Dingford Creek road is rough, but easily doable in a high clearance vehicle (I'd be a little concerned about trying to get through two of the big ruts in anything with low clearance). There were two cars at the trailhead when we arrived, but we didn't see anyone on the trail all day.
As the other most recent report mentioned, there are several large blowdowns in the first section of the trail that require some climbing over/under/around. The middle section of the hike, from Pumpkinseed Creek to the Hester/Myrtle junction is in good shape and absolutely lovely, however after the junction trail conditions deteriorate again. The last 2+ miles from the junction include a few tricky stream crossings, then a section where the trail itself becomes a small muddy creek, and finally you hit snow that completely covers the trail. The last sections requires some route finding (and a decent amount of postholing). There is some pink flagging tape marking a route, however it didn't match up with the trail and was confusing to follow.
Regardless of the conditions, it was a fun hike and Hester Lake is beautiful. If you're looking for some solitude and willing to brave subpar trail conditions to get it, I could recommend this hike. Otherwise, it might be worth waiting until later in the season when there's no snow, less water, and a crew gets a chance to clear out some of the blowdowns!
Comments