5 night, 52 mile loop starting from Panjab TH, taking Turkey Creek to Oregon Butte, Smooth Ridge trail to Wenaha River, Crooked Creek and Melton Creek up to Diamond Peak, then the Mt Misery trail back to the Oregon Butte and back out via Turkey again. NF47 is in good condition the whole way.

PANJAB & TURKEY CREEK: Can only speak for first mile of Panjab before it splits. Bridge from parking lot is out but the creek is easily crossed on logs. Starting to get overgrown, mostly with thimbleberry or other such easily-waded-through shrubs. All creek crossings easy. No serious blowdowns to deal with. Northern end is exposed due to the trees being burnt, the southern mile nearest Teepee TH is well forested and almost like some of the Cascades forests.

OREGON BUTTE VIA TEEPEE TH/MT MISERY TRAIL: good condition, no issues. SPRINGS: Oregon Butte- running.

SMOOTH RIDGE TO TWIN SPRINGS: Mostly good condition, a bit faint/disperse through some of the meadows, so sometimes difficult to pick back up. No serious blowdowns. SPRINGS: McBain- running. Taylor/Huckleberry/Rettkowski- could only find one tiny stream across trail. Lodgepole- running, though trough destroyed. Twin- running.

SMOOTH RIDGE BETWEEN TWIN SPRINGS AND WENAHA: take it off the map boys, this one's gone! It's been eaten by the snowbrush and I'm not exaggerating. You can follow this one until the saddle immediately before the split for the Packer Trail, and from there it is literally nothing but snowbrush, with numerous blowdowns under it. I could only make headway by walking atop the blowdowns or finding the occasional elk trail (which never lasted more than a 100' before disappearing). While I used GPS to stick as close to the old trail path as possible, there was literally no sign of it. It took me seven hours to get from Twin Spring to Mud Spring. South of Mud, the snowbrush is replaced by willow and other shrubs, or is open entirely, and so Moore Flat proper is much easier to deal with. The connector that switchbacks down to the Wenaha is fine. SPRINGS: Pistol- only a mere trickle, maybe in extreme need. Mud- running. Soap- skipped.

WENAHA RIVER TRAIL: some woody brush encroaching in spots, one gnarly washout, and several nuisance blowdowns. Only time I encountered mosquitoes on this trip was at my campsite on Fairview Bar.

CROOKED & MELTON CREEKS: while there are fewer blowdowns, the first three miles of Crooked are quite brushy. While I could always determine where the trail was, I was frequently screened out. Annoying and a bit slow, but still a trail. From the mile before Three Forks junction it's received recent trailwork from the Pomeroy Ranger District and is in great condition, including Melton Creek. Last water access going north on Melton is on that long second switchback. Between the Three Forks area and Diamond, the only campsites with water access for Melton are near where it crosses the creek at 3500'. SPRINGS: Diamond- could not find in brush.

MT MISERY: excellent condition, no serious blowdowns or brush. SPRINGS: Sheephead- could not find. Sq--- running. Bear Wallow- skipped. Clover- running. Bullfrog- could not find. Dunlap- running. Table Camp- skipped/could not find (did not notice campsite remains in burned area). Emergency- running under pipe, may be fixed by lookout.

OVERALL: what would otherwise have been a fairly easy trip was made very strenuous by the bushwhacking on Smooth Ridge and the heat. It was over 95 most days, including the long climb up to Diamond. I normally carry two liter water bottles, I regret not bringing a third due to unknown or poor water access. The Blues are definitely a beautiful, but sometimes very difficult area. After Saturday, the only people I saw were Forest Service staff and one group along Mt Misery trail. However, I did frequently find (sometimes historic) garbage from destroyed basecamps, or hitches and other infrastructure in campsites.

Panjab Loop 19 Mile overnight hike

Just finished this loop going counter-clockwise and had a memorable (and slightly rugged) adventure. Overall, I loved the changing landscapes, endless wildflowers, and frequent water sources—but fair warning, this trail is seriously overgrown in parts and definitely not for the faint of heart.

Trail Notes:

Ascent: The uphill portion (miles 1–5 or so) is absolutely choked with overgrowth and dozens of downed trees. There’s a tricky spot around mile 3 where the trail hops from the right to the left side of the stream—easy to miss. Look for a downed log with a notch-step; if you find yourself climbing over more downed trees than seems reasonable, you've missed the crossing.

Oregon Butte Spur: From the TeePee trailhead to Oregon Butte and through the large meadow, the trail is in decent shape with minimal overgrowth. It’s a welcome relief and a beautiful stretch.

Campsites:
There are at least two sites along the spur to Oregon Butte:

One at the designated backcountry site (in good shape)

One near Emergency Spring (overgrown but usable in a pinch)

A third site about 0.25 miles past the spring on the right side of the trail offers a killer overlook.

A few other “could work in a pinch” sites exist before the big meadow.

No viable campsites on the ascent or descent portions of the loop.

Highlights:
Spectacular views from Oregon Butte

Diverse terrain with forest, open meadows, and ridgelines

Wildflowers everywhere

Plenty of water (every source marked on the map was flowing)

Wildlife: deer, rodents galore, bear scat, and elk tracks

The Oregon Butte fire lookout hut is worth the short detour

Downsides:
Expect lots of bushwhacking on the ascent and descent sections

Very muddy patches (especially on uphill and downhill)

No signage, so bring a reliable map and know how to use it

Trail is in need of serious maintenance; we brought a small saw and cleared what we could

Final Thoughts:
If you enjoy solitude, don’t mind some tough sections and bushwhacking, and are looking for a scenic and water-rich backcountry loop, this trail is still a gem. Just come prepared for an unmaintained and wild experience.

Beginning from the Panjab trailhead we went up to Dunlap Spring near Indian corral to camp, planning to pass Oregon Butte spring on the mount misery trail and return via the Turkey creek trail. At Dunlap, plenty of water, and no bugs, probably due to the unseasonably cold temps and significant wind. Despite gusty winds aloft, our tents rarely rustled sitting on the east lee of the ridge. There is a second campsite about 150 yards from the spring with dead trees all around, probably best avoided even with less windy conditions.

Mount misery trail towards Oregon butte starts off easy to follow but in less than a mile from Indian corral, the worn path diverges from the trail, so check your map and stay to the right of the copse on top of the ridge.

We did not find any well protected campsites until Teepee trailhead due in part to recent burns. In good weather, camping is reasonable near emergency spring, but one site is right on the trail, not ideal. We opted not to summit Oregon butte itself, and the view from the top of West Butte was surely just as good. Teepee is technically a day use area, but there is a usable tent pad just northeast of the saddle on which the parking lot rests. Our tents were again well protected from wind. There is no water at Teepee so we made sure to fill up at Oregon Butte spring (horse trough) and hauled a few liters each.

We took the Turkey creek trail back to a junction with the Panjab trail the third day. This is a muddy, overgrown trail with multiple large blowdowns and one slightly tricky crossing. We noted how faint the trail is at the junction with Panjab, indicating that Turkey creek receives little maintenance.

We took Panjab up to Indian Corral for a night. Pretty much the whole trail was in the burn. After the fork for the Turkey Creek trail, trail conditions slowed down a bit -- quite brushy, and with several-many downed trees. That said, the obstacles were less substantial than I had worried they might be; plan on a little bit of log scrambling. There was a heat wave that weekend, but the trail has more or less constant access to water, which was good. Ticks and nettle were abundant; mosquitos still absent.

I hadn't tried camping up at Indian Corral since the fires -- finding a good site without widowmakers might be a little tricky. Two bears + something else (another bear?) came through camp in the night, so make sure you know what you're doing for bear hangs, etc.

We started off Memorial Day weekend with a quick day hike up the Panjab Trail to Dunlap Spring and back. 

This used to be one of my favorite hikes, but recent wildfires (more recent than the 2005 fire mentioned in the trail overview) have burned out most of the remaining forest. Five years ago the hike was a pleasant mix of recovering burn and sun-dappled forest. Now almost all of the hike is sun-exposed and brushy.

Wildflowers were good, especially in the high-elevation meadows, where glacier lilies and blue eyed grass are thriving. A few tiny patches of snow are still keeping the ground moist and Dunlop Spring is flowing strong. I'd still suggest bringing a filter though, since Dunlop also appears to be a popular with animals.

The first couple miles of the trail is clear of deadfall, but the second half has quite a lot downed trees.

We didn't notice mosquitoes, but ticks were very bad at the low elevations and horse flies were a small annoyance at the higher elevations.

There were lots of memorial-day weekend campers near the the trailhead, but we had plenty of solitude once we started on the trail. We only saw four other hikers during our day on the trail.

NF 4620 is open and in pretty good condition, but I think the easier, mostly paved route on HWY 12 is well worth the extra distance.