Passing the Tanner Butte Trailhead, I could not believe how thick the foliage was.  I could not even see out the water falls that were just behind the trailhead.  I have seen them every other time I have come up this way.

I continued up 777 and notices copious amounts of scat made by a large cat.  It seemed to be every 10 feet.  It was obvious not many people have come this way in prior years.  The trail was easy to follow as it seemed more vehicles have come up here rather than hikers.

With no one around, I could stop and gawk as I pleased.  I noticed a caterpillar and took a pick of it, mostly for convincing my daughter that they were indeed abundant here.

I soon was walking under power lines and new the trailhead was not far.  The views started to open up as I sat and gazed for a while.  I knew I would be in the woods for the rest of the day, so I took my time.

After a 30 minute lazy break, I shouldered my pack and made my way to the trailhead.  I almost passed it since the sign was no longer where it used to be. In it's place, a large knot on the tree was all that remained.  I did notice that someone had stuck a small ribbon on a stick and concluded that this was the trailhead I was after. 

About a quarter mile in, I stumbled across an old run down sign giving my vague directions.  Since the trail here was overgrown to near non-existence, I chose what I thought to be the right route, crossing streams and sometimes following them.  The trial was in complete disarray as I trudged on, trying to navigate through the thick brush.  The trail, or what I thought was a trail, started to gain elevation quickly as I worked my under and over blow down, eventually making it over the crest of the ridge.

The trail leveled out quickly and became easier to navigate. Although there was still an excessive amount of blow down, the brush was kept to a minimum due to a large canopy overhead.  I followed what appeared to be a trail to a four way junction with Tanner Butte and Dublin Lake.  I took the long, knee jarring descent to Dublin for lunch.

I hiked around, spotting the site I chose in March and also finding a beautiful campsite that was buried under 5 feet of snow.  I sat down and had lunch while listening to the ambient sounds of the forest's buzzing occupants.

The solitude here was just what I needed.  Mentally refueled, I grabbed my pack and plodded my way back up to the Tanner Butte Trail, and eventually, my car for the boring ride home.

Home