The 2017 fire changed this hike from what it was when I last did it 14 years ago. It was perfect on a sunny, moderately cool day but the lack of tree cover would make it unpleasant on a hot, sunny day. 

There is enough water to fill a bottle at the stream just over halfway up to Yellow Hill. Not sure how long it will last.

We originally planned to go to Elbow Peak but we hit snow just below Yellow Hill and decided (partly due to the late hour) to just stop at Yellow Peak. We met 3 people returning from Elbow Peak who said there was lots of snow; 2 had microspikes although the 3rd said it was doable without them.

To get to Yellow Peak, you can either take the faint boot trail on alltrails (which has no snow now) or continue further and hike up on the snow. We hiked up on the snow and down on the alltrails trail. We left a small cairn at the turnoff to the alltrails trail. I guess there's another way from the other side but we didn't get that far due to the snow.

Check for ticks! We checked at the car and didn't find any, but when we got back home and got out of our car, we found a tick crawling on one of us. 

A group of five of us made it up to Yellow Hill, and then over to Elbow Peak. We had a mix of sunshine, snow, and wind along the way. Things got quite brisk up top as it was a bit breezy, along with some blowing snow at times

Four of us got started at 7:55am from the Yellow Hill traihead. Ngie would join us later on the summit, as they started well after we did. The first part of the trail has a few wildflowers along the way, with some nice patches of balsam root up higher.

We ran into some recent overnight snowfall up near the summit of Yellow Hill. It was mostly a dusting of snow maybe an inch or so, but because it was windy some of the low spots had upwards of 2-3''. We all went to the summit of Yellow Hill, before dropping down for the trip over to Elbow Peak.

There were a few patches of consolidated snow on the way over to Elbow Peak, with a long stretch of snow after dropping down off of Yellow Hill. After this the ridge walk was mostly snow free, with the trench of the trail being filled in with the recent blowing snow.

The ridge walk between Yellow Hill and Elbow Peak has quite a few ups and downs> We went up to most of the high points along the way for the fun of it, which added to our elevation gain.

Elbow Peak has like three summits. The first one which is the lowest, is where the consolidated snow began, and was mostly continuous all the way to the tallest summit which is the farthest summit to the NE. While we were having lunch on the summit, ngie reached the summit after starting much later than us. Clouds started to rise a bit, so we got some views of the ridge back to Yellow Hill, along with the ridge over to Humerus.

The five of us all hiked back together going back up to Yellow Hill summit again, before hiking back to the car. Once we got down lower the sun came out, and we even got a view of Navaho Peak and others with a new coat of snow.

We finished at 3:50pm. 11.5 miles with 4790ft elevation gain, which included going up to numerous highpoints, and going up to Yellow Hill summit on the way back. Fun outing!

This trail is in dire need of help!

We parked at the "end of the road" and ran back on the road to run a loop coming up from Yellow Hill along the ridge over Elbow and up to Jolly Mountain before dropping down into the West Fork Teanaway Trail. The first 4 miles from the junction are in great condition, logged out and with multiple access points for water.

At the first creek crossing, everything changes. The trail disappears beneath fallen trees and rampant underbrush. Be prepared to hunt for signs of a footpath and be prepared for disappointment. For the next 6 miles you will be battling hundreds of downed trees from the 2017 Jolly Mountain Fire, shoulder-high overgrown brush flourishing under the open sky, thorny bushes, slide alder, blackberries(!), more deadfall, even more downed trees, eroded trail in cliffy areas, and multiple unavoidably wet creek crossings.

When (if) you get to the final two miles from the road, you will find the glorious work of an intrepid dirt biker who had ventured up from below and logged out the remaining stretch of trail.

If you plan on coming up this trail, bring a chainsaw and a machete and a few friends and turn it into a trailwork party. This trail really is a hidden gem that needs some serious polishing. The gorge it provides access to is quite beautiful and letting nature reclaim the path here would be a shame.

Our route:

Have you ever met a trail you hated? I sure hadn't. I'd definitely had subpar hikes, disappointing ones, plenty I'd never repeat. But none I'd had such strong feelings about. Until this hike. Would not recommend. Would not ever choose to do again. Risk of injury is too high.

The loop was Yellow Hill to Elbow Peak to Jolly Mountain and down, all along the Yellow Hill Trail, then lose elevation along Jolly Creek Trail, and finally back to the car via the Middle Fork Teanaway Trail. 21 miles in total. My goal before beginning was to run a bit of it and complete it in 8 hours. Only five miles in or so, I realized I needed to drop the time goal. The focus became, "Complete this trail uninjured." I didn't want to turn around because I hated everything I'd done yet, and I hoped what lay ahead would be better.

Starting the hike and heading up to Jolly Mountain, I kept wondering why the paths went straight up and down the hills rather than using switchbacks to keep elevation changes more manageable and reduce chance of injury. I then realized this trail really wasn't designed for hikers, but rather dirt bikers. And what's good for riding is not necessarily good for hiking. As Don Gerald put it before me, "steep, gouged-out dusty ditch filled with ball-bearing gravel. Not fun hiking up or down." Seriously. Later it changes from gravel to rocks and they're maybe even less fun. No safe footing and you slide and fall many times, especially on the downhills. See picture.

If you plan to do this hike and you're wondering about the one creek on Yellow Hill Trail, it was still flowing in abundance and a good source of water.

In the 21 miles, I didn't encounter a single other hiker. And that's saying something, for a weekend in July. But now knowing the trail conditions, I don't wonder why. I did pass two bikers, who turned around due to snow before the Jolly summit, and indicated I may be a little crazy for wanting to press forward. But I knew if I could get down off the mountain on the other side, the return trip followed the river and would therefore avoid the 5,500 scary, sliding feet I'd already done. Anything seemed better than that.

A little snow left up near the summit, especially on the north side where I opted to sled downhill for a few hundred feet, as it was too firm to create safe footholds. See photo. Jolly Creek trail was constituted much the same, slopes filled with rocks ranging between fist-sized and head-sized. Nowhere secure to put your feet. Definitely no running downhill.

Finally to Middle Fork trail, which had a dirt that would have been more friendly for running or hiking at one point. I wanted to go quickly to get back to the car before sundown, but my body chimed in, "Are you joking? I've just done 8.5 hours of intense leg work, my quads feel like jello, and now you want me to run 9 miles?" But it had a good excuse not to, because between the blowdowns, overgrown forest (Mother Nature has nearly reclaimed this whole trail) and river crossings, there isn't much space to open up.

Let's talk about those river crossings. Because I was picturing stream crossings. There are about 17 of those, and they're fine. There are also three occasions where the trail is a creek for 20-200 feet, and you're submerged up to your ankles or lower calves. Muddy as heck but fine. But most important to know is that there are 16 times where you have to wade through a river, which is currently between knee and thigh deep. Choose the wrong trajectory and you're up to your chest. The river itself is 20-70 feet across. It's running pretty swiftly and the rocks are slippery, but I was able to avoid ever falling in.

After the first few crossings, and realizing the sun was going to set soon, I realized I'd rather pick my way across the water during daylight than after dark. And the faster I went, the more I could do before sunset. Surprise, my legs were suddenly capable of running again! Stupendous, what the mind and body can do when the alternative seems worse. In the end though, I did about 10 crossings after sunset and the physical work wasn't much harder than doing it in the light. The only trick was, a few of the crossings were so wide that my headlamp had a hard time finding where the trail came out on the other side. I had to wade into the river and look around before I found my destination.

Due to the blowdowns, the bikers aren't using this trail anymore, which means it's nearly abandoned now. I found some horse tracks near the proximal end of the trail, but that was it. Nature really has been able to retake much of this trail and it was difficult to pass through. Branches and thorns everywhere, but I didn't want to put on pants because of the constant river crossings. My legs are incredibly torn up.

Final stats: 21 miles in 11.5 hours, 5800 ft elevation gain (almost all of which was in the first 9.5 miles).

Nice things I can say about the trail: beautiful views, abundant wildflowers, the bees and flies were plentiful but no bugs that were interested in me, and in this weather I didn't get cold, even after submerging so many times in water.

This is a poor trail, mitigated by some really first-rate scenery.  This is motorcycle country, and they have made much of the trail a steep, gouged-out dusty ditch filled with ball-bearing gravel.  Not fun hiking up or down.  

Many thanks to whoever cleared the hundred or so blowdowns between the road end and Yellow Hill  That was a huge task.  

If time or energy run low, the summit of Yellow Hill is a worthy destination in itself.  Pushing on to Elbow Peak is more difficult than it looks.  There are lots of ups and downs, and a section of ridge just before Elbow Peak where the trail gets indistinct and sketchy amid some steep drop-offs.  Sticking close to the ridge crest will keep you in relatively safe territory.  Still, it's probably no place for novice or nervous hikers.

The level summit of Elbow Peak is vast, and you are likely to have it all to yourself.  The true summit appears to be the furthest point NE (closest to Mt Stuart), just off the trail.

There is little shade the entire way, and no water once the few remaining snow patches melt.

Net gain is only about 3000', but the numerous ups and downs, coming and going, add substantially to that total.  The steepness and poor quality of the trail up the effort quotient even more.  Time: 4 hours to summit, only slightly less than that coming down.