We met in the parking lot of Rite Aid and decided that the forecast for high winds would not make snowshoeing a safe thing to do. Seven hikers carpooled up Toleman Creek Road to start our hike at the upper Toothpick Trailhead.

We could see where there has been a lot of debris clean up. There were many piles with some blue tarp covering part of the piles.

The trail starts uphill and keeps going. We had to stop for a wardrobe adjustment early on. We came across some very large tree branches that had recently broken off and landed upright on the trail. We were careful as we passed underneath them.

From Toothpick, we then headed up the Catwalk trail. We were protected from the wind, but it started to rain so we stopped for another wardrobe adjustment and put on raincoats. This almost guarantees for the rain to only last a short time.

After climbing up near the Coggins Saddle, we headed down the Ashland Loop Road. Along the way, we could see a vivid rainbow. It was the 2nd one of the day so many stopped to take pictures. We continued down the road until we got to Lamb Saddle and headed up Lewis Loops Gyre and Gimble. When we reached the top, Bob found a nice log for us to sit on for lunch. I passed out Ghirardelli chocolate that was provided by Michael even though he was not on the hike.

We headed back down the Lewis Loops and connected to the Toothpick Trail and back to our cars. 

Francie  

Hike Date: 2024-01-24