Full pictures here if you're interested.
This ended up being just an overnighter, though I was prepared for two nights in case the trails were rougher/slower. Like many of the trails in W-T, Grizzly Bear and Slick Ear are suffering from neglect. Both are annoyingly and occasionally painfully brushy in their lower reaches, especially Slick Ear. But the views from the upper parts of both are quite nice, and the Wenaha River trail is both scenic and in good shape. And besides, they'll make a man out of you, as we used to say back home.
I saw nobody else on this trip, though there was another car at the trailhead when I returned. If you're looking for solitude, wildness, and a bit of both physical and mental challenge, give this part of the Blues a try.
I had hoped to hike down the Grizzly Bear trail and back up an old horse trail on Dexter Ridge. The latter is on the map, but not mentioned at all on the FS webpage. I scouted for the upper end of that trail before going to my starting TH and ran into the owner (lessee) of a private plot/cabin near the Slick Ear TH. He said I might find vestiges of the old trail on top of the ridge but wasn't optimistic that I'd find an easy way at the bottom. He was apparently right; I saw no hint of a path up Dexter at the bottom and came back up the more used Slick Ear trail.
I got to the Twin Buttes trailhead about 9:30am and headed out. The Grizzly Bear trail descends slowly through alternating forest and high meadows.
About 2.5 miles in there is a short steep uphill section, then the trail continues its gradual descent along the edge of Grizzly Bear Ridge, frequently with nice views into the Rock Creek and Wenaha River canyons. At about 3 miles is the notorious border between the states.
I have no idea what it means that the shell casing is on the Washington side. Once into Oregon, the trail almost immediately starts getting faint, and gets hard to see in several long sections. Fortunately, the terrain is such that you'd have a hard time getting lost if you've actually looked at your map.
Views continue to be nice.
I love ponderosa pines, and there are lots of them on this trail.
About 5.5 or 6 miles in, the trail begins its steep, switchbacked drop to Rock Creek. Views are especially nice along this 1.5-mile section. Enjoy 'em, though, 'cause the Rock Creek brush push is coming!
After about 3/4 mile of annoying brush, you hit the Wenaha River trail. I headed west and took in the sights. This segment of the trail is in excellent condition and offers a variety of forest, rock, and river views.
I was fascinated by this big rock wall. It's just a big, flat fin that rises out of nowhere right at the trail's edge.
I set up camp maybe a quarter mile shy of the Slick Ear trail junction. Like every established site I saw, it was right on the river--like no more than 30 ft from the water's edge. As I was setting up and throwing my bear rope I noticed the clouds were beginning to move in, but it didn't look like things would change too fast. I fixed my supper, sat on my log, and after literally one bite, the big raindrops started to fall. I had to hustle to get everything in the tent, then finished eating in there. It rained off and on all night long.
After planning to get up at 6:00, I finally sat up about 6:25. As I was coaxing myself to get dressed, the big 'ol drops started hitting the tent again. I lay back down and slept another hour til the rain stopped. I was sure glad I hadn't got up on time--I'd have been tearing camp down when the rain hit.
Anyway, the woods were drenched as I headed up the Slick Ear trail, a trail BTW, that makes Grizzly Bear's brush seem like a golf course. This was a long, hard push through thick brush on a trail that gets progressively steeper with every step. But there is an occasional segment that's nicer.
At last, after about 2/3 of the mileage, the trail turns steeper and climbs up onto a bare ridge with gorgeous views and NO BRUSH.
After reaching the trailhead, it was a 2-mile road walk back to my starting point. I then made may way back down the forest roads to Dayton and then west toward Waitsburg. I wanted to grab a bacon cheeseburger at a little 1950's themed restaurant I'd noticed a few times. Looking ahead I thought for a second I was in the Independence Day movie. There was an enormous alien mothership storm system hovering over Waitsburg that was so black and multilayered I almost stopped in the middle of the highway to take a picture. I now wish I had. But I let the traffic keep me moving.
I got to Waitsburg just in time for the winds to move in and marble-sized hail to start falling. It was ripping signs and stuff off of buildings, dropping leaves and branches everywhere, and just generally capturing attention for maybe 5 minutes before the hail became rain and things settled down to a more normal storm. After 10 minutes it was all over.
I like this kind of trip now and then. If you like wild, rugged, rough, and lonely, you should give some of these lesser used Blues trails a try.
I'll look forward to your report!