10 miles of hiking • 3750' elevation gain • 1 night
Based on Pablo's Benson snow-free report from February 6th, I planned a quick overnight up to the Benson Plateau via Ruckel Creek trail. It hadn't rained in Cascade Locks since then, but that doesn't mean it hadn't up high! There's between 4 and 6" on Benson as of 2/11. Arriving at the wilderness boundary just after dark, we quickly made it to Hunter's Camp, cleared an area of snow, and set up the tarp.
It rained overnight, but stopped about 8am, and was mostly cloudy and beautiful on the way back down to the car. We didn't try going down Ruckel Ridge with snow on the ground and being unfamiliar with it, so we headed back the way we came.
