Strawberry Creek hike didn’t have any strawberries, but it had plenty of fall color. In August 2016, lightning ignited the Strawberry Creek Fire. The fired burned over 4,700 acres of public and private land, 60% of which was part of Great Basin National Park. It’s starting to regrow and there is still a large portion of this hike that passes through forest with aspen and pine trees, sage and serviceberry.
We arrived to an empty trailhead and didn’t see another person the entire hike. The trail starts across previously burned landscape in a dry grassy field but shortly enters tree cover. Strawberry Creek runs alongside the trail the whole way up and still had running COLD water when we hiked. The highlight of the trail is the Quaking Aspens in the fall and there are plenty on the climb to the saddle.
The highpoint of 9278′ comes at the turnaround spot of the saddle in between Bald Mountain and Windy Peak. I was hoping for a summit view but it’s still pretty treed up there. Hiking back down there are some good views of the valley waaaaay down below. It’s a short hike at under five miles but worth the solitude and beauty of the vast landscape.
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