Oh wow. No. I tried to hike a loop in the Wenaha-Tucannon and had the most miserable time of my life. 

Gaia GPS Map shows three trails that link the Mount Misery Trail/Smooth Ridge Trail in a shorter loop: 1) Danger Point Trail; 2) Crooked Creek Trail; and 3) Miner's Ridge Trail. THESE TRAILS DO NOT EXIST. Danger Point Trail doesn't exist. Crooked Creek Trail is just a ghost of a memory of a trail. And Miner's Ridge Trail is so scarily NOT a trail it's like a joke. I bushwhacked for my life.

I started at Panjab Trailhead, climbed up to the butte, and went south on Mount Misery Trail. I started to hit snow patches and then had to navigate on a somewhat steep slope for Smooth Ridge Trail through larger fields of snow. That side of Oregon Butte doesn't get a lot of light and is last to melt out in the spring.

Then I spent the most excruciating time falling down 1500 feet of crumbilng volcanic rock and fighting through thick overgrown bushes for Danger Point Trail. I spent a night at an odd, decrepit backcountry camp just about a mile west of the confluence of Cougar Creek and Trout Creek. There was a huge rain storm that night.

The next morning I crossed Trout Creek, hoping to find a well trod Crooked Creek Trail. Instead there was a lightly used meandering of animal trails and some neon ties in trees to at least let you know that you that someone would find your body, someday. 

Miner's Ridge Trail is essentially the same issue - there is no trail and no markings either. You have to cling to ridges, scrambling over volcanic rock, and just pray until you get to the butte. Eventually I hit Mount Misery Trail on the top of the butte (again, in snow) and started hiking north west. On my hike it began to rain, turn to driving rain, and, as I set up my tent, turn to sleet. 

Did I mention I brought a small wood stove to cook on and there was no dry fuel to be found?

It snowed a few inches overnight and I made my way through snow back on Mount Misery Trail to Panjab Trail and then Panjab Trailhead. I cried. I will never trust Gaia GPS again.

I hiked this trail yesterday, following the creeks as far up as I could go. The trail is free of snow until about 5000 feet of elevation, which is about four miles in. It looks like volunteers have recently cleared the trail of logs up to that point.

Panjab Trail climbs through a coniferous forest—mostly ponderosa pines and Douglas firs—and it was recently burned out pretty thoroughly. Still, the trail is well maintained, and it’s nice to see how the forest is recovering, especially now, in the spring, as the wildflowers and other ground plants are starting to come in.

The climb is steady, and while I had sunshine near the bottom and near the top, snow fell on me both on my way up and down—big spherical flakes, almost like hail. The higher you get, the wetter the trail becomes, and near the top it turned into a downright stream. After that, the trail is supposed to jog to the north and follow a fork of the creek, but between the muck, snow, ash, and fallen trees, for the life of me I couldn’t find the trail. I tracked along for a while using my GPS, but eventually I had to give up. If it were summertime and the conditions were drier, I might have kept trying, but yesterday, I had to call it.

Still, it was a nice hike, and I enjoyed being up there. Good adventure.

Great weather, wildflowers for days, unbeatable views. Went up Rattlesnake, spent 2 nights at a well flowing Dunlap springs with a day hike to Oregon Butte (99.9% snow free). 

The Meat, Dirt-Grub and I did a quick overnight up to Indian Corral via Panjab. Trail is in good shape with ~13 blow-down across it, mostly near the meadows. The open areas near Indian Corral and adjacent campsites are pretty much melted out while the trees are still holding onto snow. Dunlap Springs is accessible without walking on too much snow.

There are some nice new trail signs up there finally but the Mt. Misery trail toward Diamond Peak isn't signed at the 4-way junction or at the Junction with Crooked Creek. The sign for Crooked Creek points pretty equally between the Crooked Creek and the Mt. Misery trails which could easily confuse folks unfamiliar with the area.

<3 the Wenaha-Tucannon Wilderness!

It was an unseasonably warm weekend in the tri-cities on 5/14/21 so I thought I'd come up here and try this trail.

it's a great trail and very beautiful. I went clockwise from the trailhead and stayed the night at Indian Corral. The night was quiet and peaceful and there was not another soul to be found.

The next day I set out to try and get to the fire lookout. Where there was no snow it was BEAUTIFUL. Wildflowers were growing and it was a perfect sunny day. The problem was any time I got into the trees there was still quite a bit of snow. It wasn't terrible to walk through but it definitely made it harder. I got about 1 mile from the lookout when the snow finally got the best of me. As far as I could tell it was going to be deep snow the rest of the way to the top. I decided to turn around at that point and head back down the way I came.

Overall I loved the hike. The trail is a little rough and hard to find at points. Had to climb over a lot of fallen trees. It was impossible to follow under all the snow. Fortunately I had the map downloaded to my phone and was able to find my way irregardless of the snow. No mosquitos at all so that was awesome.

Can't wait to come back in a few weeks when the snow is gone.