Our original plan was to visit Dirtyface Lookout. We thought that since the most recent trip report was two weeks old and noted some ~challenging snow conditions, it might not be seeing heavy traffic quite yet. But then we checked WTA one more time while driving over and saw a new report had been posted overnight. It mentioned that the trail is snow-free and that the parking lot is now overflowing. We scrambled for a new plan and wound up day-hiking to Basalt Peak via the Basalt Ridge trailhead that departs from Finner Creek Campground. It was a lovely hike and we saw no one else on the trail all day.
Aside from a handful of tiny patches, the trail is snow-free all the way to the summit. But there are other serious obstacles to navigation. I see exactly one previous WTA trip report for this trail (Finner Creek), posted in 2011. It reads, in part: "Others have reported this trail is in bad shape so we were concerned, but we lucked out and trail crews had just finished working on this trail and they were THOROUGH! Trail was in the best shape of any trail I think I've ever been on. :) Good job, crew!"
I have good news and bad news. First the bad news: I really hope another crew with some free time reads this report, because the past nine years have not been kind to this trail. Most of it is in decent shape, with a totally normal amount of easily-traversable blowdowns -- especially for this time of year. But the last several switchbacks (~3950 through ~4240 feet) are an absolute overgrown blowdown disaster zone. The good news: there's an easy way around. I wouldn't normally recommend going off-trail, but once you hit these switchbacks (you'll know), you'll be relieved to notice that the ridgeline provides a relatively wide open bypass. Hopefully someone gets up here with a chainsaw so the switchbacks are viable again soon.
The trail itself travels through a variety of interesting terrain, including a forest of baby trees beginning to pop up after fire cleared a good portion of the hillside, including at the summit. I imagine the views are much improved since that fire cleared out the trees, so I encourage you to enjoy that visibility before they finish growing back! The summit offers solid views across the Chiwawa River valley and up Rock Creek.
A few alternatives if you don't have all day. First, you can take the Minnow Creek trail up to Basalt Peak, which looks like it would shave almost 1,000 feet of elevation gain off your hike. We didn't explore this trail, but we heard some kind of nearby engine (ORV? chainsaw?) coming from that direction when we hit the intersection, so I imagine it's in passable condition. Second, you can visit the viewpoint (via a .8-mile signed offshoot that begins just above where the Finner Creek and Minnow Creek trails intersect) to enjoy views across the Chiwawa River (but not up the Rock Creek drainage). Minnow Creek trailhead to reach that viewpoint looks to be just 5 miles RT.
Mosquitoes were terrible at lower elevations, then left us alone.
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