CCC Road: Upper Trailhead, Pratt Balcony — Wednesday, Jan. 14, 2026

Today's objective was the Pratt River overlook on the CCC Trail and Pratt Balcony. I also had a chance to see some WTA trail crews hard at work clearing some recent blowdowns.

I started at the Pratt Balcony / CCC Trailhead. The West Bessemer Creek crossing was manageable today. I felt some of the other creek crossings on this trail were trickier. Hiking poles helped. You don't really need them for this trail, but I take them just for crossing water. 

Other than the creek crossings and a couple of watery trail spots, this stretch of the CCC is in good shape. There were some blowdowns, but at the first one I encountered a WTA trail crew clearing it. Nearer to the Bessemer Road, I encountered a second crew. By the time I hiked back, they'd cleared all but one large tree, and they were in the process of taking that out. (Third pic)

There was some great cloud filtered light on the way casting rays through the forest. Coupled with some of the creeks it gave the trail a real "Middle Earth" vibe. On the way back the view of the Pratt River opened up. 

The Pratt Balcony Trail is in great shape the first half of the way. The second half was overgrown with a lot of water, mud and blowdowns. There was nothing you couldn't get around though. The view is totally worth it. (I was pretty surprised by how little snow is on the surrounding mountains. You could really see that here.)

Total mileage from the trailhead to the Bessemer Road with the Pratt Balcony add on was 8 miles. Elevation was 1200', most of the elevation gain on the CCC Trail is so gradual that you might not even notice you're going up.