Started out from forest road 22 to go to Sanctuary Arch. There wasn't a lot of information on the internet and I saw that the backcountry horseman had cleared the trail a few years ago. The trail was in good shape to the top of mission mountain. Once I got to the top though I couldn't figure out the trail. I walked along the rock face and down into the woods. I located the trail but not the arch. Finally came to a lake, so I knew I had gone too far. On the way back I climbed to the top of a cliff but couldn't see an arch. Lots of signs of goats but never saw one. Then bees stung me about 10 times. Still no arch. After 2 hours looking for an arch I decided that it was just a rock with a hole in and decided to go back. I was a little worried about accidently walking off a cliff. Then magically it appeared and it was cool. It is not that far from the top of Mission Mountain. Stay high instead of going down to the trail like I did. Came out in the dark but luckily it was a full moon. Also had a nice view across to the goat rocks from the trail.

This trail was in really good condition up to cispus lookout. After the junction the trail was overgrown but it was easy to follow. I had to make two trips as I didn't find Pompey Peak the first time. You must crawl across some pretty large windfalls. Then walk through the forest until the trail again appears. The trail to the top is good. There was one area where you had to walk across a rock face and the trail was a little sketchy. Overall a wonderful trail without too much elevation gain. It appears little used but it offers spectacular views. The only down side is the road to the trailhead is wash boarded and potholed.

This WTA crew hiked in from Jackpot Lake and pitched their basecamp along the trail in the vicinity of Horseshoe Point. From there they spent four days clearing fallen trees and redigging the tread which has not seen maintenance in many years. This is part of a multi-year effort to bring back this "lost" trail.

Klickitat Trail #7 and the side trail to the former fire lookout site at Cispus Point was the perfect hike for solitude and scenery on a holiday weekend. This non-motorized trail does not appear to get a lot of use and we had it's red-white-and-blue patriotic landscape to ourselves for Independence Day. To reach the trailhead, we drove US 12 east 12.7 miles from Randle (3.7 miles west of Packwood) to Forest Road 20. We drove 12.6 miles uphill on the gravel road, passing a signed eastern spur trail to the Klickitat Trail and Jackpot Lake to the unmarked western spur trail at the far side of a large recovering clearcut. There is parking space for 2-3 cars and a boot path leads off into the huckleberries and young trees. In about .2 mile, this path intersects Klickitat Trail #7. Turn right (west) and follow the trail as it ascends under cliffs for about .75 mile. The trail is lined with wildflowers such as Goat's Beard and Sitka Valerian which hang over the path, obscuring the tread. Once past the cliffs, the trail levels out in flower-filled alpine meadows and forest groves. Cispus Point becomes visible through breaks in the trees. At slightly more than one mile, the trail reaches a junction with Cispus Lookout Trail #127. We paused for lunch here in the shade of mountain hemlock trees overlooking a flower-filled subalpine meadow. Cispus Lookout Trail #127 traverses across the east side of Cispus Point before climbing steeply up the south face to the Cispus Point summit at 5,656 feet. Along the way, we saw the collapsed remains of a cabin built in 1915. The fire lookout was built in 1926 and destroyed in the 1960s, according to "Lookouts: Firewatchers of the Cascades and Olympics" by Ira Spring and Byron Fish. Rusting nails, some old anchor cables and phone line, and melted glass are all that remain after the Forest Service burned the structure. The flat top of Cispus Point overlooks the North Fork Cispus River valley and provides terrific views in all directions of Cascades peaks -- Rainier, Goat Rocks, Adams, Hood, St. Helens -- and the high ridges of the Dark Divide Roadless Area. It also overlooks some gigantic recovering clearcuts from the 1980s in the Timonium Creek valley, a reminder of the days when national forests were "tree farms." We hiked 3.2 miles round trip with an elevation gain of about 1,000 feet.

Parking at the Snowgrass trailhead, I did a 30 mile 4-day, 3-night loop. Everything was completely snow-free. Goat Ridge Trail to Goat Lake was strenuous but worth it. Goat Lake was 90% thawed, with just a bit of ice at the north end. Continuing from Goat Lake on Lily Basin Trail 86, I camped the first night just north of Alpine Camp with a beautiful view of Mount Adams. Day 2 I followed Snowgrass trail 96 east to the PCT, and then headed south through Cispus Pass. The wildflowers were amazing. I Camped the second night at Sheep Lake on the small knoll directly east of the lake with another view of Mount Adams. Day 3 I continued south on the PCT to Walupt Lake Trail 101, and then west to Walupt Lake. Spent the night at the Walupt Lake Campground, which in hindsight was a mistake (too many RV's with generators to power their microwaves and TV's, and someone stole my can of Hopworks IPA that I stashed in the creek under the bridge to chill). Day 4 I hiked from Walupt Lake west to Coleman Weedpatch trailhead, and then turned north on the Klickitat Loop 7A trail. The 7A trail required a bit more route finding than I expected. I had to take off my boots and ford the Cispus River (it was about thigh deep and 20 feet wide - which is probably low due to the low snow year). Then the trail was a bit difficult to find when it crossed various old logging roads on the way back towards Snowgrass trailhead. But in hindsight, I probably could have done some better research online to prepare myself for it. In summary, a great backpacking trip with beautiful views. Well worth it.