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| Run/Jog | 7.15 Miles |
1,771 AEG |
| | Run/Jog | 7.15 Miles | 2 Hrs 27 Mns | | 2.92 mph |
| 1,771 ft AEG | | 10 LBS Pack | | |
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| no partners | | I felt it was time to hit up a new trail and decided Silver Star Mountain fit the bill. I usually prefer to drive up the Gorge, but this was a nice change. Once I got outside of Vancouver and past the prison, the forest road was relatively scenic.
Mid/Upper 70s out and sunny. Chatted with 2 other guys in the parking lot when I arrived. One guy had attempted what he thought was Silver Star, but he had mistakenly headed southbound towards Larch Mountain. Together he and I hit the Grouse Vista Trail, but I opted for the longer route along the Tarbell Trail while he headed straight up the Grouse Vista Trail.
Tarbell was relatively flat and passed by a fairly scenic waterfall as it worked its way towards Silver Star. At the intersection with the unmarked Sturgeon Trail/FR180C I turned right and the trail immediately began gaining elevation in earnest. Things were going relatively smoothly until I hit my first patch of snow. I was actually excited at first to see snow on such a warm day in June, but what started out as just a patch of snow gradually gave way to a vast snowfield that coated all the south facing slopes. The snow was melting and tricky to navigate- I either had to push my way through the trees and brush on the edges of the 4x4 road, or walk up the middle of the snow field and fall through the occasional melting snow bridge.
As I neared the top I found a junction with 2 signs saying "Indian Pits" and "Water". I mistakenly continued to follow the 4x4 road I was on as it looped to the right and began to slowly drop in elevation. Apparently the turnoff to Silver Star was somewhere buried in the snow, but by the time I realized my mistake I decided to just keep heading downhill. I will likely return to Silver Star in the coming weeks by the northern trailheads, and I wanted to save energy since I still had plans to hike Larch Mtn after finishing Silver Bell.
I hung out in the parking lot and rested for a bit after the hike. The guy I started up with returned about 20 minutes later and we chatted. He successfully made it to the top. |
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