All in all a solid hike. Drove up from Pullman, slept at the trailhead Saturday night. Woke up around nine, on trail by 9:30- completed the loop in a bit under 10 hours including some detours and long breaks. The huckleberries are a little past their prime but, I still found myself snacking on thimble and yew berries in the valley. Note: all parts of a yew aside from the flesh of the fruit are deadly poisonous, make sure to spit out the pit and never eat the berries in front of kids. Saw a ton of deer, grouse, a few quail and a large toad or two along the trail. There were definitely some big piles of fresh bear poo so be aware of that. Views once you reach the ridge are solid but nothing compared to the cascades. All in all the trail is well maintained and decently marked though it’s possible to get turned around in a couple spots so make sure you have a map. One of the biggest draws of this loop in my mind is the solitude- there was one other car at the trailhead and I didn’t see a soul on the trail, especially after dusk when it is almost entirely silent. Heard some suspicious chirping during my last mile (along the ridge) of the loop, either there’s an off pitched marmot or two living up in the brush or I had a friend for a bit…
Make sure to fill up on water, I didn’t and spent the last 7 miles of my hike dry.
In short solid hike, probably would come back if it wasn’t quite as much of a drive

A beautiful weekend visit to this difficult loop. We did it in two nights.

First to get it out of the way, to the asshole who shat right on trail, about ten feet from the water crossing on the Salmo Valley floor, go to hell. We did not need to see your shit as we walked through the pristine valley. Have some respect for the trail and your fellow hikers.

With that out of the way, I'll note that the weather was pristine this weekend. Clear skies for Day 1, overcast with very light misty rain on Day 2. Huckleberries ripe all along the ridge. We camped at Windy Pass just beneath Snowy Top. We attempted to summit Snowy Top but our start was too late and one of our members had an injured foot, so we made it about 1/3 of the way up before turning back. We did do Little Snowy Top on Day 2, which is a nice, easy walk up to a shambled fire lookout; wish they would clean all the glass and rusty nails from the place. Would be a nice spot to camp. Beautiful volcanic formations.

I can't stress enough how many huckleberries were up there. I collected a couple quarts on the hike out.

This isn't my norm, I usually don't do 10+ miles of hiking a day with a full pack, so I'd recommend breaking it up with one more night or packing ultra light or conditioning, or getting masochistic like we did, and being ready for the pain.

All in all, it's a lovely spot and would try for Snowy Top again in the future.

Make sure you're aware of the water sources as you decide how to do this hike. They are few and far between.

Trail was in great shape and the huckleberries were plentiful.   Many of the springs are drying up and the last water was about 1/2 mile below the snowy top pass until you start to descend in the the valley off the Shedroof ridge line down to the Salmo divide trail (if you are hiking clockwise).  I started at Shedroof Divide Cutoff for some extra miles and elevation.  The climb up to the old Shedroof lookout is a great view if you follow the un maintained trail.   The Shedroof divide trail is a little overgrown and has a few downed trees but easily navigated and tons of huckleberries to reward your work.  

I can't believe it took me this long to do this loop. It's gorgeous! Also hilly and good for people fit enough to manage that. There were so many huckleberries! We sampled from several different bushes, but left most of them for the critters and other hikers. Views were stunning. When they weren't, the forest was lush and lovely.

We were treated (?) to a family of cougar vocalizing while hunting on the mountainside above our second camp (near the stream 5 miles from the end trailhead going clockwise). While we very much loved hearing them, I'll admit we were on edge and kept our bear spray nearby just in case. They stayed on the hillside all afternoon and evening and then went away. Assuming they were hunting marmots and chipmunks.

This trail is a wonderful piece of our state and trail maintenance showed how much it is loved. Thank you to the crews keeping it open and alive!

Our group of 6 participated in a four-day BCRT clearing a section of this trail starting clockwise from the trailhead. Quite a few trees had fallen over the winter so we made it about 1/2 mile into the Idaho side of the loop before hiking out. Some large trees were in the mix and we had a great team that worked well together. 

Trail users we encountered reported fewer trees on the remainder of the loop so it appears we chose the correct direction to tackle the most blowdown. 

This is a lush and verdant area more reminiscent of the western slopes of The Cascades than the drier climes of Eastern Wa.