We headed off in the rain and it continued as we approached the TH. The sign is well hidden and you have to look back and up the hill so I drove right by it as usual. The rain continued as we headed up the mountain but it stopped after 10 minutes and by the time we headed back down we were in the sun.
There were still some good views of Applegate Lake despite the dreary weather. The trail was in good shape with no mud for the most part. The creek you usually have to deal with has disappeared for no apparent reason. It was just gone.
We had to deal with a couple of obstacles and had a minor challenge getting over one large log which lay across the trail at a steep angle.
Fifty yards from the summit we ran into an enormous log across the trail. We would have had to scale a very steep hill to get around it so we didn't bother since there is no view from the summit anyway. We ate our lunch at a spot where Mike Sanson and I were hit by a veritable typhoon a few years ago.
All in all it was a very good hike with 1,500 feet of ascent and nice forest trails.
A few of us stopped at Boomtown on the way home. There seems to be a new owner, a friendly young chap with lots of enthusiasm.