Mileage Mike went hiking October 26, 2013 12.3 miles 2,500 feet gained
The road to the Cummins Ridge Trail is exceptional and an easy drive. At the end of the road is a parking area, and the wilderness sign is viewable from the parking lot! The first 3 miles of the trail are up the abandoned road, and it is gently graded and grass covered the whole way. At about 3 miles, you turn right, and the remainder of the hike is on a real (non-road) trail. This is a very very easy ridge hike with NO exposure. However, all the views are obstructed by some trees, but they are there. At just over 6 miles you will reach the other side of the wilderness, and there is a sign and bulleting board present. A parking area is 100ft past the wilderness sign, and it is the end of the road. It might be a nice hike to add on a short walk, on the road, to the summit of Cummins Peak? There were NO vehicles, and NO people on the trail during the entire hike!!! My only disappointment was finding a single Holly plant not far in from the trail just past the road cut-in. I'll be sending the coordinates to the forest service in hopes of them removing this non-native plant. We very highly recommend this hike just for the solitude and nice forest scenery! Unfortunately, there was no old growth in this wilderness, that we saw.