16.5 miles of hiking • 5000' elevation gain •
Really awesome loop with an old trail friend. Had not a solid plan in place, but rather just wandered. Left the trailhead, heading up the Herman Creek trail. On an impulse, we turned off on Gorton Creek towards Indian Point. Ran into a bit of trouble (for the trail, not us) where a huge fallen tree's rootball completely tore out the trail, just a bit before the point.
The wind was howling ferociously, as we peered into the mists trying to determine whether to take the 200' hit dropping down to Indian Point. "No regrets!", yeehaw... down we go. Waaaaaay too windy to venture all the way out onto Indian Point, but beautiful regardless.
Heading on along Gorton Creek, we decided to cut up the Deadwood trail - a new one for me. Very steep! But fun. Wonderful forest. Along this stretch we encountered the only other people we'd see all day long. Two young ladies trail running - uphill! Wow, more power to them. :-)
When we hit the Nick Eaton trail, we continued our climb - just as steep, if not a bit more so - up to the ridge. Around 3800-4000' or so, we entered the snow zone. Not a lot on the ground, but the trees were nicely flocked. Winds were howling and temps near 30°, so it was definitely frozen fingertips territory.
Traversed the ridge, then returned to descend the Casey Creek trail - another new segment for me! Really filling in the track gaps with this hike. That sucker was as steep as its reputation had led me to imagine, dropping some 2300' in 2.1 miles, or so. But as we descended, the air was warming back into the mid-40°s, which certainly felt good.
After a brief snack at Casey Camp, we donned our headlamps and began the trek back to the trailhead. The waterfalls were glorious, with just the right amount of water coming on down. Creek crossings were straight-forward enough. The last hour out was under headlamp.
Another really great day in the woods!
