Kelly and I hiked the Devil's Dome Loop over the weekend. We went counterclockwise from the East Bank Trailhead with a camp on Devil's Dome.
The first few miles of trail along the creek were badly overgrown. We got absolutely soaked by wet brush. Near the junction with the Canyon Creek trail (where the old bridge washout is), there is a major blowdown that requires some scrambling to get around. We didn't do the creek ford, but heard from others that it was doable.
The trail gets better as it climbs towards McMillan Park. Bugs were surprisingly not too bad here, but they definitely were out. They were worse in Devil's Park.
Along Jackita Ridge, there were a few minor snow crossings, but nothing significant. Some of the north facing basins got hit hard by avalanches this winter, covering the trail in snow and blowdowns.
Once back up high, the trail is in good shape to Devil's Pass. Note there was no water on the trail from the North Fork Devil's Creek until after Devil's Dome, although there was water about 100 ft below the trail just before Cinnamon.
We camped atop Devil's Dome with great views and no bugs. Found some water from snow patches nearby.
The trail down to Ross Lake is good until about 5200 ft, where it becomes extremely brushy with blowdowns. Right when it enters the national park, it becomes very nice and cleared. East Bank trail back to the car was in immaculate condition.
This was a very enjoyable first backpacking trip of the year! I expect the flowers to get better in the coming weeks and the bugs were surprisingly not bad. Trail conditions were highly variable.
Comments
Luongo on Devil's Dome Loop
Thanks for this recent report! I’m considering this loop for the weekend. It sounds like you crossed water near the trailhead and had no issues with the missing bridge. Is that correct? Also, how much time would you say it took to navigate each of the two blowdown sections? I’d be on my own so want to check it’d be doable.
Posted by:
Luongo on Jun 26, 2023 09:45 PM
ClimberKyle on Devil's Dome Loop
No, there is a bridge over the river at the East Bank Trailhead, so no river for needed. There weren't like explicit blowdown sections. I would just estimate that overgrown brush plus periodic blowdowns added 2-4 hours total to our time hiking over the weekend.
Posted by:
ClimberKyle on Jun 26, 2023 09:52 PM
Luongo on Devil's Dome Loop
Thank you! That’s helpful.
Posted by:
Luongo on Jun 27, 2023 11:23 AM