The road to the trailhead was the usual bouquet of potholes. A couple of miles before reaching the trailhead, we surprised a black bear on the road. It bolted down the road at an impressive pace before eventually veering off into the forest.
We hiked a 17-mile loop, down Slab Camp Trail, up Gray Wolf to Three Forks Camp, then up the Three Forks Trail to Deer Park, and down Deer Ridge to the trailhead. We started at 8 a.m. and finished at 6:30 p.m., and didn't see another soul the whole day.
Slab Camp Trail was in good shape all the way down to the Gray Wolf River, thanks to the work of the Gray Wolf Trail Crew, which has cleared the trail of blowdowns. The Gray Wolf Trail from the bridge up to Three Forks was in much worse shape. There was a lot of mud in the lower reaches, and there were about two dozen blowdowns, several of which required crawling under.
The three footlogs over the Gray Wolf, Cameron Creek, and Grand Creek were in good shape. Gray Wolf Camp and Three Forks Camp were in good shape. Shortly above Three Forks Shelter, a massive blowdown blocks the trail, and the only way past it is to squeeze under the log with pack off. From there to Deer Park, there were a few minor step-over blowdowns.
There was no snow at Deer Park. Wildflowers were starting to emerge in the meadows, dominated by grasswidows, and also some prairie smoke and Douglassia. Deer Ridge Trail was in good shape, with just a few minor step-over blowdowns. The trail was brushed out last fall by Gray Wolf Trail Crew.
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