Wenaha Trail Report Request

[Shawn Ryan]

Seeking a trail report from the past 2 years for the Melton, Crooked Creek/Third Creek/Trout Creek trails. Anyone? Bueller?

[Duckslayer89]

Seeking a trail report from the past 2 years for the Melton, Crooked Creek/Third Creek/Trout Creek trails. Anyone? Bueller?

What information would you want from 2 years ago

[Hooked On Chrome Guide Service]

How about you just lace up those boots and get after it. Is some report a guy gives you on here really going to dictate weather you hike in or not. The amount of time your going to waste looking on here to find out what someone says. You could of looked up an accurate and recent trail report. If your that worried about the unit that you need a trail report maybe you shouldn't be wasting time in it. Sack up and get after it

[Magnum_Willys]

WOW ! Tough crowd.   

[skeeter 20i]

WOW ! Tough crowd.   

 

[Timberstalker]

How about you just lace up those boots and get after it. Is some report a guy gives you on here really going to dictate weather you hike in or not. The amount of time your going to waste looking on here to find out what someone says. You could of looked up an accurate and recent trail report. If your that worried about the unit that you need a trail report maybe you shouldn't be wasting time in it. Sack up and get after it

Great attitude from a guide. 

[Badhabit]

Posted at 2:51AM. Must have been up getting the gear in the boat for another glorious day on the river.

[Timberstalker]

Posted at 2:51AM. Must have been up getting the gear in the boat for another glorious day on the river.

Probably Jack talking.

[Pegasus]

Can you imagine being stuck all day in a boat with him? It would take more than Jack to sign up for that abuse.

[Duckslayer89]

Back to my original question. What information from 2 years ago would be useful I don't understand

[Pegasus]

Game sightings, trail conditions for a certain time of year, water availability, trail popularity, bigfoot sightings...

[elkinrutdrivemenuts]

They are still there. 

[Shawn Ryan]

Back to my original question. What information from 2 years ago would be useful I don't understand

I asked for 2 years because those trails don't get a lot of use, so information that is 2 years old may be stale, but might also help me. A trail report could possibly tell me how many trees are on the trail that have not been cut out or tread condition. I'm considering running the trails and the number of trees on the trail can significantly alter the run time.

I didn't realise that asking a simple question could be so offensive. Or that what I want to do or how I do it could get someone else's panties all knotted up.

[Pegasus]

Look on the plus side. We all learned who never to hire as a fishing guide. Thanks.

[BlackRiverTaxidermy]

Shawn Ryan,
While I agree with most that your best bet is putting your boots to the ground for the best information, I did spend some time there several weeks ago. Your asking about quite a huge area if you wanting repots on all those trails tho. I hiked in from Three Forks trailhead to the bottom and cross-country hiked from there. When you get from the bottom you can either cross the creek up and over Packer Creek which is in good shape. Crooked creek bridge/crossing is completely gone not far past the Packer Creek turnoff. The trail in the bottom peters out completely just past the Forest Service cabin at the beginning of First Creek. It appears like you could cross the creek, however Im not sure if there is a trail on the other side.
Best of luck, but again, your best bet is to check them out for yourself and I don't mean that offensively...I mean they change quickly and with the burn spots in A LOT of that area the trees your concerned about "being in the trail" could be a reality at any time. 

[Shawn Ryan]

BlackRiver, I'm absolutely willing to put boots on the ground-or in this case trail running shoes. I'll start at Misery, go down Melton, and then Crooked Creek west and up Third Creek to Indian Corral and back to Misery. I was on the Misery trail a year ago out to Oregon Butte, then south towards Weller (to a ways past McBain).  I checked the top of Melton and the top of Trout Creek then, and the top of Trout had some blow down in it. I've hiked in from Three Forks and then up First, Coyote, and Crooked Creek to Second Creek, but not for years. I can gather my own trail report, but finding out that the Third Creek portion is mostly gone during the run is less than optimal, thus the request for information.

I've never read a report on this site of anyone hunting the bottom of Crooked Creek or up Third. Trail reports in the Wenaha are hard to come by since its one of the least used wildernesses and is very lightly used by non-hunters.

Dave Waldron has given me good trail reports in the past, but part of the route is outside of his area.

[nwhunter]

On foot you can go in at three forks and cross first creek and make it up the trail along crooked creek to where it joins third creek. Follow the trail along third creek and then trout creek all the way to Dunlap. Don't expect any trail at all further up crooked creek when it meets third creek it's not really there anymore..That's what I know from last year.

[Magnum_Willys]

Yea those "trails" aren't what I expected.  You could run to the cabin at first creek after that "what trail"?

[j_h_nimrod]

Trails were great mid May. There had been a trail crew in there cutting blowdown and cleaning up washouts around the first of May. Three Forks to Third Creek and up Melton Creek almost to Chaparral Basin are all in great shape as is Crooked Creek south a few miles. It looks like the trail crew did a pretty good job cleaning up the place. All bridges are gone but there are crossings. First Creek is a little tricky, there is the main crerk crossing which is pretty grown over, but if you walk about a 100 yards past the cabin there is a good log over the creek and a little feeder trail back down the main.

[Shawn Ryan]

Thank you j_h_nimrod and nwhunter. That is exactly what I was looking for.  I don't recall there being any FS trail up Crooked Creek past Third Creek. Maybe just a hunter and game created trail.  Bridges aren't important; I can find logs or wade.

[SilkOnTheDrySide]

Guys on here telling Shawn to put more boots on the ground...

Guy has probably seen more of the unit then many of you resident "experts."

But instead of maybe helping him avoid a 7 hour wasted drive around through Oregon or just keeping your thoughts to yourself, you need to high and mighty it.

I'm not immune to being an a$$ at times myself, but this isn't a 1st time poster asking for spots, he asked for trail conditions for potentially a 20+ mile loop...



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[Timberstalker]

Guys on here telling Shawn to put more boots on the ground...

Guy has probably seen more of the unit then many of you resident "experts."

But instead of maybe helping him avoid a 7 hour wasted drive around through Oregon or just keeping your thoughts to yourself, you need to high and mighty it.

I'm not immune to being an a$$ at times myself, but this isn't a 1st time poster asking for spots, he asked for trail conditions for potentially a 20+ mile loop...



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Exactly!  He's posted plenty of times, documenting his times over in the areas.

[jackelope]

How about you just lace up those boots and get after it. Is some report a guy gives you on here really going to dictate weather you hike in or not. The amount of time your going to waste looking on here to find out what someone says. You could of looked up an accurate and recent trail report. If your that worried about the unit that you need a trail report maybe you shouldn't be wasting time in it. Sack up and get after it

Well now I know who I'm not going fishing with.
And I'lll just add to this by saying that based on his posts, I don't think Shawn Ryan needs any advice on sacking up and getting after it.

[theleo]

My best advice is to get ahold of the local Back Country Horseman group and see if any of their members have been on the trails or if/when they have any work projects on them. The only useful information from last year would be if there were any washouts or damaged bridges that went unrepaired. With this past winter there's lots of downed trees on pretty much every trail system there is.

[jackelope]

You might try @mtncook 
Not too many people on here spend as much time as he does in the Wenaha. And they do their share of trail work in there as well.


 

[mtncook]

Expect trout creek to be tough on foot.  From 3rd creek to Dunlap the brush and big rocks will slow you to a snail walk.  It's about a 3hr horseback ride from 3rd creek to Dunlap.
Trail crew has been in the lower reaches this spring.  Making the trail "Safe to Travel" but not to "Standards".
mtncook

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[mtncook]

Actually the worst brush is the 2 hours of lower Trout creek

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[Shawn Ryan]

Jackelope, Silk, Timberstalker, and mtncook:  Thanks for the input, advice, and "defense."  Based on what I've learned here, I'm confident that the trail is open enough to run.  Now I just need to find the time to get there and I really do need to "sack it up" to do that run in a descent time.  But as Cam says "Nobody cares, Work harder."

[Timberstalker]

Good luck Shawn.  I hope you post a report for us to enjoy. 

[fillthefreezer]

sounds like a "fun" run.

[Shawn Ryan]

Used the Hillmap measuring tool to calculate the route at 29.05 miles and 7,047' of elevation change. Ran 12.7 trail miles with 1,860' of gain in 2:40 this weekend. I'll need to "sack up" given the 6,200' starting elevation of Diamond Peak and for running in the heat of the day. Finishing in 7 hours would be great for my old body. If I make it in 9, I'll be happy. Heck, if I get to try, I'll be happy.

[Shawn Ryan]

Sacked up and did the trails on Saturday. Melton trail from Diamond Peak to Crooked Creek was all good. Only a few places where I could not run because of brush or just too precarious to run.

Crooked Creek to Third Creek was mostly knee-high brush covering the trail. Difficult or impossible to see the trail tread so running was very sporadic and minimal. All the blow-down was cut out, but the trail crews apparently didn't do any brush work. 

Third Creek/Trout Creek had 7+ miles of heavy brush: thigh to head high. Almost no running. Just busting brush. Dave may be the only guy on that trail all year! The last few miles to Dunlop was good and open.

Misery trail back to Diamond Peak was its usual: completely open and hot! 

50k total. 12 hours. Real slow for running.  But given about 10 miles of significant brush on the trail, 5,000' of elevation gain, and the last 7 miles or so at 6,000' and 80 degrees, an old man like me can be satisfied.

[Timberstalker]

That's an incredible journey, in 12 hours.  Wow.
I was in the blues Sunday, and it was hot!  I didn't run 32~ miles though.

[Pegasus]

Nice run. I am curious how you reached max speed of 25.8 MPH? Trained with Usain Bolt?

[nwhunter]

You are nuts... one way to see a lot of country in a day...

[Shawn Ryan]

Nice run. I am curious how you reached max speed of 25.8 MPH? Trained with Usain Bolt?

Headed for Olympic gold, right!  I think of all the GPS functions, that parameter can most easily be off. (Though the Maximum Altitude is lower than the Current Altitude, which makes no sense, either.)  It's a measurement taken over a very short time frame, as opposed to most of the other measurements. Though, maybe it captured those moments when I was free-falling down the cliffside...

[SemperFidelis97]

Now that's a run no matter what your age is, and in some very tough country to boot.  I always wonder how some of these keyboard Cam Haines would fair in real mountain conditions. 

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[SilkOnTheDrySide]

Now that's a run no matter what your age is, and in some very tough country to boot.  I always wonder how some of these keyboard Cam Haines would fair in real mountain conditions. 

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Don't let those numbers fool you! It's all downhill!


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[Shawn Ryan]

Now that's a run no matter what your age is, and in some very tough country to boot.  I always wonder how some of these keyboard Cam Haines would fair in real mountain conditions. 

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Don't let those numbers fool you! It's all downhill!


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That entire unit is all downhill!