I hiked the Palisades/Little Ranger loop clockwise, starting from the Camp Sheppard parking lot. The snow is entirely gone, and unlike Old Rod, I had no navigation issues. However, the blow-down problem is still very much as he described it. In the upper section of the Palisades trail one blow-down caused a fair amount of bushwhacking to get around it. Worse, though, is the upper section of the Little Ranger Peak trail. Given the steep slope of the land, several large logs have to be clambered over, since a detour is impractical, and this is difficult due to the angle of the blow-downs. Let's hope someone can get up there with a chainsaw before too long. Also, in two places falling trees have taken the trail with them, resulting in nasty gaps in the trail -- this will require some rebuilding at some point. Still, it's a good hike. The weather was cool and cloudy, and there were no views of Rainier this time, but it was dry and the walk along the ridge is a delight. Total distance was 14 miles, with a cumulative elevation gain of about 2800 feet.

With it being very hot in the low lands we decided to give the Ranger Loop in try. The hike was almost snow free, but we did encounter a lot of blow-downs and a couple times had trouble finding the trail. For this description, the hike will be broken into 4 sections, since each was different. Section 1 starts at the Palisades trail head (trail #1198) on 410 and continues on to the third viewpoint, which is also referred to as South Snoquera View Point. The hike to Lower Dalles Falls crosses the stream and poses a little difficulty in crossing, but not too bad. Just before and just after the turn to the falls, is a downed tree which will have to be crossed. A few other downed trees do exist on the trail but they are not problems. The trail is in very good shape to the third view point. Of the 3 viewpoints, the third one is the best. There was a small patch of snow around the crossing of Snoquera Creek. Section 2 covers the Palisades trail between South Snoquera View Point to the Shelter (Junction with Ranger Creek Trail, #1197. The main route follows the ridge line. It does veer away some times from the ridge but then returns. Throughout this section of the hike are many fantastic views. Soon after leaving the South Snoquera View Point we started encountering blow-downs across the trail. We cut some smaller branches to help other hikers hike this section, as well as the next. We had to climb over trees, go under some, and find a way around others. About a half mile or so after leaving the Snoquera view point the trail disappeared. Using Trimble Navigator app we figured we were at a switchback and a big blowdown had covered a hundred feet of trail. After 10 minutes of hiking around on the mountain side, we found the trail and continued up the trail and over the ridge line. At another point in this section we encountered a couple hundred yards of snow on the trail. There was one switchback during this section, which my hiking navigator helped us to know about. In a week or two this snow should be gone. Most of this section of the hike could be followed okay without a nav aid, but we suggest having one. We were glad that the map used by the navigator for this hike included an old trail. At the end of this section we came upon a very nice shelter. Section 3 goes down the Ranger Creek Trail from the Shelter to Little Ranger Peak Viewpoint. For the first quarter mile going down this trail is very steep with quite a few switchbacks. The worst part is the much of the trail is gone due to slides and trees blown down. The navigator app did help some but it did crash in the section and we found the trail the old fashion way with a paper map. The ground did have some soft dirt that we could scramble or slide down for some sections. Investigating the ground, my wife spotted a log that indicated a trail was under us at one point. Once we hit the trail again, we encountered several more blowdowns to get around. In section 2, the ground was fairly level, so it was not too hard getting around the blowdowns, but in the section the terrain was step; hence we may have to climb uphill and then back down to the trail. We found the sign giving the direction the Little Ranger Peak, but did not see a clear trail that the sign was pointing to. It was running late so we did not take the very short hike to the viewpoint. Section 4 is from the Little Ranger Peak Viewpoint down the Ranger Creek Trail (#1197) to Trail (#1199), which parallels highway 410 and then back to the start. Near the viewpoint there are still a couple blow downs, but after these most all of the other blowdowns have been cut and cleared. It appears work is being currently being done to clear the blow downs, so those we encountered in the section will be removed soon.

Without a lot of information out there about this hike, we decided to give it a go and went to the first lookout. First we parked just on the other side of hwy 410 from Buck Creek. You can easily see the trailhead. The trail was clear and easy to follow. Lots of switchbacks. It was a good workout with about 1500 Vertical feet and 5.5 miles round trip to the first lookout where we had lunch Because of some blowdowns right at the summit, you can't see the trail, but it's obvious that you are finally at a viewpoint so take a look around and you can easily navigate to the viewpoint. I don't think I would do this again just for fun. The view was OK, but you had to walk over to the ledge to really see it. If you are looking for a great payoff at your destination, this is not for you. We had 2 dogs and 3 kids under the age of 12.

Great day to head up to Little Ranger "Peak". Went up to the first lookout and back, a total of about 5.5 miles. Trail was in good condition, but, a number of blow-downs near the lookout made it a little tricky to find the trail at first, but, just had to walk around one of the downed trees and got back on track. Only ran into one other couple and a friendly group of mountain bikers.

This Saturday we had a great trip. I was conquering the trails with my mountain bike and my friend was hiking. We parked at Buck Creek Campground and started our journey with Ranger Creek trail. It was in a great shape right up to the Little Ranger Peak sign. After that the adventure started: big fallen trees with crowns, massive washouts and snow islands. Some of these obstacles were really huge and uneasy to pass but we made it and finally reached the shelter on the top. Rested for a minute and went to the view points on Palisades trail. There were also a lot of trees crossing the trail and snow areas. In a half an hour we reached the first view point. Then the trail went downhill and its condition became better every mile. Conclusion. Despite the all difficulties, we had a wonderful day. The weather was on our side and the views from the top were amazing. Got oceans of emotions, despair and happiness, temperature contrast (40*F on the parking and 70*F on the top). I think, it takes a week or two to clear the trail out of snow completely. If you planning to visit this area, I recommend you to park at Camp Sheppard and climb the Palisades because Ranger Creek needs serious maintenance.