Arrived at 7:45 and parked in the lot off the main road just past the horse camp entrance. Two other cars were there.

Start the hike by walking up the driveway to the horse camp and go through to the other end, where you’ll see the road continue. There’s a Jolly Mountain detour sign a couple 10ths of a mile in - keep going straight. After nearly a half mile there’s an official trail sign. There’s a footpath to the left and a broader path to the right - take the footpath. (The other is a dead end.).

Trail is in good shape, but this route is no picnic. The first five miles (and 3000 feet up) is mostly under cover. Some nice forest scenery but not many views of surrounding mountains.

Once you reach the ridge, however, it’s stunning. The route to the peak takes you through areas destroyed by the fires a couple years ago. And the peak is spectacular as advertised.

Some wildflowers were out, but only for a short area in the ridge.

I saw just one other hiker all day on the ridge. But the trail is open to dirt bikes and several of those flew by me on the trail. I returned to my car at about 1pm and there were only three other cars in the lot.

Great hike, but a lot of work - 13.6 miles and 4050 feet up per Gaia app. The Sasse Ridge route is said to be shorter and easier and so given the lack of views on the lower part of this trail the other route is probably more satisfying if you’re not looking for as much of a workout.

I-90 was closed Sat night but open again Sun so off went. We had a beautiful 4 hours up past Roslyn and Ronald before it started snowing again. Took the 1307 winter/spring trail up (not the 4315 road). We parked at the very last possible place to park on 903 (so one does need a snowpark pass) and walked to the 903 dead end (where the campground is). There were a few trail misses. The map at the Cayusee Campground is well past where you catch 1307. Head back about 5 min (via road or trail) to the horse corral. Then look for the trail signs. And once you find 1307, the new snow made following the marked trail a bit tougher. If you end up at the water plant (after about 10 min of hiking/snowshoeing), you need to backtrack for the trail that heads left. Then you start heading up and up. After about 2.5-3 miles, we made it to a trail junction for some pretty views. Not a human soul in sight (no snowmobiles... you can hear them down on the snowpark roads).... so one does need a snowpark pass to enjoy this winter fun. Check for avalanche danger before you go! And while dogs are allowed, it was terribly cold, so my two pups missed this one. Having said that, with a few creek crossings along the way, make sure to bring extra socks (if your feet get wet), gloves, hat, jacket.... brr.

I just had a few hours this afternoon, so I headed out of town (Roslyn) up the Salmon la Sac Road to the Jolly Mt Road. It started raining on the way, and I had to decide whether to bail or not. I long since have learned that it’s better to go out in poor conditions than to sit at home wishing I were doing something outside.  Ergo, I continued.  It did rain the whole time I was on the snowshoe hike up the road.  It was, however, warm enough to do the trip in a lightweight shirt and rain cover and without gloves.  I went up the road for a mile and a half to the great little viewpoint where I got very muted views, which is usually the case when it’s raining out.  This took about 40 minutes.  The road takes off from the large Salmon la Sac Snowpark which is about 15 miles north of Roslyn on the right (east) side of the road.  The road is groomed for the first couple hundred yards and then follows old snowmobile tracks, which are not supposed to be there since they are supposed to stay on the west side of the Salmon la Sac road.  Anyway, the surface is mixed, sometimes slushy, sometimes crusty, sometimes firm, etc.  It would be poor for skiing now.  There has been an unusually fast late winter melt out the past week, and there are streams running down the side of the road in places. I did get a good workout, and as usual on this road on weekdays saw no one else the whole way.

The mountains of central WA are in glorious condition right now and this snowshoe/ski offers spectacular unobstructed views of them. The Jolly Mt Road takes off from the Salmon la Sac Road about 14 miles north of Roslyn. It is on the right about a half mile past the Cooper Lake Road that goes left. You start at the huge Snopark  and ski or snowshoe up the old logging road. In 40 minutes, I got to the great views to the west and north. I then continued on to the large flat at 2 miles. There was no one else around today and I was soon past old ski tracks in fresh snow that glittered in the sun. There is only about four inches at the start and maybe 18 inches where I turned around. Given enough time, one can go all the way to the top of Jolly Mt. You must have safe conditions though, as there are avalanche slopes higher up the road and on the mountain itself.