Gloria Trail and Elk Mountain Trail

A great hike despite the fact that from Gloria to Thurston the trail is not well maintained. Some steep sections in that stretch make having poles a necessity in my humble opinion. Started at 930am in the Community Forest Parking lot and finished at 7pm with lots of breaks throughout! This will keep your heart pumping so bring lots of water as there was no water source along the way. Breathtaking views and a great workout!

I would recommend getting two cars and setting off from elk and ending at Gloria trail. It’s three peaks in one with no backtracking! 18kms when it’s all said and done

This traverse is very hard and very rewarding. We tackled this from Gloria side, which arguably is harder than starting at Elk. However, the hordes are significantly less on this side. We only saw two people on Gloria… and then didn’t run into anyone else until after Thurston. Considering the cars at Elk (we left a car there and then drove to Gloria Trailhead).. I’m sure we would have been amongst the hundreds of people on the trail in the morning. As well by the time we got to Elk the hordes had died down. You can tell Elk side is busier, because Gloria trail is well marked and easy to follow.. but not nearly as beaten down as Elk. Highly recommend this traverse, we did in just under 8 hours. But bring lots of energy snacks and water. You will need them. Poles are recommended, as the climb up Gloria is very steep, as is the shorter, but still steep, climb up to Thurston. The only snow we really saw on the trail was between Gloria and Thurston and easy to manage. Micro spikes not required. The wildflowers are a sight to behold right now!