After registering for my backcountry permit, I drove over to the trailhead. I instantly saw signs of damage from all of the flooding -- the bridge over Lee Creek was closed and had debris stuck in it from the current. There was also planks missing from the bridge making it completely impassible. Since I was going to be hiking the trail counter-clockwise (again), I didn't worry too much about it but knew that it would be a problem for my return trip.
I hit the trail about 12:30 PM and had a huge climb ahead of me due to hiking it in the direction that I chose. Once I made it up the large climb, I took a quick break and then continued down the trail. It didn't take long for me to encounter about a mile section of trail that had been deeply damaged by the flood. There was several sections of trail that had slid down from the rest of the trails by up to 3 feet:
Butterfield Falls was flowing at a steady rate making the climb down a slippery one. After getting down the falls, it was a quick hike to the turn off down to Junction Camp. This time, I decided to continue hiking and get all the way to Rock Hole Camp to spend the night which is slightly over 1/2 way around the loop.
Rock Hole Camp was actually pretty crowded on this trip -- there were three other groups that stayed the night. There was evidence of a lot of flooding all around the camping area and especially in the creek bed that was still very full of water.
The next morning, I ate some oatmeal for breakfast, tore down camp, and hit the trail. Being over 1/2 way around the loop, I was feeling pretty good continuing the remainder of the hike. I had packed an extra meal for lunch but never got to use it since I was finished with the hike right at noon.
This ended up being a quick little trip, but was still a lot of fun. It is becoming apparent that my backpacking skills were improving.
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