10 miles of hiking • 3000' elevation gain •
Still can't park at Herman Creek Trailhead, parked on the road and walked in.
I usually wait to hike on Sundays, (I work on cement and I've been having issues with my feet hurting lately) but I couldn't resist a good weather day. So instead of a day of rest, I opted to try for some conditioning. Last week I was inspired looking back across the gorge to the Oregon side.
I knew I wouldn't make it to the Benson Plateau, but told myself to go until I felt like turning around. I had never been on the PCT in this section. There were many cars in the road around 9 am, but I honestly hardly saw anyone, probably partly because there are so many different ways you can go from Herman Creek.
The trail itself was mostly clear, though one section was a little eery with how many boulders were in the middle of the trail. Yikes. A few large trees across the trail, but all were easily passable. I still find the forest floor in burn sections makes me a little queasy on cliff edges, I feel it is because I can see further now and with a fall there would be nothing to grab onto. I had to force myself not to look down as this trail is at cliff edge for a lot of it. We hit snow around 2400 feet, and stopped for lunch. My heels were hurting, but I wanted to see if we could make it up to a viewpoint. I had microspikes with me, but I decided I should listen to my feet and come back another day. Down we went, but I did make a side trip to the Herman Creek Pinnacles. I did a quick scramble up and and then headed back.
Not a bad day in the woods, despite my foot pain.
