8.1 miles of hiking • 3250' elevation gain •
Gale force winds but beautiful area. We almost got killed after we heard the splintering of wood! We looked up and saw a 40+ foot snag falling directly at us!! We had no time to speak and both pushed backward. My wife had grabbed my backpack at the same time we moved back, and I knocked her over. The tree made a muted thump on the ground about 4 feet in front of us!!! It was actually quite terrifying, and was the closest we had come to death on any hike. We had never seen a tree fall in all our hikes, but this was a widow maker that we somehow managed to avoid. Traumatic experience we don't ever want to repeat! No more high winds for us while we hike in the forest!!!