A lovely, satisfying day hike — with inspiration for longer, overnight trips.
Arrived Gilbert TH at 0900 to no other vehicles. The road is closed to the Road’s End Campgroundmand the trail that connected it to the main trail is difficult to see and filled with brush as a result of the last fire in the area. In addition, it appears that few PCT through hikers have been using this detour around the Easy Fire closures; the trail register showed no other travelers for the previous few days.
The trail is in very good shape — just one new blowdown (in the first 2 miles) and while overgrown through some open areas, the trails is clear and solid underfoot. It initially passes through the latest burnout, creating open spaces for more deciduous trees.
Unfortunately, the latest fire didn’t succeed in killing off all of the mistletoe that still infects some of the remaining living trees. The best views are as you climb to the pass — up the South Fork Twisp River and up toward Lincoln Butte. I decided to nap at the pass rather than climb higher to Stiletto Lake or drop down to Dagger Lake.
As you climb, the intermittent gullies and avalanche slopes become filled with the most ripe and abundant thimbleberries this hiker has ever experienced. The huckleberries — not so much — seedy and dried.
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