The Bonanza trail is a weird thing in a good way. This trail has been in my to-do list for quite some time and the only reason I had not done it before was because I knew there were some parking issues near the trailhead. According to the information I had, there were very limited spaces you could use near the trailhead as it’s located in a residential area (a very nice area btw). As I drove there, I noticed a couple of places where it seemed I could park but I opted for a safer place to avoid being towed away. From the trailhead, it’s difficult to say how much traffic or maintenance this trail gets. Obviously the locals use it but there are some sketchy spots were it seems like the trail doesn’t get a lot of attention. For starters, the maps show one trailhead but there are actually three places where you can start from. If you start from the one indicated in the maps, as I did, you’ll see all three and notice an absurd loop back. After passing all that and realizing you are actually on the trail you want to be in, you get to a small creek that is absolutely beautiful. The creek doesn’t have a name and there’s no bridge over it which would indicate that it may dry later in the season. I had to walk upstream a bit to cross on a couple of logs I found. From there on, you continue hiking on a gentle slope alongside the Cheeney Creek. There’s a spot along the way were you can see huge boulders on the creek bed surrounded by multiple little branches as the creek goes around them. I was able to climb down there and take a couple of nice pictures as I enjoyed the scenery. Shortly after, I left the creek behind and started the arduous climb. The trail got drier and the scenery around me changed a bit. You could say it was almost arid in places with limited views of the Salmon River canyon. About halfway thru the hike, the trail passes by an abandoned mine on the hill side. I knew about this so I had a couple of light sources I brought with the intention of exploring the shaft. Unluckily I wasn’t able to do so. The mine was completely flooded. After the mine, the trail is not very interesting but it’s certainly a difficult climb as you climb roughly 1700 feet in about 2 miles. Near the top, where the Bonanza trail joins the Huckleberry trail I found a bit of snow but nothing that would have prevented me from navigating thru and reaching the top. Once on the Huckleberry trail, you reach the summit pretty quick but there are no views as it’s covered with trees. To get the big rewards of this hike, you have to continue on the ridge for about half a mile to a saddle where you are welcomed with a spectacular view of Mt Hood. Looking north from that same point, you can see Adams and Rainier while Mt St Helens hides behind the tree line. I had a bit of a déjà vu moment when I got there as this is the same destination you can get to from the trail that starts from the Wildwood Recreation Site and Picnic Area (which obviously has much better parking)
You can check the pictures here
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