Ptarmigan traverse 2021 trailhead issues

[nstegenga]

Forum has been pretty quiet since last season and I'm curious if anyone has attempted or is planning to attempt the Ptarmigan this year? Any updates on conditions? Curious if it would be doable this year with the trailhead issues.

Main question - anybody been up to Downey Creek? According to USFS the road is closed at the trailhead and the trail is closed as well due to the fire last year. Been looking for any updates or reports but haven't seen anything new. Looking at the fire history and weekly satellite layer on Caltopo and it looks like the fire did not burn too extensively over the trail, maybe only the first 1/4 or 1/2 mile, but hard to tell. Also if it's still a hard closure I'd want to follow the rules. Just haven't heard any updates yet.

Also, per NPS, Cascade River Rd is closed at the Eldorado trailhead. Anyone been up there recently who can confirm this?

Thanks!

Nathan

 

Edited July 20, 2021 by nstegenga

[tanstaafl]

I was up at Cascade Pass last weekend to do Buckner and Sahale; the road was closed at MP 18 when we came in on Wed night but open to MP 21 when we left on Sunday.  Fortunately one of our party was an attractive young woman who had no problem getting a ride down to MP 18 to fetch the car.  Seems likely it will be open to the end very soon.  The ranger we saw refused to commit but just said repeatedly, "We're very close."

Planning on the PT in a few weeks but we're doing an extendo version and going out via Spider Meadows because we are such rule-abiding folk, plus it gives us the chance to tag Bannock Mtn on the way out.

[OwenT]

What I would like to do is go in to Dome and the out South Fk Cascade River. I assume the trail is nearly nonexistent at this point but 4 miles of it starting from the Cascade River Road have recently been maintained. I read that someone met a party exiting that way and I'd love to hear the report.

[seano-]

Interesting to hear that the South Fork trail has seen a bit of maintenance -- I saw a car parked at the gate last month, and assumed someone was a glutton for punishment.  This Summitpost page, last updated in 2016, suggests that the whole trail is a suffer-fest: https://www.summitpost.org/sentinel-peak/840713 .  I was thinking of getting in to Sentinel that way, but did not feel up for so many miles of low-elevation vegetable combat.