting flies everywhere. There is no easy way down to Alaska Lake from the PCT/Ridge Lake. Hikers have been injured attempting this descent.