Hobnail Tom #32

Dogs Leashed

Features Birding · Commonly Backpacked · Fishing · Geological Significance · River/Creek · Waterfall · Wildflowers · Wildlife

At the trailhead there is camp available and bathrooms. There are no fees. There are corals for stock along with diagonal parking for trailers. Non-potable water available. Hay needs to be certified weed/seed free with available feeders.

With only a few heavier inclines, this trail is great with some minor rolling inclines (though you don't really notice) through the river canyon. Easy to get to the trailhead on a maintained gravel road. The trail is also used by horses/mules with a packer's camp at the trailhead. Huckleberries and other berries along with some great plant life returning after the Rice Ridge Complex fires (2017) had gone through parts.

Both foot bridges to the North Fork Cabin have just been redone (2020), making crossing the crystal clear water easy. This is bear country and scat had been seen, but was a couple days old. The fishing is bull trout. Many anglers fish out of the North Fork River. Going through the canyon the river looks very clear, flowing over some colorful rocks.

The trail was in great shape throughout. There are some spots where it's one way traffic for the livestock. Reaching the cabin about 7 miles in, there were tents set up. The corals were for admin use only. We happened on a horse and mule that enjoyed our attention. From there, we headed on the trail to the North Fork Falls. You find the falls below you. We were low on time so didn't climb down to the bottom. Plus we weren't sure of where that trail exactly was.

This waterfall was one of the best we've seen. Even at the end of the season, it was beautiful. It would be very impressive during run off.

Multiple ground cover plants, some with berries, and some without. Some parts had great trees, but some had been taken by fire. There are of course smaller animals, deer, and of course bears. There wasn't much for mosquitoes, however there were black flies.