Visited this trail for the first time yesterday. If you are traveling south on 410 from Greenwater, the parking area on the side of the road is on the left just before the right-turn to Skookum Flats / Buck Creek trailhead. If there's lots of traffic, and you don't want to make a left turn / u-turn, the trailhead is a convenient place to turn around and then easily pull off the road on the (now) righthand side. There is easily room for 5-8 cars. Yesterday, I was the only one there with a start time of noon.
Once parked, you head up the trail and to the right to follow the Ranger Creek Trail toward Palisades Trail. Like many trails right now, everything was pretty dry, but the path was in good condition with the exception of most of the switchback turns. There the dirt was often very loose and eroding, so you want to take care heading up, and even more so heading back down. The worst spots were closer to the top (pictured, but it doesn't do it justice). Otherwise, I think there were only two blowdowns to deal with, one quite easy to step over, and the other slightly larger that required more effort from those of us with shorter legs. :-)
The trail is shared, and there was evidence of horses and bikes, but I saw no others on the trail this day. In many places, it would be challenging to pass a bike or horse safely with the narrow stretches and steep uphill/downhill to each side. Overall, it's a very nice trail, lots of trees / shade, and the road noise fades away once you are about 1-mile in. There are a few water run-off spots that may be a good water source at another time of year, but they were virtually dry right now.
Little (visible) wildlife yesterday, too, just chipmunks, a slug, a woodpecker, and a few other birds. All in all, an enjoyable trail, enough gain to make it challenging at a faster pace, but not so much gain that it takes the enjoyment away from spending time in nature. I would definitely come back and extend the hike on a day with an earlier start.
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