I was looking for a shorter route to get out and stretch the legs and this one hit all the marks. Close to home, beautiful views, some moderate elevation gain and not too smoky!
The trail was in great shape with the exception of some logs to hop/climb over here and there. The salmon river trail is such a pleasant grade and you get a lot of really good running in. There was no view of Mount Hood today from the fire lookout. It was too smoky and hazy. The hunchback trail portion still gets overgrown and without a track on my watch I would have lost it in a couple spots. The switchbacks and tree cover on the last 3 miles to the car I think threw off my gps a bit but it was steep and fun to run.
There wasn’t any water available once you veered away from the river. I carried a little too much…I wasn’t sure how long it would take so I packed for 4 hours. Even though it was warm for September, 2L of water/electrolytes was more than I needed and a little heavy to start. I don’t like running out of water though, so oh well.
Overall, fantastic day out!