Hiking: Tarbell Trail III

Today, I went up to Tarbell Trail again, at Tarbell Trail Head. It was quite snowy as you'll see from the pictures, and there was absolutely no way I'd make it any closer to Silverstar in my little Civic. Even getting to this trail head was kind of pushing it. Once again, I got a late start and ended up only making it to Kloochman Butte, after 2 hours. The snow was really deep (6" to 18" of fresh powder), and without snowshoes, it was slow going. It was kind of crappy conditions at first for picture-taking because it was so snowy and the clouds were right on me. It cleared up a for a short while on my way back, and I got a couple of good shots.

More pictures and information on the next page!

Hiking: Tarbell Trail II

I got a chance to revisit Tarbell Trail again today. This time I decided to go to the official Tarbell Trail Head, where I would likely start to go up to Silver Star Mountain eventually, since I don't know if my car can make it to Grouse Vista Trail Head with the low snow, and I have tried unsuccessfully twice already.

More information and more pictures below!

Hiking: Tarbell Trail I

Today, I got a chance to start off the new year around Bells Mountain, on Tarbell Trail. It was such a hassle to get to, though! Road closures and snow made my one hour drive closer to three hours. Eventually I made it to Rock Creek Campground and got a chance to hike for a couple hours on the Tarbell Trail.

There was a lot of hunting going around in the area. It might be because today was a holiday or maybe there was a special event going on, but it was kind of obnoxious, not to mention a little startling, hearing gun shots going off every few minutes. It was a short excursion anyway... but at least I know a lot more about the topography and alternative routes to get to the trails around Silver Star Mountain (4390'). Learning experience!

Here's a map of the area, if you're looking to visit or trying to get a bearing of the area:

...and a trail map for Bells Mountain Trail and Tarbell Trail, if you want to be even more informed:
http://www.cityofvancouver.us/parks-recreation/parks_trails/trails/bellsmountain_trail.asp

 Anyway, got a few good pictures out of it... and here they are: