In all my years with Darrington as my "Happy Place", when I descended on Skyline, I'd stay on Skyline. Today's goal was to climb as high as possible, hike a bike as needed, and do Jackpot for the first time. I parked at the bottom of Skyline, and with limited time, turned the Levo on in Turbo mode and climbed to the lookout. The only snow on the climb was at the last northern switchback a 1/4 mile from the summit. All else was melted road. I took in a couple views and began the descent on Out of the Blue to Hoot Owl. It started out hero, had a couple bent over sapplings, and then a 100 yards of snowy, flat, hike a bike. Then it was smooth, almost hero, sailing!

I went down to Hoot Owl, did the rock drop, on to Skyline, and then into Jackpot. Two spots made me nervous with the wet roots and rocks so I walked those but will just gut it out next time. As a tech lover, it was a great trail and I will be looping this one many more times to come! It is like a No Service run at Raging River. It was a great day and I went to the Red Top Tavern for my Chili Dog and a beer after. GPS track and pictures are here.