Huffman Peak Trail

Overview

This trail makes you ford a creek (can be high and not crossable in high water) before climbing a ridge over about 5 miles to the summit. You don't get much in the ways of views until close to the summit but then you get great views of the surrounding areas and four big volcanoes. You'll get your workout and there are a couple of nice loop options to make things interesting. The loop will take you past some amazing waterfalls too so enjoy!

Getting There

Follow the directions on the Main Page to get to the trailhead (either one).

Route Description

There are a couple options here and I'll describe each one.

Lower Trailhead to Huffman Peak Trail
From the lower trailhead (direction on the main page), follow the path about a mile along the valley floor to Hickman Cabin, site of a cross cut saw storage facility used in the 30's by fire prevention forestry workers. Complete this 1.2 miles section to meet up with the Huffman Peak Trail. From here you can either go left up to SW Huffman and Huffman Peaks after a fording of Siouxon Creek, or, if you go straight, you head up Siouxon Creek to a crossing in 5.6 miles that will take you up either Chinook Trail or Wildcat Trail.

Upper Trailhead
From here (also directions on the main page), you would head down a few dozen yards into the woods to a trail junction and then either head left (SW) to go 1.9 miles to a T junction (where it meets the path from the lower trailhead) and take a right. This will take you down to the creek where you will ford it and then take the path on the other side up about 5 miles. Once up on the ridge, where the trail starts to contour right around a mound, head up into the forest. The forest gives way to more open grassy and shrubby areas. Keep heading up and you will soon see the rocky summiit area. Descend the same way to rejoin the path. From here you can either head back the way you came or take a left on the trail and go about half a mile to 3/4 of a mile where it meets the Wildcat Trail back down to the valley floor and Siouxon Creek.

Your other option back down at the trailhead was to take a right and follow the Siouxon Creek Trail 3.7 miles to a bridge crossing and then up either the Chinook Trail or the Wildcat Trail. The Chinook Trail is described in detail on the Siouxon Peak page. You can also achieve SW Huffman and Huffman from Siouxon Peak if you follow that trail up. To head up the Wildcat Trail though, once you cross the bridge you would go about half a mile on the trail (crossing the creek below Chinook Creek Falls until you come to a junction. Take the left fork to follow the Wildcat Trail that goes up a bit over 3 miles passing Wildcat Falls on the way to the trail along the ridge between Siouxon Peak and Huffman Peak. Turn left and the trail will soon contour right around Huffman Peak. A bit further you will then come to another fork. Well, it is hard to tell if one path is the correct one or not. They both seemed blocked by debris on purpose when I was there so it was not obvious which to take. I took the left and it contoured around SW Huffman Peak until I knew I had gone too far and then headed back up to the summit. The right path might head up another way but according to the topo I had, it looks like it just heads down to a view point along a lower point out west. Either way, to achieve the summit, you need to head up this second mound from the junction on the ridge. You would then have your option to return the same way you came or head off SW along the Huffman Peak trail to the creek crossing near Hickman Cabin. (See lots of options here.) To get a decent illustration of the trails you can get this book too (or check out the links above). You can also see a general trail map of this area here.

Essential Gear

Sandals or water shoes if you are going to do the creek crossing. Headlamps should be taken in case the days turns out longer than you expected.

External Links

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Images

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