We parked at De Roux TH, rode up the road to the Esmerelda Basin trail and did the loop CCW. Trail is in really good shape, except for about 10 blowdowns in the last two miles of trail. I assume this warm year has opened this trail up way ahead of schedule. This ride certainly made for an all day adventure with lots of climbing, descending, and views. I feel it's worth noting that this was much more challenging than expected....  the description undersells the work involved. For comparison, if you find Tiger Mtn near Seattle a good challenge physically and technically, expect to walk most of this trail (even though it's "rated" the same on both counts).