Dexter Ridge, Slick Ear — Sunday, Oct. 1, 2023

The north end of this trail is impossible to find and completely buried in the brush. It is still a worthwhile hike, especially as part of a loop with the Slick Ear Trail. So plan to do the Slick Ear down and the Dexter trail up.

The Dexter Ridge trail starts right at the junction of the Wenaha River Trail and the Slick Ear Trail, but it is not marked/signed. Just head up the ridge. The trail will become visible as you climb. Moreso when the ridge is narrow than when it is wide. But just follow the ridge up and it will keep appearing. It is steep and has false summits, but nice views. Some brushy areas, but you can usually go around them. At the top of the ridge, I met a couple of mountain goats. Wait, not the top, climbing again. Then the trail starts to go down the other side. I would say that the trail officially ends at 5.3 miles from the bottom. At this point you are only about a half a mile from the road so you might choose to bushwhack through the burn but good luck finding any sign of a trail.

Slick ear is in good shape- you can start at either the Slick ear trailhead or the Twin Buttes trailhead. Nice views from the top, brushy at the bottom. There is one significant log between the 2nd and 3rd stream crossing (there are 5 total crossings). Take some time to visit the river when you get down there- the Junction between Slick Ear and Dexter is not at the river, still a little above it. There are nice places to hang out either direction, although you have to cross Slick Ear creek again if you go East.