We started off Memorial Day weekend with a quick day hike up the Panjab Trail to Dunlap Spring and back.
This used to be one of my favorite hikes, but recent wildfires (more recent than the 2005 fire mentioned in the trail overview) have burned out most of the remaining forest. Five years ago the hike was a pleasant mix of recovering burn and sun-dappled forest. Now almost all of the hike is sun-exposed and brushy.
Wildflowers were good, especially in the high-elevation meadows, where glacier lilies and blue eyed grass are thriving. A few tiny patches of snow are still keeping the ground moist and Dunlop Spring is flowing strong. I'd still suggest bringing a filter though, since Dunlop also appears to be a popular with animals.
The first couple miles of the trail is clear of deadfall, but the second half has quite a lot downed trees.
We didn't notice mosquitoes, but ticks were very bad at the low elevations and horse flies were a small annoyance at the higher elevations.
There were lots of memorial-day weekend campers near the the trailhead, but we had plenty of solitude once we started on the trail. We only saw four other hikers during our day on the trail.
NF 4620 is open and in pretty good condition, but I think the easier, mostly paved route on HWY 12 is well worth the extra distance.
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