Klickitat Trail — Thursday, Aug. 21, 2014

South Cascades > White Pass/Cowlitz River Valley

I dropped in on Henry and his BCRT crew as they were headed in to St. Michael's Lake from the St. John Lakes Trailhead. This trail hasn't seen maintenance in years, but WTA is undertaking a multi-year effort in partnership with the Backcountry Horseman to re-open it. I read in the History of the Gifford Pinchot National Forest that the trail was constructed in 1911 by Forest Service Rangers - the ridge route was originally used by the Native Americans living in the Cispus Valley to reach the high country around Goat Rocks. Earlier this year WTA had a weekend crew that brushed out the trail near Jackpot Lake - for a while the route follows an old road and the work that the volunteers did made a huge difference. But then the trail deteriorates to a thin, scrappy line on a steep side slope. It is easy enough to follow, but gets very brushy in places. Here and there through breaks in the trees you get vistas of the valleys and volcanos. I didn't go in far enough to get high on the ridge as I had to get back to Portland. But I spared a little time to bring home some huckleberries that were all around the Jackpot Lake Trailhead.