Location of Hike: Burnt Granite Trail
Trail Number: 595
Weather during Hike: Overcast and cold
Hiking Buddies: Kirk and Thor
Start Time: 10:10 AM End Time: 2:10 PM
Hike Distance: 7.9 miles (bonus after trip) Elevation Gain: 1500 feet
We headed out a little early since the weather reports indicated that a new “atmospheric river” of precipitation was coming later in the day. We were hoping if we started earlier that we might miss the worst of the precipitation (rain or snow). As we were driving up the Clackamas, we saw the snow level and it seemed pretty low. I was not expecting Plan A to be successful. We got up to the turnoff for Plan B where we were already encountering snow, and I was hesitant to continue, but we kept going. We still needed to gain about 1400 more feet and the snow was already accumulating on the road at about 2000′. We continued along, going somewhat slow since it was pretty cold (26 degrees ish) and I was worried about ice on the road. We were fortunate since there had obviously been traffic on 46 which kept tracks in the snow which made things easier. We turned off onto 4670 and the road got a bit worse but still not too bad. The bad news was we still had to gain about 1000′ of elevation until we got to the trailhead. We had probably about 9 miles to get to the trailhead and it seemed pretty iffy at that point but we pressed on.
There were tracks on the road which helped but as we got higher the snow got deeper. We got up to the junction with 4650 and it did have tracks but a LOT less traffic had gone down 4650. We started down 4650, continuing to gain elevation and navigating the deeper and deeper snow. I think one of the things that helped was that the snow was very fluffy and powdery, which made it easier to drive in. Wet, sloppy snow is harder. We got up about a mile or so and encountered someone coming the other way. We encountered them at a perfect wide spot so it was easy to pass. A bit farther up the road, we saw where they turned around. From that point on, we were the first people to drive out this road since the snow. We continued on – I got a bit nervous in a few areas but nothing terrible. I was amazed at how well the truck was handling the snow, and I got surprised by the old trailhead – I actually passed it by and had to back up! This is what 4650 looked like past the trailhead:
The road at that point probably had 3-4″ of snow on it. I think it got as deep as 6″ in places on the way in – the road gains elevation and then goes back down a bit. After completing the adventure of just getting to the trailhead, we were now starting on the real adventure. Thor had been whining for a long time as he saw all the snow. He was chomping at the bit to get out and play in the snow.
We suited up and headed up the trail. The trail in the trees at this point didn’t have a lot of snow on it – maybe 1-2″ – in more open/exposed areas it was a little deeper but given the depth and the fact the snow was very light and fluffy, it was pretty easy walking. The hardest part about hiking the trail was the drooping rhodies/trees that made it hard to walk thru and also (in some areas) made it hard to see where the trail went.
We continued up the trail and at some point I got annoyed at some of the stuff overhanging the trail so I got out my saw and started doing some cutting. Kirk and Thor continued up ahead of me. As we got higher, the going got tougher – you had the elevation but you also had the snow which kept getting deeper and deeper. Here are some pictures of the trail all decked out it its new snow:
When the trail kind of levels out on top the going got a little easier but it is more open in this area, so the snow was deeper. I’d guess that it was a foot or so deep. Kirk had broken the trail so it was a bit easier but sinking that far in the snow means you have to lift your legs up a lot higher so it is still pretty tiring.
After the trail flattens out, it eventually comes to the junction with the old abandoned trail down to Tarzan Springs:
This was the spot where we decided to turn around. The going was getting tough and I was thinking the rockslide with the view was still a ways up the trail. Looking at it now, it was about three tenths of a mile from the junction to Tarzan Springs – we might have been able to get there, but it was getting increasingly difficult without snowshoes, so I think it was good we turned around when we did.
I got a picture of Thor playing in the snow after we had lunch:
And I also took a photo of the untouched trail past Tarzan Springs – with no footprints on it:
After quickly eating lunch and getting cold from sitting, we headed back down the trail. We cut out a bunch more overhanging stuff from the trail, although it needs more work.
As we were going down, I could see the sky in the distance – it was getting pretty dark (which didn’t come out too well in the photos – it was a LOT darker than it looks in these photos):
We made pretty good time coming down and soon got back to the junction of the original trail and the “old” trail (the old spur road). We decided to head back the original trail route – we went thru the work area that obliterated a stretch of tread and then got back into the “corridor”. We soon got back down to 4650 and headed back up to the truck. As we were walking up 4650, another truck drove down the road.
We got back to the truck and had one last surprise. I pulled the fob out of the hitch safe and tried to open the truck and it didn’t work. It was cold, so I tried to warm up the fob and fortunately after a bit of warming, it worked again – that was a bit concerning, but I’m guessing it just didn’t like the cold.
We got back in the truck and headed back down. Kirk had the idea of doing some more exploring of the Rho Creek trail below 4671, so we drove down the road and headed south on 4671 to the Rho Creek trailhead. We parked and got out. Thor wasn’t too keen on getting out – I think he was tired and was ready to take a nap. He finally did, and it took him a while to get going once we started looking, but he finally did.
Here is the track of the bonus part two of our adventure:
We looked around below the road and soon found what we thought to be the tread – the beginning by the road is pretty indistinct (probably got messed up when the road was built), but soon gets to pretty recognizable tread, other than some areas with a lot of downed logs. We poked around, continuing to find blazes and what looked to be tread and soon were near the confluence of Rho Creek and the Clackamas River. It looks like the trail crossed Rho Creek at some point and then crossed the Clackamas River before joining a trail that headed south down to Fish Lake and Olallie Country. I think this might have been called the Cub Creek trail – it still exists from just north of Si Lake down to Lower Lake.
On the way back up, I took a few photos of some of the tread we found – here is an old blaze and the tread next to it:
And a bit further uphill here is a nice segment of tread heading back up the hill:
After finding most of the tread down to the river we headed back up to the truck and headed out. As we were driving home, it started to rain. We were fortunate to have basically no rain all day long. We had a couple of short spurts of snow up higher, and a few short gusts of wind, but otherwise the day was dry and calm.
We when were driving home we decided to stop at the gate at 4620 – on the way in, it looked like the gate was open. We went over and found the gate more or less closed, but no lock on it so all you had to do was to open the gate to be able to drive thru it. It will be interesting to see if the lock stays off the gate.
We decided to try a new place for dinner – we ate at the Eagle Creek Saloon since our last experience at Time Travelers (aka Fearless) was less than optimal. We had a great dinner – it was a really nice way to cap off an amazing day of exploration and adventure!