I started near Aldrich Butte (usual trailhead for Table Mtn) and took the back trail to Cedar Creek crossing. Skipped the falls thinking I'd visit it on the way back, and headed on Aldrich Falls loop. It's green out there! The trail is small but very easy to follow.
There are some giant firs here and there among smaller stands of alder and maple
Once at the end of Aldrich Falls loop, I saw a small trail continuing along Hamilton Creek, and decided to follow it. Past a couple of small gullies/washouts, where trail seemed ended, it resumed on a wide, well-visible old (rail?)road grade. There were almost no trees on road grade, just grass and ferns, and someone cleared blowdowns on small trail. It went quite a ways along the creek, bisected by gullies every 1/4 to 1/2 mile. Some gullies had ropes that aren't needed there at all.
There was some poison oak, but just a few spots. My main concern was hogweed which is numerous there; I had long pants but no long-sleeved shirt.
Road grade followed Hamilton Creek for a ways, easy to follow but now it was almost 6 pm and I needed to turn around. My GPS showed I was almost below the saddle N of Cedar Mtn, so decided to bushwhack up to a saddle and go back via familiar ridge route over Cedar. About 200' up I noticed a small cave in a dry gully.
The cavern is about 8 yards wide, 5 yd deep, and 7 feet tall. Small, but still a cool find, completely unexpected.
The 'shwack was very steep but it was less than 1/3 of a mile
Before the saddle, where I expected to reconnect with ridge trail, got onto small but well-maintained trail I never knew existed. It runs NW from Cedar saddle. Something to explore next time.
P.H. trail? That's cool mystery
Then it was quick way over Cedar Mtn, to creek crossing, and back to the car
Some good patches of flowers up there
Nice viewpoint of Hamilton Mtn, its namesake creek canyon and a bit of North Bonneville
Somewhere in the last (south) 1/2 mile of Cedar ridge I lost my Nikon lens cap. It probably rolled far off the trail, but if you happen to see it just PM me
