Wednesday I worked with a couple sawyers from Evergreen Mountain Bike Alliance on the upper Ranger Creek and the Palisades Trail near the old shelter.

We took care of about 50 of the downed trees.  THERE ARE STILL MORE DOWNED TREES ON THE TRAIL but we quit at 1PM (Level 2 fire danger end time).  I'm trying to talk them into coming back and finishing the job sometime next week. 

Also, the part of Ranger Creek near the location of the old shelter has two really big hard to get around rootball blowouts that we could see(we did not go down that trail at all).

Some pics of the work.

Nice day for a long hike so we decided to hike to Little Ranger Peak from the Palisades trailhead.  Arrived around 1030 and found several parking spots just off of 410 to back into.  Makes it easier when trying to leave.  Highway can get very busy later in the day.  Trail starts with a little upward elevation then levels off before the first creek crossing.  No issues, low volume and plenty of rocks to walk across.  After that you start gaining elevation again.  In about 1.5 miles or so you will come across the Upper Dalles Creek Waterfall.  Worth a small break to look up at the falls or check it out later on the way down.

After the falls continue up to a handmade set of stairs that leads to several switchbacks and some more elevation gain.  You climb steady upwards over the next 3.5 miles with several bridge crossings and overlook/balconies.  Today you could see parts of Mt Rainer but not the top.  Still some heavy clouds hanging around.  The peak itself is not easily seen from the main trailhead.  So I just went up towards the direction of the peak until I came across a small foot path that leads to the summit and registry.  Wonderful views today with no bugs flying around.  Very quiet and peaceful on top.

Heading down was uneventful.  Only saw about a dozen hikers over the course of about 5 hours.  No snow, only a little mud in a few spots near water crossings.  There are a few down trees we had to climb across.  I had to help my wife over a couple but we managed without to much difficulty.

I always enjoy this hike year round but especially in the summer.  Less crowds and a good balance of views/elevation and shade.

Be safe and Happy hiking!!

There is a Kia key on the trail junction sign (Ranger Creek and Dalles Ridge). See pictures 2 and 3 and the attached caltopo map marks the spot.

We, a group of 7 Mountaineers, hiked the attached 14 mile, 3300' route. There is no snow. There are a number of somewhat significant blowdowns and a very slippery switchback starting 1/4 mile from the junction with the Palisades trail to the junction with the Dalles Ridge trail. We got through all of these with a little time, care, and crawling (for 1 tree). Thanks to the person or people that cut off all of the branches on the blowdowns!

There is a thick "forest" of fireweed coming up in the burned areas (link 2 explains why fireweed does so well in burned areas) and countless baby and toddler trees. Other flowers that are colonizing this area and now blooming are lots of Oregon anemones, lance-leaf spring beauties, Oregon grape, yellow violets, and many more. The little stream, the source/top of Ranger Creek, has some beautiful white marsh marigolds (picture 4) and a water-loving species of spring beauties (picture 1 with a male Julia's orange tip). I saw a few fairy slippers on the 3rd mile and some just risen candy stripe in the first 2 miles. Dalles Ridge has glacier lilies, some impressive clumps of trillium, a few California Jacob's ladder in bloom (with lots to come), the first of the arnica is out with lots more to bloom in the coming week, many small lupine plants, lance-leaf spring beauties, and more. We saw a few groups on Dalles Ridge, but only 1 mountain biker and 1 hiker during our 10 miles on Ranger Creek.

We had a 1 hour quiet/meditative time during our hike (thanks Julie C.!). Everyone really enjoyed it, someone said, and I agree, that it had the advantages of hiking alone while with a group.   

The trail in great condition until you reach the ridge that takes you to Little Ranger Peak. Once on the ridge there are 50 plus blowdowns to navigate.

Ascended Little Ranger Peak via the Ranger Creek trail, descended via the Palisades trail.  The upper part of the Ranger Creek trail in the burn zone is beginning to see some bad trail erosion on the switchbacks, probably due to bikers and poor soil conditions.  There are numerous places where travelers have cut the switchbacks - which only exacerbates the problem.

When you reach the burned section near the top, the major obstacles begin.  Fallen trees over the trail abound, the last portion of the Ranger Creek trail to the Palisades trail junction, and on the Palisades trail from the junction to the point just below Little Ranger Peak proper.  It was a very difficult journey over the rubble that lasted about an hour or so.  There must have been a big blowdown last winter, because I don't recall it being this difficult last year.  Photos of the obstacle course included.

The rest of the hike was snow free and beautiful.