This is a wonderful, wild trail that follows an old road gradually and steadily gaining elevation as it enters a narrow canyon.  The landscape alternates between drier slopes studded with Garry oaks and moister, shadier locations with ponderosas and doug firs.  At this point in the season, it feels like spring has only just started here.  Past 1.5 miles there are a few patches of snow that pose no difficulty and will soon be gone, my dog thoroughly enjoyed playing in them though. 

Because of the recent rain and snow, the creek is running high and the numerous fords and trail crossings proved challenging but manageable with waterproof boots and a walking stick.  Made for slow going though, along with the brush which became much thicker about two miles in (as mentioned in previous reports).  At that point, took a leisurely snack break along the creek and then returned to the trailhead. On the return trip, passed a gentleman carrying tools who was planning to do some brushing and clearing along the upper stretch of the trail - thank you!

Completed 4.3 miles, 771ft elevation gain in about 2 hours, according to AllTrails. I enjoyed this hike because of the rock formations, variety of vegetation, and the ever-present rushing water of the creek.  Will be even more beautiful in a few weeks when more flowers start to bloom.

This hike has a few nice things going for it. The trail head is near the road and accessible by any type of vehicle. The trail is dry and easy to follow for most of the hike. It’s quiet and surrounded by pine trees. A stream runs alongside the trail and the sound of running water throughout the hike is relaxing. There is no snow for the first 1.5 miles of the hike. Around mile 1.5 there are a few downed trees and a snow patch, but it's not difficult to cross. After that, there are a handful of snow patches in the last mile of the trail. 

After mile 2, the trail is not well travelled or maintained. Tree branches and shrubs cut through the trail and the last mile consists mainly of bushwhacking (see Barbara's trip report from April 2nd for an example). That portion of the hike was slow and not very enjoyable so I don’t recommend continuing on after mile 2, especially later in spring/summer once the branches and shrubs are full of leaves. It also made it difficult to locate the trail. That being said, there was a man generously doing trail maintenance today and it looks like he cleared the first mile of all trail obstacles. I’m not sure how much of the trail he plans to tackle, but it’s possible the trail conditions will improve if he continues clearing it farther back.

One other helpful thing to note is that the trail has 10+ stream crossings. All stream crossings were fairly shallow, between 4-10 feet wide, and had plenty of rocks and logs in the crossing that made it fairly easy to navigate without getting wet.

Well... This hike is situated in a scenic canyon and parallels a fine little creek. The grade is easy and consistent. The creek crossings were rock hops. Sadly, once you get about 2 miles in, the overgrowth and downed trees just take over. You can follow the trail because it's a narrow canyon, but otherwise it gets lost in places. I am stubborn and just didn't want to give up, so I made it to the end. However, it wasn't a very good time. Just too much work. The second picture truly is the "trail".

If you're looking for a shorter hike, this trail is great. But I wouldn't recommend it beyond about 2 miles up the canyon.

I was lucky to meet Dennis Stilwell on the trail. He was working on clearing some of the overgrowth about 1 1/2 miles in. We had a wonderful conversation about his hiking adventures, and I learned of his website NWHiker.com. You should check it out.

Trail maintenance is a constant effort in some areas. I try not to take this for granted! If this trail ever gets cleared to the end (will likely take more than Dennis' hard work) it would make a great dayhike.

Ethan & I went out to Bear Canyon on this beautiful Indian Summer day.  We did not go up the canyon, however, but climbed to the saddle to the right of the buttress that juts out towards the highway on the west (left) side of the canyon mouth.  From here we climbed to the top of the ridge between Bear Canyon and the Tieton River Canyon and then walked west along the ridgetop through some beautiful oak groves for 1/2 mile or so.  It was sunny when we started, but by this time it was clouding up and there was a cold wind, so we backtracked a little ways and found a spot for lunch out of the wind in the lee of the ridge with a magnificent view down the Tieton River Canyon.  We spent our usual hour or so, then headed back the way we had come.  There was lots of elk-sign, but we didn't see any animals, just 2 golden eagles circling above the ridge.  There were other hikers visiting Bear Canyon, but we didn't see anybody up here.  What was most surprising to me was how much many of the oaks had turned color.  They are usually the last to turn, but the cottonwoods and aspens in the canyon are just starting.  It made for a much more colorful day than I was expecting.

Hike up to the national forest end sign, growth became dense afterwards...
half a dozen lizards, a woodpecker, and one rattler 🐍