Sister Rocks | September, 2021

The trail has been reopened since the 2020 fire in the area. Logs have been moved from the trail, and it is in excellent condition. This hike is relatively flat, gently sloped, and beautiful, well worth checking out.

From Carson, take Wind River Road north and continue when it bears northeast, then turn left on NF-64. Drive north on NF-64 to NF-58 and turn west on it. NF-58 is a passable, but pitted, one-lane gravel road, not up to the quality of NF-64, but totally passable to the average passenger car. From Calamity Peak, Bare Mountain, or anything else in that section of GPNF, you can take NF-58 from the other side.

Park at Observation Peak TH, at 45.9500, -122.0399; there is a wide pullout with plenty of space for half a dozen cars or more. Hike south a mile, til you get to the sign for Trapper Creek Wilderness. Just as soon as the trail starts to descend, there is a trail to the right, heading west, at 45.9374, -122.0388; it is unmarked but obvious. This trail is high-quality and almost as easy as they come; even the spur trail to Sister Rocks is quite good and easy to follow.

Follow the trail all the way to the end, even though this means hiking 1/3 mile entirely within the AZ. This flat hike leads to a pair of rocks (surprise!) with spectacular panoramic views and good prominence, which boosted my VHF performance a bar or two. I worked VHF only, and got eight S2S with six different summits, so this summit has good coverage. You should be able to pick up a few in Portland as well.