The trail has severely deteriorated in just the past couple of months. Perhaps the winter snows packed down the motorcycle erosion till they started coming up again? At any rate, lots of loose rocks, heavy erosion, and trails that have become mini-canyons. A pity because it's such a pleasant ridge walk.

Hiked from the horse camp to the peak of Jolly Mt. Trail was in good shape. The creek crossing was absolutely no problem (kind of scary for this time of year). Amazing views at the ridge. About 1/4 mile of snow towards the top of Jolly Mt, but it was pretty easy to tell where we were headed at that point. Saw only 2 other people all day and no motorbikes, although there were motorbike prints on the trail. This was a fantastic hike.

I had hoped to be able to drive to the trailhead, but wasn't really expecting to. Of course the first part of the road was glare ice, I gave myself a 50/50 chance of making it. Since it was such a nice day and I had plenty of time I decided to walk to 7 or so miles to the trailhead. The rest of the road was for the most part was quite passable. Around 3 hours later I made it to the trailhead, The first was a bit hard to follow but upon reaching the ridgeline it became more apparent. I followed the ridge to a nice point just past the junction to West Teanaway, were I was quite content to have lunch on a nice sun soaked spot. I shaved quite a bit of time on the descent by cutting some of the swichbacks. Although the day was quite long (around 16 miles) and I really didn't climb anything it was a quite satisfying day.

Kal,Amy,Ish, and Sally headed for Scatter Creek/Scatter Peak but the road was blocked at SalmonLaSac due to a rollover/fatality accident. We opted for Jolly Mt. SalmonLaSac Creek trail #1307 is in the worse possible condition of any trail I've seen recently. The first two miles is a disaster of rocks and deep dry dust. This is a trail that should be closed to motor bikes. (Note to myself: don't do this trail again unless snowcovered!) With that out of the way the remaining 4 miles to the summit were more pleasant and we enjoyed a lovely, long summit sit with the views and flowers. 8 hours round trip, 12 miles, 4300' gain

A three peak weekend! Based on the weather forecast we made plans to avoid the probable showers on the west side of the mountains and drive east to the Teanaway. Saturday we drove east on I-90 takig exit 84 and followed the detour signs to Roslyn....and continued toward the ranger station at Salmon La Sac. About 1/2 Mile before Salmon La Sac we took a right turn onto FS road 4315. The road doesn't have a FS sign, but it does have a billboard advertising horseback riding. WEw followed th road as it wound its way uphill. After about 5 miles the road becomes narrow with some exposure, but it is passable and in decent shape. After another 3 miles the road comes to an end. There is a short section of connector trail that leads upward to Sasse Ridge Trail #1340. This area is a nice ridge walk by itself....with nice views and a profusion of wildflowers. After about 1/2 mile ridge walk, we came to a saddle at the bvase of Jolly Mountain (el. 5800 ft.) Today our plan is to scramble up Mount Skookum then return to the saddle and follow the trail to the summit of Mount Jolly. So, we turned northward and followed the trail into the Jolly creek Basin, descending to 5300 ft. Then going off the main trail heading northeast toward Skookum on a barely visible boot tread. The boot tread fades in and out.....but the rocky promontory of Skookum is ahead so we traversed the side slope, staying close to the ridge line, ascending gradually. After crossing a boulder field the route becomes steeper. We dropped our packs and made the last push to the summit. There is some exposure at the top so we were very cautious. After a very short visit at the summit (el 6,394 ft.) we backed our way down from the summit block and retraced our route to where we dropped our packs and relaxed with a snack. A few minutes rest and we were ready for the next phase of this adventure. We descended to where we had left the main trail and climbed again back up to the trail junction at 5,800 ft. The route up Jolly is straight forward. On the northside of the mountain there is still the remnants of fast melting snow drifts. But the snow is well consolidated and easy to walk on. The trail, although sometimes covered with snow is easy to follow. When we reached the summit we were greeted by a sign someone had painted on a rock welcoming hikers to the summit.....blue lips on a light blue background. We visited the remains of the look-out, enjoyed the views of the Stuart Range and to the south, Mount Rainier. We took some photos, then descended to get out of the cold wind. Although the elevation is only 2,400 feet, it is a spirited outing....one that can cause fatigued legs and sore feet. Round trip time: 5 1/2 hours Sunday morning the adventure continues. We had car camped about 2 miles from the trail head....at a spur road where there was a nice view of Mount Rainier (we like camps sites with views!) The moring was bright and clear...and we had pretty much recovered from Saturday's adventure. So, we broke camp, drove down the hill, tookk a right hand turn at the main road and continued about 2 miles, and turned right onto Road #134, just past Paris Creek. The road passes a couple of cabins. The final 1/4 mile to the trail head is very rough....not suitable for low clearance cars. The trail begins by dropping down to a bridge crossing the Cle Elum River. After a 1/4 mile warm-up, the work begins. Although the trail is well graded, it has switch back after switch back after switch back as it gains elevation consistently. As the trail winds through the trees there are no views until reaching a ridge at about 5,200 ft. Continuing on, there are some sloping meadows with brilliant colors of wildflowers. Approaching the old look-out site (el. 6,300 ft.) we are rewarded with a vivid display of wildflowers and nice views. But don't stop here. the trail continues along the rocky ridge line....with ever improving views. The trail has some minor scrambling of rocks with a bit of exposure in one location as it rounds a rocky shoulder....then up to the true summit (el. 6,400 ft.). We shared the summit and the fantastic for a few minutes with a lone snag standing as a silent sentinel. There is no summit register here, but we did take some terrific photos and enjoyed the moment. Time to summit: 3 hours 10 minutes Time to descend: 2 hours 5 minutes Note: This is a dry trail. No water is available above Cle Elum River.....take extra water. Also, as warmer weather appoaches, we suggest getting an early start and do the climbing during cooler morning temperatures.