Wenaha River Trail

A few friends and I stumbled on this trail last year and I have been itching to get back to it. I decided to backpack in over night to avoid midday hiking and did 4 miles in and 4 miles out. Entered at Timothy Springs and slept at Trapper's Ridge.

This trail goes all the way to Troy (31 miles) but the reviews are sketchy at best... I think I'm going to get proficient at each of the ends of the trail and then maybe get the courage up to bushwhack my way through. 

The trail is GORGEOUS: wooded and green for most of it. It follows the river all the way... sometimes over it on the cliff and sometimes along it in the flood zone. I don't think it's used very much: I was there Monday-Tuesday and was the only car and only human present. There were about 7 river crossings (I didn't actually count...) - 2 of which I swapped shoes from hiking shoes to chacos because it was fast and deep. There were countless downed trees along the trail... sometimes I went around them, sometimes over them, a few I crawled under (with my pack... it was classy). They kept me on my toes for sure. There are lots of parts of the trail that are padded down but have a great deal of overgrowth. Those areas are where I found tying survey tape to be very beneficial for my assurance that I could leave.

I definitely want to go back for more days/times... potentially with a handsaw or machete just to help the trail remain. If you're game for a sporty adventure, about 2 hours from home, this is definitely a hike for you - and let me know how it goes!

Necessary gear: 
Survey tape (to find my way out)
Maps: USGS Jubilee, Bone Springs, and Wenaha Forks
Bear Bell (didn't see any but there was a significant amount of poo on the trail)
Gaiters
Water filter (because why carry a ton of water when you can filter it?)

Directions: 
Drive to Tollgate... Left on Skyline (follow signs to Jubilee Lake).
At Jubilee, continue left (not FS-250 that takes you to the campground) to circumnavigate the lake.
Continue on NF-64 until the left turn to NF-019
After 2.1 miles on NF-019, take the right hand turn to NF-6415/Timothy Springs Road.
Continue on NF-6415 for about 3 miles until you see signs for Timothy Springs Campground (veryyyyy small). Turn left into the "campground", past the potty, and the trailhead is at the end of the road.