Did this as a looooong day hike Friday 9/23.
Momyer to Falls Creek to Dollar Saddle:
There was one fresh pine snag on a section of the trail near Alger that had a path going down, up and around. There were a few smaller easy tree crossings scattered along the trail.
Falls Creek has two higher-up water crossings plus Alger Creek – all were flowing well.
In the last section, the “upside down U” where you contour across the first scree slope part, the trail was “pinched” in some spots and showed signs of light erosion.
The Plummer section (“top” of the U) had buckthorn and manzanita, easy passage, not impinging on trail.
The Dollar section to the peak nothing to note other than the “Trail does not lead to the Vivian Creek Trailhead” sign was moved a bit further down the Dollar trail from where it branches off. It used to be where Dollar ran parallel to the Viv trail.
Vivian Creek – been a long. long time since I’ve done it. More clear evidence of the monsoonal rains. Lots of hand-sized roly poly rocks all over from coming off the peak until the burn area, when the rock turns to white granite and the view opens up to the east. More scattered rocks throughout and some rock “down climb” sections of larger boulder embedded masses that I did not remember being there. Some “kitty litter” mixed in too in some areas.
A few fallen trees, including two or three on the final, slippery with kitty litter scree mixed with small rocks mixed with small leaves switchbacks that were tedious as we did those in the dark at the end of a high mileage and gain day!
Very happy to see the “road” back to the Viv lot was pretty smooth. I remember it being almost all of those hand-sized rocks and cobblestones before!
Lots of paintbrush, these yellow tipped bushes, some pretty light purple thin-leaved daisy flowers, mostly on the Momyer and Falls Creek sections.
Really nice LONG fall day! Had a light cool breeze and early puffy cloud formations that built up and got gray with a touch of virga – no thunderstorms or even rain that reached the ground!
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