Harbor Mountain and Gavan Hill

Harbor Mountain

My wife and I hiked Harbor Mountain to Gavan Hill today. It was a very wet day to be hiking, but we passed 4 others on their way to Harbor Mountain and 2 on Gavan Ridge (going up and down Gavan) and 3 more near the Cross Trail Intersection.

There is still some snow left, and by the look of the plants, the snow has only recently melted off many other places. I noticed one patch of snow along the edge of the road on the way up. On Harbor Mountain trail there were several small patches of snow, but I expect they will be gone within a week or so. The Gavan side had quite a bit of snow between the shelter and the top of Gavan Ridge. It’s not really an impediment to walking or route finding, however, and it will probably be almost gone in the next couple of weeks.

Harbor Mountain Trail seemed to be in pretty good condition.

Gavan Hill Trail has seen some recent maintenance is in pretty decent condition overall. There were a few places where steps have been added where needed and fallen trees cut away. The only thing I noticed was one excessively muddy section not too far below the Cross Trail Intersection where cedar lots were placed as erosion control and/or steps, but with all the rain the puddles formed behind each of them creating a very muddy patch that people are now walking off the trail to avoid.

For those interested in wildflowers, it’s a great time to be up in the alpine, and the south slopes of Harbor Mountain were especially rich. There was an incredible abundance and diversity of wildflowers. I over 40 different species blooming or close to blooming along the trail at or above the treeline.

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