JUST DON’T DO IT.
NOT SAFE.
NOT WORTH IT.
LOST TRAIL.
And if you are still thinking about doing it, it would be 18.9 miles round trip from the trailhead.
Still here??
Well, Elizabeth and I set out for a few days on the Siouxon Creek Trail in mid-August (2022) as we have been planning for several years (before COVID and wildfire closures). Siouxon Creek itself is a rambling, wide and well-maintained trail with a string of waterfalls despite having been affected by wildfire in recent years. It is so easy, you may find yourself sharing it with mountain bikers.
Horseshoe Ridge is a loop trail off the popular Siouxon Creek Trail south of Mt St Helens in Washington State. Due to repeated fires in the area, it is underutilized and maintained. Also, those same fires have closed the lower trailhead losing easy access to Horseshoe Ridge so you have to add mileage coming from the only trailhead further up the road. You could ride your bike those miles, I suppose. It is also possible to drive nearby Forest Road 5700-320 (that many numbers tells you it is rougher forest road) to intersect the Horseshoe at its midpoint but then you would have to go down and back up the trail which I don’t think anyone really wants to do. Especially after you read my experience….
“Easier”, ha.
Let’s just say that infrequently traveled trails, albeit flat, mean a billion spiderwebs. Thankfully, most did not have spiders. My cursing the constant barrage of silky webs was not all in vain, when I heard gunshots off in the distance I knew no one would mistake me for game. I did observe my hunter orange percentage was under 15% but thankfully not 0%. Anyone might have heard my occasional, “I AM NOT A DEER!”
There was no bootpath to the high point on this side of the ridge and I didn’t feel the need to start one. The best views were probably back at the burn area I had slogged up. There was even a helicopter cruising the valley when I came up through that area and in talking to E later, we both had been hoping it was not for the other.
I reached the road intersection at 3.42 miles around noon and I knew already the trail was not the promised 6.1 miles. Coming this direction, the trail took a little searching as it was up the road to the left (there is signage once you go that way). I had planned to eat lunch about this time but I told myself that it wasn’t far until I would break out on the other ridge and maybe have a nice view so I continued on through the forest, past the other road intersection and through a lovely patch of blueberries I was not motivated enough to stop and enjoy. Maybe it was the 155 trees I had already climbed over and under?
At 4.1 miles and at 3485 feet, I was approaching the ridge. I knew I was in trouble as the trees were all black, the sandy soil was exposed and sections of the trail were simply gone. And the wind was picking up.
Super.
I continued about a tenth of a mile and decided it was lunch time (safer to take shelter for a bit) and tucked myself far enough into a rock outcropping where trees wouldn’t fall on me and hopefully a wildcat would not pounce. While noshing, I could spy through the spiny tree trunks at West Point and Calamity Peak on the other side of the valley.
About 1pm I continued along the ridge, guessing that it was a fairly straightforward “ridgewalk” and I’d be heading down to Siouxon shortly. Mt. St. Helens was barely visible on my right and I took it as a good sign.
Nope.
Aside from well over 100 trees fallen like pick up sticks before the trail left the ridge, there were so many sections where the trail was not distinguishable on the slope.
Up and down, the trail was sloughed off, overgrown or destroyed by debris slides.
Particularly on the slope when you have to go around rock outcroppings, I was using GPS often to know which side was best, as well as veggie belay. Mind you, options were limited since quite a bit of it was charcoal.
Just think, three points of contact for a good portion of it. I was so tired.
Shortly before I had reached the 5 mile mark, there were a few places where the diminished forest opened up to dry, meadowed slopes but there was less than a hint of game trail to follow across them. Elk Mountain, Davis Peak and Bunker Hill were far on the horizon but there was no real place to sit and enjoy them.
It seemed to take forever, I just kept waiting for the trail to drop down off the ridge. I can’t remember the last time I had to check the GPS so many times in hope of finally being able to drop down in elevation.
And I don’t know why I was so excited to get off the ridge because the “best” was yet to come!
At 5.9 miles and 3150 feet, it was clear the ridge was done and it was time to drop. I stopped for a few minutes to take in some more grub and water (thankfully I had brought 3 liters) before heading down. For those of you paying attention, there is only supposed to be .2 miles left in the trail and it ends at 1200 feet in elevation. Turns out I had 1.4 miles to go for that almost 2000 feet descent. And it with it being almost 3pm, I was definitely not going to be “home” in time to avoid worry.
It would be generous here to call this part a climber’s trail or even fisherman’s trail. And when you are not slipping on duff, loose rock and gravel, the trailing blackberry is vying to take you down as well. Luckily, there were not near as many trees across the trail! And as I approached the trail junction it is clear that someone local has been at work on the slope, cutting the trail back into it.
Arriving at the junction with Siouxon at exactly 4:30pm, I had 7.3 miles under my belt. The highway that Siouxon was never felt so good as I continued further to our camp. Elizabeth had begun making contingency plans in the event I didn’t show by dusk but it wasn’t long before I was quietly hanging in my hammock recovering from the adventure.
I don’t say this very often, but I can not recommend this trail at this time. Surprised? For all the the energy expended, the payout was not worth it. If you still feel compelled and want a good workout, climbing the section closest to the Siouxon Creek trailhead just up the 1.4 miles to the viewpoint would be enough as a day hike but your knees won’t thank you. Go hike nearby Tarbell instead.
Since I hiked this in August, the trail was closed yet again due to wildfires and the ridge took another hit. All the more reason to take this one off your to do list until it is restored.
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