[kite]

Long time ago I came over the Tieton Pass and looked down into the Tieton Meadows and thought it would be a cool place to check out someday.... fast forward a few years and I thought it might be a good day to go check out the meadows. After checking out the topo maps online I could see that there must have been a trail there at some time as the map shows part of trial line on the north side of the upper meadow, but it was not continuous? The Garmin GPS map does show the trial and so does the forest service web site along with a several reports on WTA advising against this hike. Road 1207 has been closed for some time now due to a damaged bridge, so it’s a 5 mile walk from the closure to the old tail head adding a bit of distance to the hike. Stashing the bike at the real trail I started off on the trail, quickly coming to the junction 1118 that heads up to Tieton Pass and or Hidden Springs and the PCT, I took the left hand trail 1128. Within few hundred feet you come to the Tieton River. After finding a decent fording spot a bit up river I started to look for the trail up to Bear Creek, after about 1/2 hour searching for the trail and I gave up and had lunch, Oh Well maybe next time for the Bear Creek Mountain trail. Paying more attention to the trial on the way back to the junction, I did find an overgrown left hand turn that might be what I was looking for. So for the next 4 or 5 miles I followed a sometimes nice trail but mostly and overgrown, blow-down infested bit of forest floor with a steep hill on one site and a swamp or bog on the other, a few hours of this I started to see some open meadows but no views of Tieton Peak or the Devils Horn due low hanging clouds. I finally lost the trail in a stinky bog, so decided it was time to head back. About half way back I noticed some old flagging and some cut off logs that looked like an old trial heading up the side of the hill, thinking this might be easier that the climbing over or crawling under I have been doing I went up, it was a bit of a scramble but it connected with the 1118 trail just after the junction to Hidden Springs. From there it was an easy walk down to the bike.

Old trail head

Goat Rocks Wilderness sign

Trail Jucntion

Scatter Creek

North Fork Tieton River in the rain

Trail in there some place

Another deadend

Countless blowdowns

more swamp

View larger size in new window

[HumpnoocheeGirl]

Cool looking countryside. It's still pretty in the rain I've not been this area yet. Of course, now that Conrad Meadows is on fire I want to go there. We are leaving for vacation tomorrow. Gonna hang out around the N/NW side of Mt Adams for a couple of days. I know it's weird, but I have an obsession to go experience Potato Hill Thanks for the info and pics

[kite]

View of Adams from Potato Hill area of the PCT

Mount Adams

[graffiti]

So THAT'S what it looks like without snow.

[HitTheTrail]

I love exploring abandoned trails. Sadly there is a lot more opportunity to do that now. Nice pics.

[kite]

[graffiti]

I may try and get up there this week.

[HumpnoocheeGirl]

[Trailhead]

[HumpnoocheeGirl]

Trailhead: thanks for the Midway Creek camping tip

[HumpnoocheeGirl]

[Ski]

HumpnoocheeGirl: At Randle, turn RIGHT (south) onto the #25 road. Drive over the bridge that spans the Cowlitz. In less than a mile, the road forks. Veer LEFT onto the #23 road. Turn LEFT onto the #55 road. At some point the #55 road becomes the #5508 road. Turn LEFT onto the #5508-023 road. Make an IMMEDIATE RIGHT onto the #5508-024 road. (easily missed!) Follow the #5508-024 road to its end. This is the west end of the #7 Klickitat Trail. Follow the #7 Klickitat Trail to its junction with the #127 Cispus Peak Trail, a short spur trail of less than a mile that ascends into the basin below Cispus Peak, skirts around the south flank of Cispus and takes you to the summit at 5656 ft. Buggy route: From US Hwy 12, turn RIGHT (south) onto the #20 road. Follow the #20 road just past Jackpot Lake (you can't see the lake from the road). Just before the road turns to the right (north), there's an old landing where you can park and find the trailhead to the #7 Klickitat Trail. Again, this is the buggy way, and I wouldn't advise it. Jackpot Lake was a mosquito-infested trashed-out elk hunting camp the last time I was up there. If you want a little more adventure, once you're up there you can connect to the #128 Pompey Peak Trail, which skirts around Castle Butte and Twin Sisters. A spectacular area when the lupine is in bloom. The trail up to the summit of Pompey is easily confused with game traces- I followed one all the way to the top of another peak before I realized I was on the wrong hill. The view of Rainier and the Cowlitz Valley from Pompey is pretty spectacular, but camping opportunities are slim to none. Be careful if you go up Pompey- the peak was named for a mule that fell off the trail to its death. Steep is kind of an understatement. Again, there's a basin below the east face of Cispus where there's a small tarn. Spectacular sunrise views of Adams and Rainier while you make morning tea. There are two smaller tarns immediately north, and all three are populated by frogs. If you're timing is right (or wrong, depending on your viewpoint) you will be serenaded all night long by frogs in stereo, just in case the mosquitoes aren't enough to provide for a sleepless night. Did I mention bugs?

cispus-point-071196

Cispus Peak from the largest of the three tarns in the basin. <edit 15:26 PDT - put a call in to Cowlitz Valley Ranger Station (360) 497 1100 to check road conditions. awaiting reply. >

[Ski]

btw: sorry about the thread drift there. love the report. always wondered if maybe there was a trail over there that wasn't straight up and down. sounds interesting. can't hike hard gravel road anymore though. any idea if they have plans to repair the bridge?

[kbatku]

That's the Old Army Trail. It eventually winds up at McCall Basin - at least that's what the people I saw gurgle up out of the brush 35 years ago told me. They were pretty beat, and the trail was virtually non-existent by that point (nearing McCall Basin) 35 years ago, so I can imagine it's pretty much gone now. It's a really old trail, dating back to the Indian Wars (supposedly) and was used extensively in training troops in WWII (allegedly) but the last time I tried to follow it, I almost got lost on the way out. I thought about just heading up hill like you did, and if I'd have got any loster, I would have. The bridge repair/replacement isn't making much headway, and if it happens at all it won't be for a long time.

[Pyrites]

The trail called on this thread Old Army Trail is shown on the 1971 Pacific Crest National Scenic Trail, Washington, map. Non-topo, about 1/4" to the mile. This map highlighted in bold and numbered some side trails and not others. #1118 is one of the highlighted. The Old Army is not.