Spoiler alert: we didn't make it to Dalles Ridge, but made it just short of the junction with Palisades. I figure we were about 1.5 miles shy of Dalles Ridge. This was due to recognizing that we were crossing avalanche chutes. Still, we had a fantastic day, and considering everything that's going on right now--pandemic and The Other--that is something!
Five days ago, we hiked from the Camp Sheppard parking lot to the TH for Little Ranger (2 miles), then up to the viewpoint (another 2.85). Today, we parked off-highway at the TH for Little Ranger Peak and Dalles Ridge, which is not obvious. The parking area is about two miles east of Camp Sheppard, on the north/left side of the highway, just short of the Buck Creek turn off.
Our goal today was Dalles Ridge. Temperature at 9:30 a.m. was 34 degrees F, with zero chance of rain in the forecast. We figured that the ridge may be reachable, given the warm temps and rains of the past few days. Indeed, it was a gorgeous day. Five days ago, there had been black ice on the way to the Little Ranger Peak viewpoint, but today it was virtually ice free until just after the turnoff to the Ranger Peak viewpoint. There, light snow soon became several inches deep in places, then dense, thick, compacted ice. I figure we hiked about 1.3 miles before pulling a U-ey, due to the fact that we seemed to have hit a series of avalanche chutes.
About 1/2 mile beyond the Ranger Peak viewpoint, the snow became less dusting and more snow. This happened rather abruptly, and soon we were hiking on compact ice. We put on microspikes at one key switchback that was icy as all get out. (I love me some microspikes!). After that, we charged ahead until it became obvious that we were hiking across an avalanche chute or two. I think we made it about a half mile or so shy of the junction for Palisades.
Obstacles today included three blowdowns within the first 1/4 mile from the TH, plus several others that were past the viewpoint. These are navigable, but require the ability to straddle large trees and clamber over branches and snow. I wouldn't go where we went today without microspikes and poles. Crowd-wise, we encountered only three souls, all friendly and physically distancing themselves. Figure we hiked about 8.5 miles today. Lovely area!
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