Began a four day trip on this loop seeing five people on day one and then absolutely no one else the remainder of our time on trail. This solitude is nearly impossible for July and August hiking west of the Cascades. We hiked clockwise and had several water crossings our first day. At 5.2 miles, a side trail drops right for 0.3 mile to a dilapidated cabin and a large forested campsite. You must cross the Salmo River to get to this and it was mid-calf deep in places. I wore lightweight minimalist camp shoes which worked well and kept my boots dry. There is a fair amount of thimbleberry brush crowding the trail in places, but otherwise the trail is in excellent condition. Thank you WTA!
On day two, we reached the Shedroof Divide Trail and set up camp early on the ridge about 0.5 mil before the junction to Little Snowy Top Mt. and day-hiked to the top of Little Snowy Top. There is a campsite on top of Little Snowy, but it’s very exposed. Watch out for broken class and nails around the fire lookout remnants. Storm clouds rolled in about 3:00 pm and we experienced significant rain, hail, thunder and lightning. The next two days saw a similar pattern of threatening clouds, but without the storm.
Our third camp was at the junction with the Salmo Divide Trail. There is a good spring on the right shortly before this junction. This trail can easily be done in two nights, but we were glad to have the extra time and slower pace to enjoy the beautiful vistas and abundant huckleberries.
Comments