This is a popular trail, so I decided to start early on a Saturday morning. I arrived at 0730 at the Bonneville Trailhead across from the dam/powerhouse and there was only one other car in the parking lot. There's room for 20+ cars. There's even room for trucks + trailers for equestrians. You need a NW Forest Pass (or something compatible). The trailhead starts up the Tamanous Trail. The sign is pretty beat up, but you can't miss the trailhead. The first half mile is mostly uphill on a path that starts out fairly wide and then narrows out. It was wet, with some rocks, root, and forest debris, but only muddy in spots. At about .5 mile, the trail starts to level out where it connects with the PCT. The trail goes in and out of canopy until you get past 2 miles. Lots of flowers! There was some noise from SR14 and what sounded like gunshots, but it is not as recognizable the farther you go.
At 2 miles, the trail becomes much more narrow and rocky as you work your way up and past the power lines. The canopy is gone here, too. You come up upon Gillette Lake soon after the power lines and there are places to camp at the Lake. If you keep going, you'll cross a small bridge as you make your way to a pond with Western Pond Turtles. Continue on and you will hear the rush of water as you work your way down to the bridge over Greenleaf Creek. This is where I stopped and turned around.
The trail for the most part goes up and down all the way to the bridge at Greenleaf Creek. I found the rocky trail after mile 2 to be the most challenging. I saw birds, turtles, squirrels, etc. I did not see a bear though another hiker mentioned there was one in the area. You will cross private property at times and there are boundary markers. You will also cross a number of forest roads, but they are well marked. I didn't see a lot of people early in the morning, but I saw about 15 people total on this trail. Total mileage for me was 7.5 miles round trip.
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