We started our hike at the Oxbow Loop Trailhead on this gorgeous sunny day. This was my first time hiking here and I loved this trail. This is an easy kid friendly trail with Middlefork mountain views and lots of mossy trees. The trail is well maintained and easy to follow. We had the trail to ourselves. For me, the highlight of this hike was discovering hair ice. Found so many on this trail. Nature is wonderful in its creations. I have left some notes on hair ice at the end of this report in case you're interested.
From here we drove to the Garfield Ledges trailhead, it's just a couple of minutes away.
A lot of previous reports mentioned needing a high clearance vehicle because of the big potholes near the trailhead. So, we drove in one but found that one could just park before the bridge and walk to the Garfield Ledges trailhead. It's just a couple hundred feet that one has to walk!
Garfield Ledges is a short, kid friendly and a steep hike with rewarding views! There is absolutely no snow on the peaks :( Wish this changes soon!
From the summit, you can see the convergence of Taylor River and Middle Fork River. You can also see the Stegosaurus Butte and Preacher Mountain. There're no downed trees. The trail is well maintained. We met just 3 other hikers on the trail today.
Highly recommend this treasure.
Copied this from Google - Hair ice, also known as ice wool or frost beard, is a type of ice that forms on dead wood and takes the shape of fine, silky hair. This is a rare, delicate phenomenon where 0.02mm-thin strands of ice grow on rotting, moist broadleaf wood at temperatures slightly below. It requires the fungus Exidiopsis effusa, which shapes the ice as moisture is pushed from the wood and freezes upon exiting. It appears as silky, white, candy-floss-like formations that last only a few hours or days. It is incredibly fragile and melts immediately upon being touched or in the sun.
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