Pile Hill via Yankee hill/mosquito cr(edit)

EASIEST The easiest path through this trail is rated a 2 out of 10 HARDEST The most difficult path through this trail is rated a 3 out of 10 4.8 miles Rock Crawling: 2/5 Sand & Mud: 2/5 Water Crossings: 3/5 Playgrounds: 1/5 Cliffs & Ledges: 1/5 Steep Hills: 3/5 Scenery: 3/5 You'll find a few surprises along this trail that connects Cumberland Gulch and Yankee Hill to Kingston Peak. It's one of the more little-used trails in the network of trails in that area, but it packs a punch. You can start at either end. If you start on the south end you will be just a short distance south of the Yankee Hill trail on the Cumberland Gulch trail. You can also pick up the Sheridan Hill trail off of Yankee Hill or Miners Gulch. If you start at the north end, you will leave the Kingston Peak trail just west of the fences where the big mud puddles used to be. This connection point is handy because it means you can make a loop with Sheridan Hill and Kingston Peak instead of driving Kingston Peak straight through. The south end of the trail is very different than the north end. The south end near Sheridan Hill itself mostly goes through open areas. It can be rocky in places, much like Cumberland Gulch, but it is more scenic than challenging. When you get north of the Yankee Hill trail it becomes very narrow in spots. It weaves its way through trees in very narrow sections between the Yankee Hill intersection and the Miners Gulch intersection. Once you leave the intersection with Miners Gulch and continue north, the trail very rarely leaves the trees. It often follows shallow streams and crosses others. There are some rocky spots, and you may find some mud. There are many surprises along this section, especially in the spring. There are a few spurs along the way. The spurs that veer off to the west of the Sheridan Hill trail will all eventually dead end as they climb up toward Kingston Peak. There is one four-way intersection near the north end where you can continue east to follow Mosquito Creek and connect with Montana Creek. Return the way you came or use the Kingston Peak trail to find another way out of the trail network.