I admit that today was one of those days where I didn’t really want to get out of the car. It was pouring rain at the trailhead, there was a winter storm warning in effect for the area, I’d done Deception Creek before and didn’t remember it being that great, and wah wah wah. I got out of the car. I got moving.
It turned out to be a great day on the trail. I had forgotten that the Deception Creek trail is really runnable. The miles clicked by and even though it was in the 30s and snowing, I stayed relatively warm.
That all came to a screeching halt when I hit the blowdowns. The last approx 1/2 mile of the trail before the Tonga Ridge intersection is pretty much covered in downed trees. I was feeling stubborn and plowed through until I reached the signed junction, but honestly, you could turn back at the first BIG blowdown around mile 5 (you’ll know it when you see it) and not miss much.
That said, if you are also stupidly stubborn like me, the trail is passable. I was able to get over/around all of blowdowns, and I had a dog on a waist leash.
The weather was all over the place. Rain at the TH, wintry mix by 2500 ft, dumping snow by 3000 ft, and then sunshine at the turnaround! None of the snow was sticking when I was there, but from what I hear, that will likely change tonight.
Evergreen Endurance Coaching 