Needed to stretch my legs from being in the car for a fair amount of time on the way back from a backpacking trip.
I would consider this trail to be the Abby Grind of Hope. Our adventure started off with the GPS leading up to the wrong side of the barrier of the parking lot leading us to taking a detour. Eventually we made it into the parking lot and from there out followed the signs up the mountain. Keep in mind this trail crosses over a biking route, so there is one intersection that is a bit of a jumble of paths but other than that the markings are pretty clear.
Up until the loop, the trail is quite gentle. Shortly after the loop trail is when the grind of this trail begins. Unlike Abby Grind, this short trail is well maintained. The path consists of dirt with no dust, and for the most part is in the shade allowing us to hide from the sun. There are also many stairs to tackle along the way, no where near the level of the grouse grind, and multiple benches to hang out at. There is even a bench with a little end table that I joked would be a nice place to take a tea break.
We went up to the upper lookout, that consists of a flat rocky section that was built by hand and enjoyed the view from the benches. When we arrived there was a little wild plastic moose that appears to have been swiped once we returned to the same rock to take photos. There is also a nice sign that shows what Hope looked like in the 1970’s. The image is almost aligned with the view allowing for side for side comparison.
This is too short of a trail that I would specifically make the travel out to, so I am glad we had daylight to kill coming back from our trip.