Sunday and Monday turned out to be absolutely incredible days in the Gorge!  Blue skies, warm temps, and a slight breeze. Absolutely Great!  While I decided I was not in condition enough for my plan to climb Ruckel Ridge with a 50 lb pack and descend to Big Black Bear falls and the Eagle Creek trail, I set out instead for two training sortees.  On Sunday I hiked up and down the Eagle Creek trail with a 50 lb pack, and on Monday I did Ruckel Ridge with a 30 lb pack.  Both trips were great.

   On Sunday, I got to enjoy Eagle Creek with the other five million people on the trail!  There were serious numbers of people up there.  The trail was a bit muddy, with some snow - but overall, in great condition.  I especially love the huge log that some thoughtful trail worker carved a step into to help you over it, rather than remove the log from the trail.  The sun felt fantastic on Sunday.  The side waterfalls had diminished and the creek was about average in it's flow. 

   On Monday, I began early on Ruckel Ridge.  There was a heavy icy/frost on the ridge, making some early sections treacherous, but I was reminded about what a great training hike this is, both mentally and physically.  It is a challenging hike, and when all the leaves are missing from the trees you really see how steep the slopes are below you.  It was a beautiful hike, though there was a fair amount of snow beginning around 3000 feet. 

   On this trip, I saw some great animal signs.  I saw a peregrin falcon (sp?), a female wood-pecker, a red-headed male finch of some sort, and a cat of some sort - briefly about 300 feet down the shady side of the ridge, walking across snow.  I also came across serious cougar scat in 3 places!  One was incredible, with bones over an inch long and a half inch wide mixed in with the hair and what not.  Some cat has obviously made Ruckel Ridge it's territory this winter, and will give me serious pause about hiking Ruckel alone at night again - like I did last year.  I was astounded by the scat with the bones.  Imagine how powerful and hungry the cat must have been to eat like that! 

   There was only a slight breeze on the ridge, and overall it was a warm day.  Afterward, I drove across the bridge of the gods and got a photo of the entirity of Ruckel Ridge.  I'll post several photos later today.

    Awesome man, I figured that even if you were in condition that the snow and ice up on ruckel ridge would make the black bear route idea almost impossible.  Man that would have been quite the feat.  I can't believe you did ruckel anyway with all the slipperyness.  The vast majority of trail descriptions say to not even think about it if it is even damp!   I think my next gym membership is going to have to be at Portland Rock Gym!

---

Andy

Andy,

   Believe it or not - I was not the only one on Ruckel this past week!  There was at least one set of boot tracks up the ridge, and one set going down.  (easy to tell in the snow)  So there was a serious hiker on that trail - probably on Saturday - the tracks were very fresh in the snow.  Believe me, breaking trail up Ruckel in the snow can be daunting, and judging by where the tracks went, they knew their route very well. (there are several spots on Ruckel when you wonder which way is better - right of the ridge, left, or straight up!) 

-Zach

Here is a photo of Eagle Creek - the section with the cliffs dripping from above.

Bonneville Dam from Ruckel Ridge on Moday.

Here is a photo of Basalt pillars that create the spine of Ruckel Ridge.

Check out that cougar scat!  Look at the bones over an inch long mixed in with all the hair!

Table Mountain and Greenleaf Peak from Ruckel Ridge.

The Eagle Creek Drainage from Ruckel Ridge.

Most of Ruckel Ridge is just a pleasant trail such as this, but the 'airy' sections are pretty amazing, and there certainly is some 3rd class scrambling involved in the ascent.

Table Mountain from Ruckel Ridge.

Ruckel Ridge rising above Bonneville Dam.  It is the prominent ridge on the right winding right on up to Benson Plateau.

Here's a photo of Bonneville Dam I took last year on one of my night trips up Ruckel.  I only completed it at night on my first trip up Ruckel.  It was in snow, and no one had been up it, and I grossly under-estimated the hike.  But because of that trip, I discovered that Ruckel Ridge offers some incredible views at night.  I eventually would like to get a photo of Eagle Creek Drainage with stars streaming over it, from Ruckel some time.

Does anyone know if the Ruckel Ridge Trail was ever an official Forest Service trail? 

Zach, From your two photos of Table, yoou can see the new landslide I mentioned in my Greenleaf trail TR. In the first one- of Table and Greenleaf, it is right in the middle at a protruding edge of the saddle between the two peaks, you can see the dirty edge and the clearing it made in the forest below.