Peter Skene Ogden Trail is Ready Now!

It has been just over a year since we last hiked Peter Skene Ogden Trail, located just outside Newberry National Volcanic Monument off the road to the park entrance. Last Saturday, April 10th 2021, the weather was predicted to be cool and windy and this hike, mostly sheltered from the wind in the canyon where Paulina Creek flows, seemed a good choice. When we parked our car by the trailhead at the closed McKay Crossing Campground, there was only one other car and the temperature was under 40 degrees. We thought we would hike the 3.5 miles to our favorite waterfalls along the hike - the place we call "Twin Falls." We dressed warm and quickly covered the distance to the falls. After a short stop with photos of the falls, we decided to see how much further we could make it on the hike, knowing the trail ends at Paulina Lake. We were surprised to see the trail was relatively snow free until past 4.5 miles, and then very passable with microspikes on our shoes. We made it all 7 miles to Paulina Falls where we enjoyed a quick lunch prior to starting back.  Although trekking through the snow was much slower than on the bare ground, the experience was very enjoyable and yes, pretty sheltered from the wind. All in all, we saw only 6 other people and 2 dogs the entire day.