2013 Edition
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Did this hike in 2012. Here's the
Elk-Kings Mountain Traverse trail report.
Trip reports for this hike in 2013 are
HERE,
HERE,
HERE and
HERE.
Also, information on Elk Mountain and
Kings Mountain.
GETTING THERE: The Kings Mountain trailhead parking is at about MP 25 on the
Wilson River Highway (Oregon Route 6). There's enough room for a dozen or so cars
and there is a permanent privy on site. No pass is required at this time.
Travel up (north) for 0.1 mile until you come to a well marked 4-way fork. Turn
right (east) and travel parallel to highway 6 for about 3 1/2 miles. This is a
fairly level, easy to follow trail. Go left when you come to a well marked fork that
goes north and up, up, up to Elk Mountain. This is not a "difficult" climb although
there is some bouldering and exposure. I've seen dogs on this segment but I'll bet
they don't like it much. It takes about 4 hours to go from the Kings trailhead to
the Elk Mountain summit.
The hike from Elk to Kings is not hugely difficult but can be confusing to navigate
when there is snow up there. A well waypointed GPS can be very helpful here. Once
the snow melts, the traverse is not particularly difficult at all. It takes about two
hours to travel the traverse as far as the crossroads sign. It takes close to two
hours to get to the Kings Mountain summit from there (mostly because you'll be tired
by this point).
The last 2 1/2 miles from the Kings Mountain summit to the trailhead is all downhill
on a very easy to follow trail. So long as you have a good headlamp, this is an easy
segment even in total darkness. It takes an hour or so to come down from the Kings
Mountain summit. It's steep and there is a lot of loose gravel on that section
of trail so IMHO safety trumps speed.
For a slow hiker such as myself, 8-9 hours (plus time to eat, take pictures, etc.)
would be about normal to complete this hike. You can easily hike from the Kings TH
to the Kings Mountain summit, via Elk Mountain and the traverse, in a little over
7 hours, taking a few (very) brief stops.
So I'm back again.......
Left the trailhead early (05:00) so I could get up and back before the traffic
started to get bad. It was a warm (80's) day but there was a nice cool breeze
along the ridge which made for a very pleasant hike.
About 0.1 mile from the trailhead, turn right (East) at the 4-way trail intersection.
This is a very easy trail to follow.
It takes about 1 3/4 hours to get to the sign indicating the beginning of the trail
to the Elk Mountain summit.
The view of Elk Mountain from the last viewpoint on the ascent. Got to the summit
08:45... Took 3 3/4 hours from the parking lot/trailhead.
The view of Kings Mountain from the Elk Mountain summit.
There's still a few colorful weeds up here.
Got to the crossroads at 10:30. 1 3/4 hours from the Elk Mountain summit and
5 1/2 hours from the trailhead.
Arrived at the Kings Mountain summit at Noon. 7 hours from the trailhead. It's
another hour and a half down the steep and loose gravel trail back to the trailhead.
I've been doing this hike pretty consistently in ~ 8 1/2 hours.
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