What a great trail! If you get a chance I highly recommend this hike as the views are amazing. Lots of great posts on this hike but here are some tips:
* The road is definitely passable to all vehicles (I used my Toyota Prius) but it is pretty rough. I recommend higher clearance vehicles as you wouldn’t need to drive as slow as I did (and avoid big rocks).
* This trail is steep. I was actually amazed at how steep the hillside was that the trail was on. Lots of switchbacks (actually a few were incredibly long) but I think 0.5 to 2 miles was the worst section.
* I think the last water source is around 2.5 miles (small spring coming out of a tree). There were close to the trail snow patches on the ridge if you wanted to melt snow for water.
* After you hit the ridge line the trail is easy to follow but it is a tough trail (lots of rocks) so I felt like you need to watch your feet most of the time.
* The access trail below Aix to the SE ridge slope (which has a fairly easy to follow trail to the summit with no real technical spots) is pretty much through a steep scree field. Just be careful but you can see the rough trail.
* I don’t think this is a great trail for backpacking unless you wanted to camp just below the Aix summit (there are some good spots about 5 minutes below the summit along the trail). The other spots near water are well below the ridge line and don’t have nearly the views of up above. There also aren’t many flat spots with no rocks/vegetation on this trail.
* Come prepared for elevation. I did almost 4,800’. It is totally worth it but the last few miles coming down were rough.
* Only saw a dozen people all day on a Saturday in June.
Overall, I highly recommend this trail.
Comments
Hi Fiver, Thanks for the report! Any sense of what elevation you were at when you noted that spring on the trail? Curious if it might still be there now, as hoping to make an overnight trip to explore the area including Nelson Ridge and Bismarck. Thanks!
Posted by:
Cathorse on Jun 29, 2023 02:56 PM
Hi Cathorse and sorry for the delay in a response. I believe in researching this hike over the years I had read in numerous trail reports that this spring was available year round. I'm not sure on the exact elevation it is at (sorry) but you couldn't miss it as the water from the spring has a small flow over the trail. The spring appeared to be a small spring so it would be a slow re-fill for filtering purposes. I hope this helps and enjoy your adventures on Nelson Ridge/Bismarck.
Posted by:
Fiver on Jul 14, 2023 12:20 PM
No worries! We ended up along Pear Butte trail on way to Bismarck, wrote a TR, but will remember what you said about the slow flow, and consider it for future travels in the area. Overall, that whole area is amazing. Thanks!
Posted by:
Cathorse on Jul 15, 2023 05:05 PM