Arrived at the Jim Whittacker Wilderness Creek trailhead around 8:45am on Saturday. The parking lot was full, and I was the first vehicle to park along 900. I took the loop counterclockwise up to Wilderness Peak. Saw a handful of hikers and trail runners, mostly on my way back down, but it didn’t feel crowded. Was back to the trailhead before 10:30am. By that time, about a dozen other vehicles lined the road. 

Quick post here. Never got around to writing this report but want to post it for my own hike-logging sake.

Had to take a long hiatus from hiking. I injured my hamstring 5 miles into the Loowit Trail in August, then proceeded to hike through it for 85 more miles over the next two months before shutting it down after Maple Pass in October. I figured I'd let it heal over the fall/winter, but I didn't think it would take this long. It has been slowly on the mend and I was finally able to get back out there. Feels good to be back in nature after a long dark winter so far.

Hiked in the above order of trails. I parked at Red Town Trailhead and hiked up Military Road before turning South on Fred's RR trail. On that very brielfy before a brief stint on Shy Bear going over the pass and then climbing up to Wilderness Peak. Peak is forested and not too noteworthy besides a nice bench. I then returned to the car via Quarry Trail and Coal Creek Falls Trail. The falls were very nice but crowded. Running pretty steadily.

Nice first hike back in months. Hamstring and calf were tight, had to stop to stretch them out every mile or so.

5.85 miles

1000' ascent

GPS attached below

Excellent choice for a foggy, drizzly day. Having visited several times within the past year, I decided to check out the new trail I've seen under construction on my way up. It's mostly in excellent shape, except for two big blowdowns - one near the beginning and one near the end. Both are impenetrable without venturing off-(what is already off-)trail, so I suppose my recommendation would be to wait until the new trail is officially open and maintained and stick to the original for now. Happy hiking!

Trail is mostly well maintained, and a decent loop. We did the loop clockwise, going down Gombu trail last to link back to the TH. Keep.in mind, you're hitting an incline right from the start. there is a downed tree closed to the peak, and you need to just go around it for now. When reaching the peak, theres not really a view, but there is a nice bench to rest on. On the way back, we took the Gombu trail and all its switchbacks. Other hikers out, plenty of doggies on leash, including ours.

Lots of water running everywhere. Not too much on trail except on a few locations near the top where it runs down the trail.

Downed trees and bushes in a few areas but they are passable. No snow today. 
Only saw 5 hikers on the trail. One loose dog, the others were on leashes.