Herman Creek to Red Rock Point-PCT

[turtle]

Due to a lack of motivation I re-scheduled my snow camp on Benson Plateau to next week-end. I decided to day-hike-snowshoe in that direction to scout the conditions. I also have a new pair of NEOS Trekker overshoes, thank you Santa, that really needed to get some snow on them. I saw one person at the TH on arrival and one more on departure; otherwise my own private trail all day. There are a couple of blow-downs that I mention in a post in the Trail RX forum; other than those the trail is in good shape and easy to follow. I put on snow-shoes at about 2500 ft. I made it as far as the first overlook, what I call Red Rock Point. I'm guessing that is about 4 1/2 miles from the TH for a total of 9-ish miles today. Good pace for a trail breaking snow turtle assuming he can get his lazy butt off the couch and on the trail.

About 500 ft in elevation later I was in the snow shoes.

Deeeeeep. Actually there were a couple of spot that I still went knee-deep with the shoes.

Good pictures tell stories. This story ends with me going back down the hill.

Hey, it snowed over there too.

Merry Christmas and happy New Year everyone!!

[zee]

Looks beautiful out there. I was thinking of that route for sometime this week, so thanks for the beta. What elevation did you turn around at?

M Xmas and HNY 2 All !

[turtle]

zee,
I would guess no more than 3000 ft. I was about 1/2 a mile short of Teakettle Springs.

[Eric Peterson]

Turtle, I see you mentioning the NEOS over shoes.

Did you pack those and use them over your shoes for snow shoeing only or did
you use those the whole time? Wondering about durability...

[turtle]

Eric,
I used them when there was mostly snow-maybe 2300 ft?-then used them for the snowshoes. My boots were damp and my feet were a little cold when I put them on. My feet warmed up within a few minutes. They don't breathe but they seem to be waterproof. Campmor has a bunch of reviews. For primarily snow use I think they will hold up well. If you plan on doing a lot of off trail I don't know. I'll give them a better test this weekend.

[drm]

I call it Red Shale Viewpoint. I've measured it a couple of times and came up with 5 miles one way and an altitude of 3100 feet. There is a small clearing in the forest just beyond and I like to camp there in the early spring as the trails start to melt out (nearest water is Teakettle).

[awildman]

Looks good! Nice shot of the north side of the Gorge!

[turtle]

Dean,
Thanks for the accurate information. I didn't take the GPS since I've been on the trail so often. My estimating skills vary according to how gassed I am from hiking.

Awildman,
Thanks for the comment on the photo. I think there should be at least a couple of feet of snow on the plateau itself with more on the way this week.