Big Creek — Monday, Oct. 27, 2025

After a wild weekend of wind and rain we were excited to get out on this trail, especially since it had been closed since early July due to the wildfire in the area.  We arrived to the parking lot about 8:45 on a sunny Monday morning with two other cars in the lot; two additional cars arrived as we began our hike; the gate was closed and locked.  Both sets of bathrooms near the trail are locked - no access (winter or government shutdown?  We also didn't see anyone camping).

We hiked in a clock-wise direction and did not see any "trail closure" signs for the entire trail.  We expected to see a lot of trees down due to the storms/winds this weekend, but didn't see any until after the "Troll Bridge" on our way back down - four trees across the trail, all easily crossed.  With the amount of rain I expected running water on trail and LOTS of water in the creeks, but the trail is in great shape, and there wasn't an unusual amount of water in the creeks.  We did run into the Mount Rose Trail Maintenance crew consisting of about five or six volunteers complete with their gear and dressed for the weather - thank you to these volunteers!  We saw less than six hikers for the entire trail.  

Fall color is at or just past peak.  The Big Leaf Maples and Vine Maples contributed to the frequent gold/yellow color we saw up close and further away in the distance; the mosses and mushrooms are prolific right now.  Consistent snow coverage in the upper elevations of Mount Ellinor was evident but we saw no snow on our hike today.