Dayhike of Thorp Mountain/Lookout on October 31st.
We tried the Thorp Creek approach first. Road to this trailhead was fine for all vehicles, but we were turned around by the creek crossing which was running too high to rock-hop, and the tiny log across the creek was covered in ice. After some fumbling around and trying to supplement the crossing with more branches, we decided it wasn't worth falling in and it was too cold for us to want to wade.
We left and headed to the Knox Creek trailhead instead. We opted to park about half or three-quarters of a mile from the trailhead where the road got rough and rocky. A proper high clearance vehicle would be recommended to go past this point.
We walked the road, which was a mellow grade but occasionally ice-covered and slippery, to the tiny unmarked trailhead. The trail climbed up from here to the ridge, starting out snow-free but eventually turning into snow, with some icy sections where spikes might be helpful. We lost the trail for a minute in the snow but managed to pick it up again. There were also a handful of blowdowns to crawl under or over.
We headed the wrong way on the ridge for a little way to a small viewpoint before realizing we should have turned right at the junction when we popped up. We backtracked and headed the other way, following the ridge through the forest and eventually climbing up some more open final switchbacks to reach the lookout and some great views.
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