11 miles of hiking • 2250' elevation gain •
This was a hike I wanted to do for a while so I decided to make use of a day off and headed out from the trail head around 11:30AM. There were three cars at the trail head but I saw nary a soul all day. The trail is in pretty good shape overall, although a few areas are overgrown. Berries were abundant but beyond ripe - they were shriveled or split open. Views of Sloan Peak were incredible. Small toads littered the trail and wasps were all over the ripe berries. A woodpecker and some grouse rounded out the critters for the day. Looked for a scramble route to the summit but did not find an easy route so decided to wait for another day when I was not alone. Still, this is a nice little hike with mostly easy to moderate grades. Will likely come back and combine a scramble to the summit of Bald Eagle Mountain with a scramble to Long John Mountain's summit making for a nice day hike.
