WTA directions to this trailhead are correct. I missed the turnoff on the right from Mineral Springs Road to Forest Road 5401, but was able to backtrack. The sign for Forest Road 5401 is not at the intersection with Mineral Springs, but just a bit down FR5401 (slightly hidden by a branch). Follow 5401 to the trailhead where there is parking for 20 cars and a privy. I saw 4 cars when I arrived on a Sunday morning and there were 3 cars when I was leaving a few hours later. You need a Northwest Forest Pass or the America the Beautiful Pass for trail access.

The trailhead signage notes several trails, but the Dry Creek Trail signage points to the right just a little ways in. The trail is mostly flat with just a few minor elevation changes along the way. The trail is dirt with forest debris and makes for a comfortable hiking experience. The first mile is pretty shaded with lots of green undergrowth, but there were a few spots where the trail is being eroded. Moving into mile two, you start to see some wildflowers. The first two miles look to have had some recent trail attention as several logs that had fallen over the trail looked like they were recently cut and cleared.

The canopy opens up in miles 3 and 4. The first couple miles did not require much navigation over logs or debris, but this changes in miles 3 and 4. There were at least 3 locations where I had to crawl over, around, or under a log to continue on the trail. Mile 3 had a lot of overgrowth on the trail. You could see the trail, but would have to brush the plants to the side to get through. Since it rained the morning I was there, this meant I was pretty wet throughout the hike. I wouldn’t recommend hiking in shorts and short sleeve shirts beyond mile 2. By the time I got to 3.85 miles, the trail was again blocked by downed trees and overgrowth. I decided to end my hike here rather than try to get around the blockage.

There are some big fir and cedar trees. There is a cedar ‘grove’ just pass the horse pass turnoff. There are several places where the trail offers access to the creek, which is dry in mile one, but has more flow the farther you hike. The trees closest to the river had quite a bit of moss covering them. It is obvious in mile 4 that the area has been burned before. There was a lot of fire damage and dead trees.

I heard a number of birds and saw a couple of woodpeckers. I also saw some squirrels. The trail is pretty straight-forward and it would be hard to get lost. There is signage for the trail at the start. I didn’t see one person on the trail all morning.

TH off FR5401, well signed

#192 Trapper Creek to #132 Observation Peak  to #132A Peak back to #132 and camp at junction of #192 and #158, Berry Camp.

#132 is in excellent shape first 3 miles to the last creek. Thereafter it hits patchy burned areas from the 2020 fire. The trail in the burned areas is vegetated and starting to degrade. Looks markedly less used. Still the trail is mostly in the big, old growth and shaded. We dropped packs at #132A and went up to the peak. There is also a boot trail to the lesser peak with views. Continue to the main peak for more views of Helens, Rainier, Hood, and Adams. Flowers are out in force.  Back down to #132 and continued to junction of #192 and #158. Berry Camp is in the dry woods with space for 3 tents. The spring just a few 100 feet further on #158 has an old pipe with water running out. Probably the water source for the old lookout.

Day 2:

#158 to #194 Dry Creek. Camp along Dry Creek.

#158 Big Hollow starts out through more beautiful old growth, hits a small shallow stream and then is in the 2020 burn until hitting Dry Creek, #194. Trail is exposed and hot with no water until Dry Creek. Very vegetated with brambles across the trail which will trip you up if you aren’t watching your step. It is not clear of treefall, but passable for hikers. Doesn’t appear to be maintained. In 5 years will not be passable if the USFS doesn’t start maintaining it.

Stopped at Dry Creek and waded through the vegetation to the creek to cool off in the nice pools then continued on #194 through more burn for a bit. From the first wooden foot bridge, the trail has been cleared of most of the windfall and is out of the burn. We found a nice sandbar to camp on about 2 miles from the TH.

Day 3: #194 out to TH.

A group of us drove to the east trailhead that accesses the Mountain Climbers route up to Hellroaring viewpoint.  The first part of this trail had lots of downed debris from the 2015 wildfire and the trail was difficult to follow.  However, as we climbed above the burned zone, the trail was easier to follow, but still took some searching.  The Hellroaring overlook was spectacular with great views of the Mazama and Klickitat Glaciers and the waterfalls below them that fed the large Hellroaring valley.  We ate lunch here and enjoyed the views.

We then descended down through a portion of the Trail of the Flowers to where it connected with the Round the Mountain trail. This section had scattered pockets of wildflowers blooming where there was still water and the trail was still in good shape.  We then turned west on the Round the Mountain and hiked to the Bird Creek Meadows trail.  This section of trail required some track-finding skills as well.  We descended the Bird Creek Meadow trail past Crooked Creek Falls down to Bird Lake.  This section of the trail was easier to follow, but parts of it are like hiking in a ghost forest. 

The next section from Bird Lake to Bluff Lake was okay, but our decision to follow the Dry Creek trail from Bluff Lake back to the trailhead was a disaster.  This trail just does not exist anymore after about a tenth of a mile past the junction.  I used Alltrails map on my iphone to follow the supposed path, and occasionally caught a section of trail, but mostly it was bushwhacking through brush and downed woody debris.  Do not attempt to use this trail.  It is gone.  

This is a beautiful area to visit, but the drive is long and the impact of the wildfire makes it less desirable to visit.  This was my last time I will come here.  

We kicked off December with a low elevation hike up the quiet Dry Creek valley just east of the Trapper Creek Wilderness at the foot of Howe Ridge. As anticipated, we had the trail to ourselves even on a day with a record-setting high temperature in the 50's.

Although we could hear logging trucks on Dry Creek Road just across the valley, the hike still felt remote since this trail receives a lot less use than the more popular trails in the adjacent wilderness.

The trail sign was missing at the junction with the Trapper Creek Trail, but we knew to take the less-traveled path. The hike began in a hardwood forest of big-leaf maples. Stumps attested to the giant western red-cedar trees that once flourished on this valley bottom. Shortly, we ascended about 50 feet to cross a ridge shoulder above a flood zone, then descended again to the valley floor. Signs mark an equestrian bypass that requires fording Dry Creek twice, so we stayed on the main trail.

Back on the valley floor, the trail follows a former logging railroad bed for more than a mile. At about 2 miles, we made a sharp turn away from the railroad bed, which was likely washed out in past floods.

This next section of the hike brought us near Dry Creek several times where user trails led to gravel bars. The trail traversed another moist valley bottom of big-leaf maples and cottonwoods, with occasional views of the creek.

Finally, the trail climbed above the valley bottom to contour on the lower slope of Howe Ridge past massive old Douglas-firs. At about 3 miles, we came into our first contact with the burned forest from last year's Big Hollow Fire. Most of the big conifers were still alive, but the fire killed the shrub understory, which already was recovering from the roots.

We hiked through burned forest of charred tree trunks and blackened ground as we continue to contour on the slope of above the Big Hollow Creek valley bottom floodplain. At 4.1 miles, we reached the horse ford crossing of Bourbon Creek, which was our turnaround point.

We found a relatively soot-free area to sit for a lunch break, then returned the way we came, with the mycologist in our group collecting chanterelles on the hike back.

Notes on trail conditions: Most logs across the trail could be easily stepped over or around except for one cottonwood tree at about the midway point. As one would expect, there were a lot more obstacles in the Big Hollow Burn as well as significant trail erosion in places on the side slope. A couple of spots could be dangerous for horses or unaware hikers. The two trail bridges over side streams coming off of Howe Ridge survived the fire without any visible damage. We tossed a lot of limbs off the trail as we hiked to clear the path for future hikers.

Went on a day hike with the intention to make it to Burbon Creek. Nice trail although the hard compact snow made it slow going, two hours in and we only made it to the second stream crossing. We had the trail all to ourselves and would like to see this trail again once the snow is gone.