12 miles of hiking • 1750' elevation gain •
Came up here two days in a row.
The ghost of Basil Rathbone has been very busy in the area. The firebreak roads now have some well maintained single track with lovely wooden signs.
Unfortunately, someone also completely festooned the trails with flagging. So much flagging. Flagging ad nauseum. Flagging on every other tree. Several times I stood in one spot and saw 8-10 flags- yellow, pink, orange, stripes, and completely unnecessary, the trail tread is unambiguous and well defined. I have mixed feelings about rogue trailbuilding, but flagging is definitely litter on our public land. It detracts from the experience and the fun of navigating with natural cues. In the modern day, everyone has a gps and can use "virtual flagging" to retrace their steps. If you need to depend on flagging to guide you up here in this forest, you shouldnt be up here. End rant.
I also got to do some lovely off trail wanderings in the fairy lands with no neon ribbons in sight.
