This is one of those hikes that can be done almost any time of year. Even though it has considerable elevation, it’s rare that it would be covered in snow. What was a bit unexpected though was to have a nice fall weather day with plenty of sun. We started from the King’s Mountain trailhead and headed straight up on a very easy to follow trail. On the lower sections, we were welcomed with rays of sun filtering thru the forest illuminating details here and there. It made the forest look like very well arranged showpiece in a museum. As we gained elevation, views to the valley of the Wilson River and Lester Creek opened up on both sides of the ridge. Soon we reached the summit and spent some time signing the book and leaving our mark. We got pretty good views from a small open field just below the summit where we stopped for lunch. Unfortunately, the low lying clouds were obscuring a rare occurring view of Mt Hood from this point. On the way down, and to spice the hike a bit, I opted for taking the group back on an alternate route. Instead of following the same trail all the way to the parking lot, we veered off on the Coronary Ridge trail. This is not an official trail and the only sign is at one of the view points. It certainly requires a bit of route finding skills and a lot of bushwhacking, but after some ups and downs and minor scratches, we reached the actual ridge and followed the contouring trail enjoying the vies and keeping away from the steep drop off. Then, it was all downhill on a steep slope back to the Wilson River trail. Once there, it was all an easy walk back to the parking lot meandering thru a fern covered forest. It was kind of a shorter hike, but with all the variety we got out of it, it certainly felt like a much longer adventure.
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