wanderingyuncks

Minto-Brown: In Search of Otters – 09/21/2026

Post author By derwoodynck
Post date September 23, 2026
3 Comments on Minto-Brown: In Search of Otters – 09/21/2026

It’s been a bit since our last post which is unfortunately due to a new (old) issue that I am now dealing with. While my PT has been seemingly progressing on my back, hip and left leg, my left heel suddenly decided to start giving me issues near the end of our hike to Bobby Lake (post) in August. The peroneal tendon, which I had an issue with back in 2017 (post). My heel stiffened up after that hike then improved through the week only to repeat the cycle over the next two weeks.

Following my outing to Minto-Brown Island Park on Labor Day (post) it flared up enough that I could not walk without a limp so I took some time off and worked on some exercises I was given at PT the day after that hike. While I took a couple of weeks off Heather was on her own and she made the most of it by heading out to Silver Falls State Park on 9/12 and to Duffy Lake on 9/19. I haven’t been able to convince her to write up her trips, and she takes about 1/100 of the photos I do but here are a few notable items from those trips.

Silver Falls 9/12 – She followed our 2025 route from the South Falls Parking Area (post) which was similar to a shorter loop she’d done without me back in March when my left leg issue kept me sidelined. In March she’d had to cut the loop short due to winter storm damage along the Rim Trail and returned via the Winter Falls Trail. This time around the Rim Trail was open but the Winter Falls Trail was closed due to a slide hazard.

South Falls in Sept.

South Falls in March.

Lower South Falls in Sept.

Lower South Falls in March.

Lower North Falls in Sept.

Lower North Falls in March.

Middle North Falls in Sept.

Middle North Falls in March.

North Falls (inaccessible in March)

Upper North Falls (inaccessible in March)

Repairs along the Rim Trail.

Storm damage

Looking down toward the Winter Falls Trail and the landslide.

Duffy Lake 9/19: Heather visited Duffy Lake then headed to Santiam Lake for a 10.8-mile out-and-back.

This was a shortened version of a hike we did in 2010 (post).

Vine maple in the colors of Autumn.

Duffy Butte from Duffy Lake

Three Fingered Jack from Santiam Lake.

California tortoiseshell joining her for a break at Santiam Lake.

Santiam Lake

It took until Thursday 9/18 before I wasn’t limping and a couple more days before I wasn’t feeling any discomfort on the outside of that heel. After a couple of days free from discomfort, I decided to try a short walk between an oil change and a PT appointment I’d scheduled on the first day of a staycation. After the oil change, I headed back to Minto-Brown hoping once again to find the otters that others have been sharing photos of. I parked in Lot 3 which is at the end of the park entrance road and headed left on the paved trail along Oxbow Slough then crossed the slough on a footbridge following pointers for the Blue Heron Trail. I forked right onto a dirt path when the Blue Heron Trail split.

Recent photos online had confirmed that otters had been spotted in the algae filled slough that some maps label the “Green Heron Slough” and this portion of the Blue Heron Trail offers a number of views of that slough. Before reaching those viewpoints though I turned left on a well-established but unsigned trail that appeared to lead into a meadow.

The path ended after a little less than 100 yards at Oxbow Slough.

There wasn’t a lot happening here outside of a log lined with wood ducks.

I headed back to the Blue Heron Trail and started checking out the various viewpoints in search of the otters. The first viewpoint produced nothing while the second provided various ducks, a belted kingfisher, a great blue heron, and a lone turtle.

American wigeons and mallards.

Turtle on a log amid the ducks.

I continued on and after a couple more viewpoints and crossing a dry creek bed spotted another blue heron, a greater yellowlegs, and a turkey vulture from yet another viewpoint.

Turkey vulture

Great blue heron

Geater yellowlegs

American wigeon

Another angle of the turtle.

More wood ducks.

Still no otters and I was running out of slough. I continued on hoping to get a little better view of the wood ducks at the next viewpiont.

Moments after taking this picture something took off from the log that was just out of frame at the bottom of the photo. I instantly recognized it as a green heron, a bird that we had yet to see in person.

The green heron flying away.

I thought I’d missed my chance, but it landed in a snag not far back up the slough. I tried getting a photo, but I was looking toward the sun so the lighting was no good.

I slowly made my way back up the trail hoping not to scare the heron off before I was able to put the sun at my back. I wasn’t entirely successful but in a fortunate turn of events it flew back the way it had come and landed on another snag that actually provided me a better view.

The green heron is on the snag in the slough on the left.

I was able to take a good number of photos of the bird and while doing so a great blue heron landing in the middle of the slough.

No otters but seeing my first green heron was probably more exciting as we have seen otters before. After watching the heron for a good while I continued on leaving the slough behind but not the wildlife.

Downy woodpecker

Northern flicker

Rabbit

I turned right when I reached a paved path sticking briefly to the Blue Heron Trail. I stayed on pavement when the Blue Heron Trail turned left. While seeing the green heron was exciting what wasn’t exciting was that I was starting to feel a little pain on the outside of my left heel again. I took a look at the park map looking for the shortest path back to the parking lot. I wound up taking a left back onto the Blue Heron Trail when the paved trail curved right then made my way to the Brown Island Landfill where I had been on my previous visit. This time I turned right instead of left on the gravel roadbed then took a right when I reached the signed Orange Turtle Loop.

There weren’t as many small birds near the landfill as there had been on the weekend. I suspect the noise from the nearby heavy machinery had something to do with that.

Juncos

Scrub jay

Spotted towhee

Sparrow

Orange Turtle Loop

I followed Orange Turtle Loop and Shelter Parking Lot #3 pointers back to the parking area.

Trail signs and map near the Willamette River.

Willamette River

The hike wound up being 3.3-miles due to the combination of side trips to viewpoints and backtracking to get photos of the green heron.

The “Green Heron” slough is the water north of my track near the bottom with Oxbow Slough to the south.

I went home showered, had lunch, and changed for my PT appointment where I got another set of exercises to try and help with the heel. As I am typing this up the next day it’s a little sore but hasn’t stiffened up. It’s clear though that I’ll need to be patient with it so the trip reports may be sparse for a while. I do have a couple of ideas for non-trip report posts and maybe a forced hiatus from the trail will bring one or two of those to fruition. Happy Trails!

Flickr: Minto-Brown

Tags blue heron loop, Duffy Lake, great blue heron, Green Heron, hiking, minto-brown island park, orange turtle loop, Oregon, oxbow slough, Salem, Santiam Lake, Silver Falls State Park, turtle

Hiking

Minto-Brown Island Park – 09/07/2026

Post author By derwoodynck
Post date September 10, 2026
1 Comment on Minto-Brown Island Park – 09/07/2026

I headed out on my own on Labor Day as Heather stayed home to be there when the pile of items we’d gathered to be hauled away was picked up by a local junk removal company. I decided to stick close to home and headed back to Minto-Brown Island Park hoping to see some wildlife and hike a couple of sections of trail that I’d missed on my previous visits.

I parked in lot 1 and headed to Willamette Slough just as we’d done on our visit in July (post).

Female wood duck

Black phoebe

Song sparrow

Great blue heron

Belted kingfisher

The water level was low enough that it was just a little muddy getting to the platform.

View from the platform.

After visiting the viewing platform I headed for the Willamette River following pointers for the 5k loop.

Self-heal

Most of the junctions, and all of the major junctions, have maps and/or pointers.

Hardhack

Several formations of geese flew over during the hike.

Thistle

Squirrel dashing across the trail.

I saw at least a dozen rabbits throughout the day.

Looking across the Willamette River at West Salem.

Mallards on the river.

The first new section of trail came when I veered right onto a dirt trail where the paved path turned away from the river.

This section of trail is often flooded by water draining Oxbow Slough into the Willamette.

I took a spur trail which brought me to a view of the slough.

Mallard and a greater yellowlegs.

Mallards in the foreground with a pair of wood ducks behind.

Wood duck drake

I continued past the slough to a signed junction where I turned left on the Orange Turtle Loop after a quick detour down to the bank of the Willamette River.

The Orange Turtle Loop. I had been on this section of trail during a visit in April 2023 (post).

More signs that Fall is on the way.

The trail splits at the edge of a field with the Orange Turtle Loop turning right.

Today I turned left on a connector trail that was another section of trail that I hadn’t been on before.

After a third of a mile I came to another junction where I turned left back onto a trail I’d hiked before.

Just over 100 yards later I came to a paved trail where I turned right following pointers for Homestead Road.

I stayed on the paved path for 0.2-miles then turned left at an unsigned junction just before reaching another section of slough.

This short section of trail was also new to me.

After just 125-yards the trail joined the Blue Heron Loop at an unsigned junction where I turned right.

This portion of the Blue Heron Loop offers several short spur trails where views of the slough can be had.

Killdeer

Greater yellowlegs

Snail

I just missed getting a raccoon walking up this log. All I got was its back as it disappeared into the brush.

Wood duck log.

Female wood ducks

Wood duck drakes

There is a fawn and a doe in the center of the photo.

The fawn dashed into the trees, but the doe paused for a photo.

I continued past the slough until the trail joined the paved Purple Rabbit/10k Loop where I turned right to continue on the Blue Heron Loop.

I turned left in 200′ to stick to the Blue Heron Loop.

When the trail emerged at a gravel roadbed I turned left toward the Brown’s Island Demolition Landfill.

This stretch was full of small birds.

Downy woodpecker

Lesser goldfinch

When I arrived at the edge of the landfill I turned left.

White crowned sparrow

House finch and lesser goldfinch

California quail

I followed the gravel road around to the left onto pavement.

I stayed straight on this wide path for 0.4-miles to Homestead Road.

Northern flicker

Nearing Homestead Road.

Stellar’s jay at Homestead Road.

I turned left along the road then veered left to stay on the Purple Rabbit/10k Loop.

I stayed on this paved path across Pettijohn Creek then turned right onto an unsigned dirt trail.

Pettijohn Creek

I followed this trail for a third of a mile to another paved path where I turned left again.

Black-capped chickadee

After just 150′ I left the paved path and turned right onto the Green Deer Loop.

Spotted towhee

Aster

I had attempted this loop in April 2023 but was turned back by flooded trail. That wasn’t a problem in September.

Red-breasted nuthatch

Downy woodpecker

Hummingbird

The Green Deer Loop arriving at the junction with the Purple Rabbit/10k Loop.

I turned right here and had planned to head back to my car via the Yellow Duck Loop.

As I approached the footbridge over Oxbow Slough I ran into a couple that I had passed earlier going in the opposite direction. They mentioned that there were four otters out playing in the slough. I asked where and they referred to the trail that ran along the slough. I assumed they meant the Blue Heron Trail based on where we were at the time so when I got to the footbridge across Oxbow Slough I turned left.

Oxbow Slough

I took the Blue Heron Trail when it left the paved path and passed behind the slough again. I didn’t see any otters and got to thinking that there was probably too much algae in this area for otters. I checked a couple of the viewpoints then turned around and headed back to the footbridge.

Oxbow Slough from the footbridge.

I turned left after crossing the footbridge and then turned right onto the Yellow Duck Loop after a tenth of a mile.

The Yellow Duck Loop goes around the Dog Park. The trail is almost always partially under water and today was no exception.

The off-leash dog park from the Yellow Duck Loop.

I came upon a couple looking at something up in a tree which turned out to be a barred owl.

After watching the owl for a bit I continued on to Willamette Slough where I spotted another blue heron and a northwestern pond turtle.

The flooded section of trail.

The water wasn’t quite ankle deep and I was almost done with the hike so I simply splashed through and finished my loop.

Fishing dock

View from the dock.

I left the Yellow Duck Loop here to cross the park entrance road near Parking Lot 1.

There had only been 2 cars, including mine, when I started the hike.

My loop wound up being just under 10 miles with minimal elevation gain.

Red is today’s track and cyan is from July’s hike.

It’s nice to have a park like this just 15-minutes from home where you can take a short walk or a long hike and either way you’re bound to see some good wildlife. Happy Trails!

Flickr: Minto-Brown Island Park

Tags 10k loop, 5k Loop, blue heron loop, green deer loop, hiking, minto-brown island park, Oregon, oxbow slough, purple rabbit loop, Salem, willamette river, Willamette Slough, Yellow Duck Loop

Diamond Peak Area High Cascades Hiking Oregon Trip report

Yoran Lake – 09/05/2026

September began with some much-needed precipitation including snow at higher elevations. Checking the forecast for a hike to start the Labor Day weekend revealed that the Willamette Pass area was expected to be partly sunny Saturday morning before a chance of showers and thunderstorms developed later in the day. I narrowed it down to two loops, one in the northern end of the Waldo Lake Wilderness the other in the northern end of the Diamond Peak Wilderness. Both loops would have us visiting multiple lakes however the northern end of the Waldo Lake Wilderness has been through two large fires in the past 30 years while the northern end of the Diamond Peak Wilderness has not endured a large fire. There would be more views hiking through the fire scars, but we weren’t sure if the partly sunny forecast meant that the Cascade Peaks would be visible, so we opted for the Diamond Peak Wilderness.

The loop we’d chosen was Midnight and Yoran Lake, a hike we’d done back in 2014 post. We also hiked half of the loop on our longer loop around Diamond Peak (post). For both of those outings we’d parked at the Trapper Creek Trailhead. To mix things up a bit (and cut 1.4-miles from the total distance) we decided to begin the loop from the Pengra Pass Trailhead located near the Pacific Crest Trail.

The next decision to make was which direction to hike the loop in. We chose clockwise for two reasons. The first being that we would be starting out on a short downhill which would allow us to warm up a bit versus starting with a climb. The second reason was that the longest stretch without passing near a lake at almost 4-miles and we prefer getting the less exciting stretches done first. Speaking of less exciting the first 0.2-miles followed a gravel road before reaching the Whitefish Creek Trail.

The Whitefish Creek Trail coming up from the left. The trail briefly followed the road before heading uphill.

The Whitefish Creek Trail leaving the road.

The Whitefish Creek Trail immediately entered the Diamond Peak Wilderness and gradually climbed for 0.7-miles to a junction with the Yoran Lake Trail.

Footbridge over Whitefish Creek. There was a very small amount of water flowing down the creek.

The Yoran Lake Trail junction.

We turned right onto the Yoran Lake Trail and climbed steadily for 2.8-miles to the first (unnamed) lake.

The Yoran Lake Trail was well maintained with no trees down across the trail.

Coral fungus

Blue sky above.

Despite the recent precipitation the creek beds were mostly dry.

The snowy top of Diamond Peak was visible over the trees.

Diamond Peak with fresh snow.

The unnamed lake.

We continued past the unnamed lake and in just over a mile came to a familiar unsigned junction next to a dry creekbed.

The trail crosses the dry creek bed a half mile from the unnamed lake.

The unsigned junction.

The trail to the right was a user created trail until 2019 when the Forest Service officially decided to connect the Pacific Crest Trail near Lils Lake with the Yoran Lake Trail. Before continuing on the Yoran Lake Trail we veered left and climbed steeply up the hillside to Karen Lake.

We’d camped at this lake on the final night of our loop around the mountain. We took a break along the lake shore near where we’d camped before and waited to see if Diamond Peak, which was now partly shrouded by a cloud, would make a full appearance.

We spent half an hour at the lake watching the clouds tease a reveal only to have more arrive.

So close.

After 30-minutes we were starting to get cold from not moving around so we continued on our loop hoping that maybe things would clear up when we reached Yoran Lake which was less than a quarter mile away.

The trail forks near Yoran Lake. The lefthand fork leads to some campsites while the righthand fork is the official trail. We went right and soon had a view across the lake to Diamond Peak.

Mount Yoran behind the trees to the left.

The trail climbs above the lake on a rocky shelf where we again stopped to give the clouds some time to move on. It took about 15-minutes for that to happen, and we finally had a view of the full mountain.

Mount Yoran was not dealing with clouds.

Finally, a full view.

After getting the view we’d been hoping for we continued on. The trail passed several more viewpoints above Yoran Lake before passing through the forest and arriving at Lils Lake.

Island in Yoran Lake.

Pond between Yoran Lake and Lils Lake.

Lils Lake

We followed the trail past Lils Lake to its end at the Pacific Crest Trail (PCT).

Signpost at the junction.

We turned right onto the PCT and started a stretch of trail that passed a number of named and unnamed bodies of water.

Diamond Peak and Lils Lake from the PCT.

The PCT passing a pond.

Maiden Peak (post) beyond the trees.

Another small pond.

The first named lake was Hidden Lake which was just off a spur trail to the right, 0.6-miles from the PCT junction.

Hidden Lake

After visiting Hidden Lake we continued on the PCT passed several more unnamed bodies of water before arriving at Arrowhead Lake a mile from Hidden Lake.

Unnamed lake

One of several ponds.

Stellar’s jay

Junction with the Deer Creek Trail.

Arrowhead Lake

Buffleheads on Arrowhead Lake.

From Arrowhead Lake it was 1.4 more downhill miles to a signed spur trail for Midnight Lake, the last of the named lakes.

Foamflower, one of the few blooming flowers remaining.

Midnight Lake sign on the spur trail.

Midnight Lake

After a short break at Midnight Lake we continued our loop. It was 0.2-miles from the lake to a junction with the Midnight Lake Trail and then another 0.9-miles to the Pengra Pass Trailhead.

The Midnight Lake Trail on the left.

Another unnamed lake at the trail junction.

I was just a bit too slow to get a picture of this belted kingfisher before it took flight.

Rhododendron along the PCT.

Ski runs at the Willmaette Pass Ski Are on the far hillside.

Fuji Mountain (post)

Leaving the wilderness area near Pengra Pass.

Wilderness permit kiosk at Pengra Pass.

The trail dropping down to the trailhead.

This loop came in at 10.8-miles with approximately 1300′ of elevation gain.

This is a nice loop with a variety of lakes and few good mountain views (when the clouds cooperate). We were a little surprised to have only run into 9 other hikers all day. The trails were also in excellent shape with only a couple of small logs to step over. The fresh snow on Diamond Peak was a nice bonus and a good reminder that Fall is on the way. Happy Trails!

Flickr: Yoran and Midnight Lakes

Tags Arrowhead lake, cascade mountains, Diamond Peak, Diamond Peak Wilderness, hidden lake, hiking, Karen Lake, Lils Lake, Midnight Lake, Mount Yoran, Oregon, Pacific Crest Trail, PCT, Whitefish Creek Trail, Yoran Lake, Yoran Lake Trail

High Cascades Hiking Mt. Washington Area Oregon Three Sisters Area Trip report

Black Crater – 08/29/2026

Post author By derwoodynck
Post date September 1, 2026
No Comments on Black Crater – 08/29/2026

When we were working on our goal of hiking William L. Sullivan’s featured hikes (post) we had a few outings where we didn’t get a view from a viewpoint or summit due to the weather. Now that we’ve completed that goal we are revisiting some of those hikes in an attempt to get those views. One such hike was a 2016 outing to Black Crater in the Three Sisters Wilderness. We had tried several times in the past couple of months to re-hike this trail but either smoke from wildfires or possibly thunderstorms had stymied us. A mostly sunny forecast coupled with a high of just 49 degrees (Fahrenheit) meant it was finally time for a second visit.

Before tackling the climb up Black Crater we thought it would be a good idea to warm up with a short hike at nearby Dee Wright Observatory and the Lava River Trail.

While the plan was to “warm up” it was anything but warm as the cool morning air combined with a stiff breeze. We took advantage of the restrooms then visited the observatory where on a clearer day we would have had views of numerous Cascade peaks. Today however, despite the presence of some blue sky, nearly all of the peaks were hidden.

Black Crater, which is straight ahead, was one of the peaks covered by a cloud. We hoped that the mostly sunny forecast was still in the cards.

Mt. Jefferson through a break in the clouds.

Interpretive signs near the observatory.

Black Butte (post) to the right with Green Ridge (post) behind it.

Viewing holes are located around the observatory to help identify the peaks.

There is also a mountain finder atop the observatory.

List of what we could have been looking at.

After visiting the observatory, we walked to the east where the interpretive Lava River Trail leads into the Yapoah lava flow.

While we had visited the observatory before this was our first time hiking this short loop. The interpretive signs were very informative which more than made up for the lack of mountain views.

Little Belknap Crater (post).

Mt. Jefferson making another brief appearance.

There was no chance of spotting the Three Sisters.

Black Crater was still looking awfully cloudy.

The Dee Wright Observatory on the left.

As we concluded the hike it looked like the clouds might be breaking up over Black Crater.

After a rather chilly warm up hike we drove to the Black Crater Trailhead.

On top of not getting a view from the summit on that visit the 2017 lightning caused Milli Fire burned over the majority of the trail.
Forest at the trailhead before the Milli Fire.

The sign at the trailhead states the summit is 4 miles away however it is really 3.6-miles. Either way the trail gains approximately 2300′.

The trail enters the Three Sisters Wilderness a short distance from the trailhead. In fact the wilderness sign is visible from the trailhead and as I was zooming in for a photo I realized there was a doe next to it.

The hike is about as straight forward as one can be. There are no trail junctions, no creek or river crossings, and no faint sections of trail. The climb is steady but rarely feels steep. There are plenty of views due to the Millie Fire but today the clouds were limiting those.

Mt. Washington hidden by a cloud.

Black Butte

Lupine

Cascade aster

Another aster, not sure which one.

Cloud hovering over Little Belknap and Belknap Craters.

The trail is well maintained.

Looking up toward the summit.

Rabbitbrush goldenweed
Junco

Yarrow

Bleeding heart and northwestern rabbit-tabacco

The fire spared the trees closer to the summit.

Beardtongue

One-sided wintergreen

Black Butte managed to stay out of the clouds for most of the morning.

Golden-mantled ground squirrel

Clouds passing by.

Cable for the former fire lookout.

The final stretch to the summit. There was a cloud passing over when I arrived and I wondered if there would be any views.

It was windy at the summit, but I took a seat on the rocks above the former lookout site hoping for the clouds to pass.

View to the NE into Central Oregon.

The summit of North Sister.

Scott Mountain in the center which we climbed a few weeks ago (post).

I had a snack while I waited but the clouds seemed to be getting worse and it was cold in the wind, so I decided to start back down.

Looking toward Broken Top and the North Sister.

Heading down from the summit.

I detoured to the western end of the summit where another rock outcrop sits.

Little Belknap and Belknap Craters beyond the rock outcrop.

It only took a minute or two to reach the other outcrop, but by the time I had the clouds had begun to finally open up.

Broken Top with Mt. Bachelor (post) behind to the right.

The summit from the second outcrop.

The Three Sisters. The summit of Middle Sister is just visible to the right of North Sister.

The west side of the Three Sisters Wilderness.

Collier Cone (post) below the North and Middle Sisters.

The Husband with Yapoah Crater (post) at the lower left of the frame.

I stuck around for a while as the clouds continued passing by, but when I started losing the view again I headed back.

Dwarf alpinegold

The clouds coming in from the right were quite a bit darker than any had been so far.

Alpine mountain buckwheat

Mountain bluebird

Pussypaw

Fireweed and northwestern rabbit-tobacco.

It felt like it could start raining at any moment.

Beetle

Back at the trailhead.

The hike up Black Crater was 7.2-miles and we did about a mile at Dee Wright Observatory. Cumulative elevation gain was close to 2500′.

The two hikes for the day.

While it wasn’t quite a clear as we had hoped the views were vastly better than they had been on our first visit.

Dee Wright Observatory is a must stop if you are driving the McKenzie Highway and the Lava River Trail would be a great place to bring out of state visitors. The Black Crater hike is also a great hike providing a good workout and excellent views when the conditions are right. Happy Trails!

Flickr: Black Crater

Tags Black Crater, Black Crater Trail, Black Crater Trailhead, Dee Wright Observatory, hiking, Lava River Trail, McKenzie Highway, McKenzie Pass, Oregon, Three Sisters Wilderness

High Cascades Hiking Oregon Trip report Waldo Lake Area

Bobby Lake – 08/22/2026

Due to the number of wildfires and corresponding smoke this summer we have been waiting until the day or two before a hike to decide where we will be going. A favorable forecast for the Cascade Crest led us back to the mountains. Our destination for the day was Bobby Lake, located two and a quarter miles east of the Waldo Lake Road (Forest Road 5897).

A 4.5-mile hike isn’t quite long enough to warrant a 2:30 drive to the trailhead so I had come up with a loop incorporating several trails in the area including the Pacific Crest Trail (PCT) which passes within a quarter mile of Bobby Lake.

We’d visited Bobby Lake in 2019 after hiking up The Twins (post). We’d started that hike from the Twin Peak Trailhead. For today’s hike we had planned to start at the Bobby Lake Trailhead however there didn’t appear to be any open spaces so we parked across the road at the Betty Lake Trailhead (Betty Lake 2024 ).

The Bobby Lake Trailhead across Waldo Lake Road from the Betty Lake Trailhead.

Trailhead ambassador (Canada jay).

We crossed the road and picked up the Bobby Lake Trail.

We followed this trail for 0.4-miles to a 4-way junction with the Gold Lake Trail.

Coming up on the junction.

From the 4-way junction loops are possible in either direction. On our previous visit to the lake we’d headed north on the Gold Lake Trail to return to the Twin Peak Trailhead. Today’s loop would be incorporating the southern portion of the Gold Lake Trail. We had decided to save the visit to Bobby Lake for later in the day, so we turned right onto the Gold Lake Trail and followed it downhill 1.7 forested miles to a junction with the Mount Ray Trail.

Aster

Sickletop lousewort

Trail sign ahead on the right for the Mount Ray Trail.

Up to this point the hike had been on new trail for us with the exception of the Bobby Lake/Gold Lake Trail junction. In 2025 I had been to this junction during my Mount Ray/Island Lakes loop (post) so the next 1.7-miles were new only to Heather. This section of the Gold Lake Trail crosses Ray Creek then passes along Gold Lake Bog and Gold Lake before reaching a junction with the Fuji Mountain Trail.

Entering the Gold Lake Bog Natural Research Area.

Ray Creek

Aster

Mushroom

Fireweed

Monkshood

Skunk cabbage

Gold Lake Bog from the trail.

The northern end of Gold Lake through the trees.

The only blooming lupine we spotted.

Bunchberry

The Fuji Mountain Trail junction.

It was 0.2-miles from the Fuji Mountain Trail junction to the end of the Gold Lake Trail at Gold Lake Campground.

We’d been here in 2024 when we visited the Gold Lake Shelter and Marilyn Lakes (post).

We walked up Gold Lake Road (FR 500) for 0.6-miles to the Maiden Peak Trailhead.

Crossing Salt Creek, the outlet of Gold Lake.

Looking toward Gold Lake from the bridge.

Salt Creek

Gold Lake Shelter

Leaving the campground.

The Maiden Peak Trailhead. There was room for a small number of cars on the opposite side of the road.

We turned up the Maiden Peak Trail and followed it uphill a total of 2.4-miles to the Pacific Crest Trail. The trail gained a total of 650′ and was mostly well graded. It did steepen over the last quarter of a mile where it gained 200 of the 650′.

Like most of the trails in this area it passed through a mature forest which limited views.

Fuji Mountain to the left and Mount Ray to the right through the trees.

The Merlin app says Hammond’s flycatcher.

Skyline Creek

Just beyond Skyline Creek we passed a junction with the Skyline Trail.

Signs at the Skyline Trail junction. The area is a popular area for cross-country skiing.

Chipmunk

Canada jay

The Pacific Crest Trail junction.

The PCT junction was another junction that we’d been to before. In 2016 we had come down the Maiden Peak Trail to the junction after summiting Maiden Peak and turned south onto the PCT (post). Today, after a short break to recover from the final steep climb, we turned north. It was 2.3 gradual downhill miles to the Bobby Lake Trail. Again, the trail passed through a lovely forest which provided a peaceful hike but no views to speak of.

This snake was the only other trail user we passed on the PCT.

This may have been the chillest snake we’ve come across. It never moved as we passed around it.

The Bobby Lake Trail junction.

We turned right onto the Bobby Lake Trail and followed it a quarter of a mile to the lake.

There is a large rock outcropping on the lake shore approximately 0.2-miles to the south of where the trail arrives at the lake while the Moore Creek Trail continues east along the northern end of the lake. Our previous visit had been in September, and we’d had the rock outcrop to ourselves. Today there were already several people on the outcrop, so we took the Moore Creek Trail and found a different spot for a break.

Maiden Peak and the rock outcrop from our break spot.

Maiden Peak. The rock outcrops on this peak make it one of the more identifiable peaks in the Cascades.

Damsel fly

After a good break we headed back to the Bobby Lake Trail and followed it 2.25-miles back to the Betty and Bobby Lakes trailheads. The 1.6-mile section between the PCT junction and the Gold Lake Trail junction seemed to be a continuous up and down.

This loop came in at 12.5-miles with approximately 1300′ of elevation gain.

This was an enjoyable loop despite the lack of any big views. It provided quite a bit of solitude and a lot of nice, unburned forest. Bobby Lake was obviously the highlight and is said to be one of the best swimming lakes in the Cascades.

There are no restrooms at either the Betty or Bobby Lake Trailheads, so we made a quick stop at Salt Creek Falls (post) on the way back to Eugene to use the facilities there and to give Heather a chance to see the falls since she wasn’t with me earlier this year when I’d visited.

Happy Trails!

Flickr: Bobby Lake

Tags Bobby Lake, Fuji Mountain Trail, Gold Lake Bog, Gold Lake Shelter, Gold Lake Trail, hiking, Maiden Peak Trail, Mount Ray Trail, Oregon, Pacific Crest Trail, Skyline Creek, Skyline Trail, Trail

Central Coast Hiking Oregon Oregon Coast Trip report

Fogarty Creek State Recreation Site – 08/15/2026

Post author By derwoodynck
Post date August 17, 2026
No Comments on Fogarty Creek State Recreation Site – 08/15/2026

I had a solo outing planned but not a destination. Going into the weekend rain showers and possible thunderstorms were in the forecast for the mountains so I once again turned to the Oregon Coast. No thunderstorms or even precipitation was called for south of Lincoln City and I’d had my eye on a hike from the Fogarty Creek State Recreation Area to the Gleneden Beach State Recreation Area.

My planned route was a combination of two entries in the Oregon Hikers Field Guide involving the Fishing Rock overlook. I began my morning by parking at the Fogarty Creek North Trailhead.

I had decided to do this hike in reverse of the field guide description in order to make the crossing of Highway 101 before 6:30am when there would be few cars out. I hiked out the park entrance road to Highway 101 and made my way across.

On the far side of the highway I turned right on the sidewalk had headed north for 120-yards to Fishing Rock Street where I turned left and followed it for a tenth of a mile to the Fishing Rock State Recreation Site.

Small parking area at the recreation site.

I picked up the Oregon Coast Trail next to a signboard and followed it into a dark corridor of trees.

I had to use the flash to get a picture.

Soon after exiting the trees an Oregon Coast Trail pointer showed that trail veering off to the right.

The OCT pointer.

I stayed left and continued out the headland until I could see Fishing Rock, a small rock island just off the headland.

Pigeon guillemots

Fishing Rock just beyond the end of the headland.

I turned around and made my way back to the Oregon Coast Trail and followed it north off the headland and down to Lincoln Beach.

Seaside daisies near the beach.

Once I was on the beach it was 2.25-miles to the Gleneden Beach State Recreation Area. It was another foggy morning so visibility was limited, but there were a number of shore birds in the surf.

They weren’t all shore birds.

Seagulls

Sanderlings

Black-bellied plovers

The large group of trees marked the Gleneden Beach State Recreation Area.

I headed across the beach up the trail to make use of the facilities here. Back in 2015 we started our Salishan Spit hike here (post).

Aster

One of several rabbits I spotted.

I returned to the beach and headed back toward Fishing Rock. The visibility was still poor, but the tide was nearing the morning low tide which revealed some nice tide pools near the Fishing Rock.

Sand flea

Coming up on the headlands and Fishing Rock.

I followed the Oregon Crest Trail back up to the Fishing Rock Recreation Site and then turned onto gravel Fogarty Avenue.

OCT pointer at the recreation site.

The OCT follows Fogarty Avenue 0.2-miles to Highway 101.

At Highway 101 I followed another OCT pointer along the shoulder for 500′ where it dropped down to Fogarty Creek Beach.

Fireweed

Thistle

I headed north along this beach back toward Fishing Rock.

There were a number of seals on these rocks.

The field guide indicated that you normally can only go a short distance in this direction, however at the time of my visit it would have been possible to continue all the way to Fishing Rock.

I wasn’t sure how quickly the tide might come back in and cut off access, so I turned around after taking the photo above. Heading south I got as close to the ocean as possible attempting to get a better look at the seals, surf scooters and cormorants offshore.

Surf scooter

Cormorant

More surf scooters.

Fogarty Creek

Rabbit Rock sticking out into the Pacific.

At the southern end of the beach I turned inland along the cliffs where a number of shorebirds were nesting.

Cormorants

I made way back inland toward Fogarty Creek eventually passing under Highway 101 on a paved path on the south side of Fogarty Creek.

I followed the paved path through a picnic area and to the South Fogarty Creek parking lot. On the far side of the lot is a gated gravel road which I hiked up 0.5-miles past a water tower to a saddle at the boarder of the State Park.

The gate maintenance road from the south parking area.

The road was pretty steep, but the forest was nice.

I assumed this gate was the park boundary. There were not any signs posted though so I continued up to the saddle to see if there was a view.

Unless you like looking at clearcuts there is no reason to climb past the water tower.

On my way down I circled the water tower and snacked on a few ripe berries.

Salal

Blackberries

Pearly everlasting

Coastal brook foam

Slug on a shroom.

From the south parking area I turned right to cross Fogarty Creek on a footbridge then turned left to return my car in the north parking area.

Fogarty Creek

This hike came in at 8.4-miles with 350′ of elevation gain.

Combining it with a hike out Salishan Spit would have nearly doubled that distance and of course the hike could have been shortened in various ways. One could also avoid having to cross Highway 101 by going out to the beach along the creek and following the OCT along the highway in both directions.

This was a nice hike that benefited greatly from my visiting at low tide. Fogarty Creek especially would be a fun place to stop with kids. Happy Trails!

Flickr: Fogarty Creek

Tags Fishing Rock, Fishing Rock State Recreation Site, Fogarty Creek State Recreation Area, Gleneden Beach State Recreation Area, hiking, Lincoln Beach, Oregon, oregon coast trail, Rabbit Rock, Tide pools

Hiking Mt. St. Helens Trip report Washington Washington Cascades

Trail of Two Forests & Ape Canyon – 08/08/2026

Post author By derwoodynck
Post date August 10, 2026
3 Comments on Trail of Two Forests & Ape Canyon – 08/08/2026

During the week a shift in the wind brought wildfire smoke from the numerous wildfires in Pacific NW and British Columbia to the Willamette Valley. After several days of unhealthy air quality another shift began pushing the smoke out of the valley which was good for us but not for the unlucky folks now in the smokes path. Some progress has been made on several of the fires, but new ones keep popping up. One of these was incident 282 in the Willamette National Forest approximately 4.5-miles north of Waldo Lake (post) which was detected on Friday afternoon. Our planned hike for Saturday had been to revisit nearby Bobby Lake (post). While the new fire was relatively small, we felt it was best to avoid the area and began looking for an alternate hike.

We decided that our best bet, based on weather forecast and proximity of fires, was to head to Washington’s Mt. St. Helens. For the main hike we picked the Ape Canyon Trail which we had hiked twice before, but the not since 2013 (post). Before the 2013 hike we had stopped at Ape Cave to explore the lava tube there. There is another short interpretive trail near Ape Cave, the Trail of Two Forests, that we had not visited yet, so we decided to stop there first this time.

A NW Forest Pass is required to park at the TH.

The hike is a short loop on a boardwalk with a number of interpretive stops where lava casts remind visitors of the previous forest that existed before the lava flow.

A tree stood here when the lava arrived.

A highlight is “The Crawl” where you can descend into a tree mold and crawl through a lave tube to a nearby exit.

For the sake of my knees, and the longer hike to come, I opted not to make the actual crawl and stuck to the boardwalk.

The sign for the exit from the entrance.

The exit

This was a fun little hike that would be great for kids as it is just under half a mile in length. There are also several picnic tables at the trailhead.

From the Trail of Two Forests we drove to the Ape Canyon Trailhead.

Map at the trailhead. This becomes important later at the end of our hike.

The hike to Ape Canyon is straight forward in that there are no junctions, it is just a 4.5-mile mostly uphill hike along a ridge to a rock chasm above Ape Canyon with a view of Mt. Adams to the east.

Pearly everlasting

The lower portion of the trail passes closely to the Muddy River’s lahar left created by the melting of much of the Shoestring Glacier during the 1980 eruption.

Red huckleberries, yummy.

Bunchberry, not edible.

Paintbrush

It was quite a bit smokier than we’d expected based on the forecast. The smell of smoke was prominent over the first couple of miles of trail.

Sickletop lousewort

Thimbleberry, extra yummy.

Oregon grape, apparently this makes good jelly but not pleasant off the plant.

Chipmunk

Ghost pipe

Baneberry, not edible.

Beardtongue

Scouler’s bluebells

We eventually climbed above the smoke.

Red elderberry, not edible raw and potentially dangerous even when processed.

Fireweed

Candyflower

The trail alternates between the SW and NE sides of the ridge providing views of Mt. Adams and Mt. Ranier and Mt. St. Helens.

Mt. Rainier through some haze.

Mt. Rainier

Mt. Adams

Pumice Butte

Mt. Adams amid the wildfire smoke.

Lupine

Paintbrush

Butterfly on aster

Ape Canyon

Golden-mantled ground squirrel with an itch.

Mountain heather

The chasm with Mt. Adams in the distance.

The trail is a little sketchy opposite the chasm and a reroute may soon be needed.

Just ahead to the right the tread gets pretty narrow.

Just beyond the chasm the trail arrives at a junction with the Loowit Trail.

We turned right onto the Loowit Trail and continued 0.8-miles to a currently dry spring-fed creek in the Plains of Abraham. Heather had spoken to a couple of hikers who mentioned that they had seen mountain goats on one of the hilltops from the trail closer to the spring. Last September I had seen goats on Pumice Butte during my hike from June Lake (post).

Dwarf lupine

Dwarf lupine on the Plains of Abraham.

When we got far enough around to look back at the hills above the Loowit Trail I took several pictures of what looked like they might be mountain goats to the naked eye.

One of them paid off.

The Loowit Trail crossing the Plains of Abraham.

Mountain goat fur.

Heading for the spring with Mt. Adams in the distance.

This area would have had a nice wildflower display if we had visited a few weeks earlier.

Above Ape Canyon.

The springs are back there but there was no flowing water today.

There were two small pools holding water in the creek bed.

On the far side of the creek bed two mountain bikers that had passed us earlier mentioned that they thought they’d seen a couple of bear cubs in the canyon below but weren’t certain. They continued on and I scanned the hillside.

It didn’t take long before I spotted what I thought could be a bear. When I zoomed in with the camera though I couldn’t tell at first if it was a bear or the shadowed end of a log. Then the head moved. It was the momma bear. A few moments later we had spotted the cubs as well.

We got to watch them forage for quite a while. The distance made it hard to get pictures but that didn’t stop me from trying (a lot).

Momma making sure the kids were following.

When we finally lost sight of the bears I decided to continue on the Loowit Trail to a viewpoint at the far end of the plains while Heather opted to break out her camp chair and relax a little longer.

Oregon sunshine

Paintbrush

Curious golden-mantled ground squirrel.

Alpine Butte

Coming up on the viewpoint at the junction of the Loowit and Abraham Trails. The peaks along the ridge from left to right are Coldwater Peak (post), The Dome, and Mt. Margaret (post). The top of Mt. Rainier is visible to the right.

Mt. Rainier

Penstemon

I turned around at the junction and headed back. Along the way I spotted a bear walking up the ridge of the butte that the bears had been below.

I assumed this was momma bear again but I didn’t see the cubs and the bear dropped over the far side of the ridge soon after I’d spotted it.

I reconnected with Heather and we headed back. The visibility of Mt. Adams was much improved and the smoke that had been present over the lower portion of the morning hike and moved on.

There were also clearer views of Mt. Rainier too.

Stonecrop

Fritillary on pearly everlasting.

Nuthatch

Marble Mountain across the lahar.

Circling back around to the trailhead head map. I was a little ahead of Heather and got back to the trailhead first. When I arrived there was a group of ladies and kids gathered around the map. One of them asked me if this trail went to the “canyon” and I said yes. I thought to myself it was crazy to be trying to get to Ape Canyon with such little kids and starting after 3pm to boot. A few moments later as I was putting my pack into the car I realized that she may not have been referring to Ape Canyon when she asked about the canyon, and she had probably meant nearby Lava Canyon (post). It was too late to catch them so I hoped that Heather might say something to them, but they didn’t ask her any questions, and she just assumed they were just exploring. I felt really bad and hopefully the figured it out sooner rather than later but in my defense I did give the correct answer to the question that was asked. The trail sign also named it the Ape Canyon Trail and the map was right there.

Aside from probably having sent a family on a wild goose chase the hike was great. Hiking to the far end of the plains put my hike at an even 13-miles.

There is some contention with the elevation gain as both Washington Trails Association and William L. Sullivan list the elevation gain as 1400′ while the Oregon Hikers Field Guide says 2485′. The GPS was much closer to the latter and by the way both Heather and I felt by the end the higher number seemed more realistic. It appears that the lower number is simply the difference in the high point and trailhead elevation and doesn’t account for the uphill sections on the way back.

Regardless of the actual elevation gain any hike that includes both mountain goats and bears (oh my) is a great one. Happy Trails!

Flickr: Trail of Two Forests and Ape Canyon

Tags ape canyon, Bear, hiking, Loowit Trail, mountain goat, Mt. St. Helens, Plains of Abraham, Trail of Two Forests, Washington

High Cascades Hiking Mt. Washington Area Oregon Trip report

Hand Lake – 08/01/2026

When we were working on our quest to complete at least a portion of all 100 featured hikes in William L. Sullivan’s “100 Hikes/Travel Guide Central Oregon Cascades” (post) there were several hikes that for one reason or another we did not hike the entire route described in the book. One of those hikes was Hand Lake.

Sullivan’s entry for Hand Lake is a 2.6-mile lollipop loop starting from the Hand Lake Trailhead along Highway 242 (McKenzie Pass). The highlights of the hike are the Hand Lake Shelter at the 0.5-mile mark, a short crossing of a lava field on a portion of the old McKenzie Wagon Road, and Hand Lake. The route of this hike shares a portion of another featured hiked, Benson Lake (the 9.7-mile loop option). When we did that hike we saw the wagon road, the lake and visited the shelter, so we counted that as enough to check off the hike. Today we planned on hiking the remaining portion of the hike and revisiting the sights along the Benson Lake Loop.

The trailhead is a pullout along the east side of the highway across from a hiker symbol.

Interpretive sign at the trailhead about bees.

Yarrow

The trail itself begins just to the NW on the opposite side of the highway.

Wilderness registration box, Central Cascade Wilderness Permit information, and a map.

From the signboard the Hand Lake Cutoff Trail leads into the Mt. Washington Wilderness, and the exits the wilderness, before arriving at the Hand Lake Shelter at the half mile mark.

Entering the wilderness area.

Sickletop lousewort

Goldenrod

Leaving the wilderness area.

Meadow just before the shelter.

Alpine gentians. We planned on checking in on these on our way out knowing that they would be open once sunlight hit them.

The Hand Lake Shelter

At the shelter we had to decide which direction we wanted to hike the loop. In this case we considered the steepness of the trails, what time we thought it would be best to visit the summit of Scott Mountain, and how difficult finding the old Santiam Wagon Road would be. For this loop we knew going clockwise would be less steep and we were familiar with the location of the old Santiam Wagon Road junction with the Hand Lake Trail. It was also the longer route to the summit of Scott Mountain which would allow more time for the sun to move higher overhead creating a better view of the Cascade Mountains to the east. Clockwise it was. We took stock of the trail heading into the meadow at the shelter that would be our return route and continued on the Hand Lake Cutoff Trail to the Hand Lake Trail.

Our return route.

Wildflower near the Hand Lake Trail junction.

Aster

At the junction we turned left onto the Hand Lake Trail and followed it 1.5-miles to the Benson/Tenas Trailhead passing Scott Lake along the way.

Prince’s pine

Lupine

We had to be on the lookout for these little guys most of the day.

Hardhack

The northern end of Scott Lake.

North Sister from Scott Lake.

False hellebore

The Benson/Tenas Trailhead.

Just before the gate we turned right onto the Benson Lake Trail.

The Benson Lake Trail. The post was missing a sign.

The Benson Lake Trail climbs gradually for 1.3-miles to Benson Lake which sits just inside the Mt. Washington Wilderness.

Grouse whortleberry (Vaccinium scoparium) is a variety of huckleberry. The plant has small berries that are some of my favorites.

Pinesap unfurling.

Pinesap further along.

Pinedrops along the trail.

Pinedrops

Beardtongue

The trail entering the Mt. Washington Wilderness.

Benson Lake

Pond near Benson Lake.

I turned down this signed user trail to visit the lakeshore.

The best view from the lake is actually atop the rocks to the right across the lake. We visited that spot when we hiked around the lake on a backpacking trip in 2016 (post).

After visiting Benson Lake, we continued on the loop. The trail continued to gradually climb reaching a junction with the Tenas Lake Trail in just under a mile.

Fireweed

Red-breasted nuthatch making its way down a tree.

Blueberries

We detoured a tenth of a mile down the Tenas Lakes Trail to visit the first, and largest, of the Tenas Lakes.

We returned to the Benson Lake Trail and in another 0.2-miles arrived at the Scott Mountain Trail junction.

Scott Mountain from an unnamed lake/pond.

We stayed right at the junction and followed the Scott Mountain Trail 0.8-miles uphill to yet another junction. This time with the Scotty Way Trail.

Moth

Paintbrush

At this junction we faced a choice, stay on the Scott Mountain Trail and climb 0.6-miles to the summit or stick to the loop and turn right onto the Scotty Way Trail. The skies were too clear to pass up the view atop Scott Mountain, so we began the 320′ climb to the summit.

Arrowleaf groundsel

Subalpine mariposa lily

Thistle

Approaching the summit meadows.

The Three Sisters and The Husband.

Black Crater (post) straight ahead. To the left through the trees is Belknap Crater (post).

Mt. Jefferson with a cloud in front then Three Fingered Jack, Mt. Washington and Belknap Crater.

Diamond Peak (post) to the south from the summit.

In front of Diamond Peak from left to right are Mt. Ray (post), Fuji Mountain (post), and Waldo Mountain (post).

A tiny glimpse of Mt. Hood above the ridge to the left of Mt. Jefferson (still mostly hidden). Three Fingered Jack with Hoodo (rounded) and Hayrick (flat top) Buttes in front.

Proxy Point in between North and Middle Sister with Little Bother in front of North Sister.

Mt. Washington

Fritillary

Benson Lake from Scott Mountain.

After a nice break at the summit, we headed back down to the Scotty Way Trail. I detoured briefly on the way down to explore the crater area and found another nice view of the Three Sisters.

Small crater near the summit of Scott Mountain.

Orange agoseris

View west of the McKenzie River Valley.

Back on the Scott Mountain Trail.

California tortoiseshell

Mt. Jefferson almost came out as we were descending the Scott Mountain Trail.

On the Scotty Way Trail.

The Scotty Way Trail is steeper than either of the Benson or Scott Mountain Trails and in the next 1.7-miles we lost 720′ of elevation before arriving at the Hand Lake Trail.

Entering the 2010 Scott Mountain Fire scar.

Mt. Washington and Belknap Crater.

Fireweed and pearly everlasting.

Felt-leaf everlasting

The Three Sisters

Coming up to the Hand Lake Trail.

Members of the Scorpions Trail Crew worked on the tread here as well as clearing a few logs between the junction and the Hand Lake Trailhead on 7/30.

We turned right onto the Hand Lake Trail and continued descending.

The trail neared the lava flow which we would eventually be crossing on the old McKenzie Wagon Road.

It was approximately 1.2-miles from the Scotty Way Trail junction to the wagon road which is not signed nor was it currently marked by anything.

The unnaturally flat(ish) surface of the wagon road gives it away.

We turned left onto the old Wagon Road.

It wasn’t the easiest walking, but luckily it was only a tenth of a mile across the lava flow.

The Three Sisters and The Husband from the wagon road.

The end of the lava crossing.

At the far end of the wagon road we turned right along the lava flow.

While not an official trail there was a faint path, however there were also a number of downed trees.

At the end of the lava flow is the lakebed for Hand Lake. The lake’s water level drops each Summer and with the dry year we’ve had there wasn’t a lot of water left in the lake.

Butterfly on pusspaws.

Lupine

We picked up the trail we’d seen that morning in a rocky area and followed it to the shelter.

We stopped to check on the gentians before following the Hand Lake Cutoff Trail back to the trailhead.

My GPS showed 12-miles for the hike although two tenths of that was exploration on Scott Mountain. Total elevation gain was approximately 1400′.

This was a fun hike allowing us to finish Sullivan’s hike in its entirety and also revisit some places we’ve enjoyed in the past. Today’s view from Scott Mountain was also the best one we’d had in our three summits. We did get some sad hiking news later when it was confirmed that the Flag Point Lookout (post) in the Mt. Hood National Forest had been lost to the Grasshopper Fire. This was a sad loss and a reminder to us of why we have been so focused on visiting as many different trails and places as possible before they are lost.

Hopefully there is some relief in the fires soon, but until then stay safe and happy trails!

Flickr: Hand Lake

Tags Benson Lake, Benson Lake Trail, Benson/Tenas Trailhead, Hand Lake, Hand Lake Shelter, Hand Lake Trail, Hand Lake Trailhead, hiking, Mt. Washington Wilderness, Old McKenzie Wagon Road, Oregon, Scott Lake, Scott Mountain, Scott Mountain Trail, Scotty Way Trail, Tenas Lakes, Tenas Lakes Trail

High Cascades Hiking Mt. Hood Area Oregon Trip report

Elk Cove – 07/25/2026

Heather was able to join me for the final hike of my vacation which we’d decided would be the Elk Cove Trail on Mt. Hood. Located on the north side of the mountain the Elk Cove Trailhead was the only trailhead providing access to Mt. Hood’s Timberline Trail that we had not yet been to. Most of the others we’d used as trailheads while a couple we’d hiked through as part of a loop.

Be aware that high clearance vehicles are currently recommended to access this trailhead and Laurence Lake due to the access road having been washed out by the Eliot Branch. Our Outback had no issues. We made the two-and-a-half-hour drive from Salem arriving shortly after 7am and set off on the trail.

The trail begins by crossing Pinnacle Creek.

Pinnacle Creek

For the first 1.25-miles the trail follows an old roadbed to the former trailhead. The trail also passes through the 2011 Dollar Lake Fire scar for its entire length.

Black cap raspberries

Signs of the 2011 fire.

Scouler’s bluebells

First view of Mt. Hood. One result of losing nearly all the trees in the fire is the trail now offers numerous excellent views of the mountain.

Woodland beardtongue

The location of the former trailhead. Here the trail leaves the old roadbed a switchbacks up to gain the ridge.

Trail sign announcing Elk Cove is just 3.9-miles away.

On the lower portion of the ridge some of the trees avoided crowning and survived the fire.

Mt. Adams was also visible to the north.

Mt. Adams

Mt. Hood from the ridge.

The trail followed the ridge which provides no cover from the sun, but the views are spectacular.

Fireweed

Mt. Adams again.

Probably Cascade aster.

Lupine along the trail.

To the right is the namesake pinnacle of Pinnacle Ridge. We hiked that ridge to Elk Cove in 2014 (post), but recent reports indicate that it is in rough shape and in need of maintenance.

Owl Point (post) to the NW.

There are two saddles along the ridge which provide some downhill on the way up to Elk Cove which also means uphill on the way back down to the trailhead.

Yarrow

Bird on a snag with the Coe Glacier behind.

The ridge to the right across the Hood River Valley is Surveyors Ridge (post) with Bald Butte (post) the hump toward the left end.

Both Compass Creek and the Coe Branch flow down the valley to the left (east) of the ridge. Straight ahead about 3/4 up this photo is Cannon Ball Falls, a.k.a. Lower Compass Creek Falls.

Blurry attempt at zooming in on the falls in the afternoon.

Starting down the second saddle.

Mountain bluebird

The Coe Glacier on Mt. Hood.

Once we had successfully climbed out of the second saddle we stopped for a short break where we were visited by an inquisitive hummingbird.

Beyond the second saddle the ridge widened and flattened considerably, and the number of blooming wildflowers also increased considerably.

Barrett Spur (post)

There was also more blowdown on the upper portion of the trail but nothing that was too difficult to navigate.

The fireweed was in full bloom higher up.

More aster

False hellebore

Pearly everlasting and fireweed

Goldenrod

Just over 4-miles from the trailhead the trail crosses Cove Creek, the first water source along the trail since the Pinnacle Creek crossing at the trailhead.

These logs provided a dry crossing.

Lewis’ monkeyflower. We stopped here on the way down and Heather topped off her water.

Monkeyflower

Paintbrush

After a short break at the creek we continued on.

The trail up from the creek.

Orange agoseris

Dark-eyed junco

One-sided wintergreen with a dwarf bramble blossom behind.

Robin

Valerian

The trail soon entered a dry gully that was at one time a creek bed and followed it for a bit before climbing out and entering meadows shortly before arriving at the Timberline Trail.

Purple sanicle

Campsites at the edge of the meadow.

Sub-alpine fleabane

Sign ahead at the junction of the Timberline and Elk Cove trails.

We headed right on the Timberline Trail to Cove Creek where Heather was going to take a break. I decided to continue up the Timberline Trail from Elk Cove to visit a talus field where I hoped to spot a pika (or two). Even if I didn’t see a pika I knew from previous trips that there was yet another good view of the mountain from the trail as it descended into Elk Cove.

The Timberline Trail crossing at Cove Creek.

Monkeyflower and a couple of lupine

Mt. Hood from the crossing.

There was a lot of aster blooming in Elk Cove.

Western pasque flower seedhead.

Bistort

Monkeyflower lining Cove Creek.

As I approached the talus slope I could hear multiple pikas.

I was able to spot one of the little guys.

Surveyors Ridge from the talus slope.

Waterfalls on the mountain.

Barrett Spur in front of Mt. Hood.

I continued a little further up the Timberline Trail to visit a wildflower filled hillside before returning to Elk Cove.

After meeting back up with Heather and showing her to the monkeyflower lined section of Cove Creek we returned to the Elk Cove Trail junction, but continued a little further on the Timberline Trail for another view of the mountain.

A spur trail next to a no camping sign leads to this view from Elk Cove.

Flowers along the spur trail.

We finally decided it was time to head back so we returned to the Elk Cove Trail and started down.

It was a fairly uneventful but pleasant descent. We had passed by backpacker on her way out during our climb up to Elk Cove and passed 9 or 10 hikers on their way up the trail on our way back. Those are pretty small numbers for a weekend. We did see a number of people while at Elk Cove, but the north side of the mountain is much less crowded than other areas around the mountain.

Sickletop lousewort

Checkerspot on pearly everlasting

Felt-leaved pearly everlasting

A cinquefoil

Penstemon

Golden chinquapin

A duskywing

A sulphur

Laurence Lake from the trail before descending to the old trailhead.

Laurence Lake

Back on the old roadbed.

Ripe thimbleberries!

Back at the trailhead.

My exploring brought this hike for me to 11.1-miles with approximately 2500′ of elevation gain making it the most milage I’d done since January and the most elevation gained since December 2025. While I’m not back to 100% it seems, I’m heading the right direction.

This was one of our favorite approaches to the Timberline Trail. The combination of big views and fewer people was a big plus. The lack of shade on the ridge would make it less appealing on a hot day though. Whatever route you take Elk Cove is a worthwhile goal. Happy Trails!

Flickr: Elk Cove

Tags Barrett Spur, Cove Creek, Elk Cove, Elk Cove Trail, Elk Cove Trailhead, hiking, Mt. Hood, Mt. Hood Wilderness, Oregon, timberline trail, wildflowers

Diamond Peak Area High Cascades Hiking Oregon Trip report

Salt Creek Falls to Vivian Lake – 07/23/2026

Post author By derwoodynck
Post date July 27, 2026
1 Comment on Salt Creek Falls to Vivian Lake – 07/23/2026

For the third time during the week the forecast for a planned hike in the Cascades showed clear skies when I went to bed but then it showed areas of patchy smoke when I rechecked in the morning. The first two times I pivoted to a hike on the Oregon Coast but on Thursday I decided to risk the “areas of smoke” before 11am forecast for Salt Creek Falls and Vivian Lake. The smokey conditions are the result of numerous lightning caused wildfires. Over 2000 strikes were recorded in Oregon on 7/15/26 and another reported 8357 ground strikes occurred on 7/22/26. The staggering number of strikes combined with extremely dry conditions led to some large fast-growing fires in Central and Eastern, Oregon. At least two of my high school classmates have had to evacuate due to the Akawa Butte Fire north of Sisters.

The area around the Diamond Peak Area had thus far avoided any large fires and the handful of small starts had all been quickly contained which is why I had looked at revisiting our 2013 hike from Salt Creek Falls to Vivian Lake (post). I arrived at the Salt Creek Falls Day Use Area just before 6am and was happy to find that there was no smell of smoke in the air.

I started by heading for Salt Creek Falls where there is ongoing construction at the main overlook. (A sign noted that the area is closed when construction is happening and other access routes need to be used, but there was no construction happening yet today.)

Beyond the construction there is a viewpoint of the falls and the start of the Salt Creek Falls Trail.

While we’d been to this waterfall twice before we had never gone down the trail.

The trail descends steeply losing approximately 200′ of elevation to a railed viewpoint of the 286′ waterfall.

Salt Creek Falls is an impressive waterfall, and the basalt cliffs add to the visual appeal.

I trudged back up from the lower viewpoint and followed the paved path along the cliff to the top of the falls.

From the top of the falls I stayed right at junctions and crossed Salt Creek on a footbridge where a sign announced the Diamond Creek Falls Trail.

Salt Creek

On the far side of Salt Creek, and after crossing another small footbridge, the trail split.

The split is the start of the Diamond Creek Falls Loop.

The trail to the right provides the shortest distance to Diamond Creek Falls and also offers access to Too Much Bear Lake so that is the direction I headed.

Warning sign at the start of the loop.

After a brief climb I came to the first cliff edge viewpoint.

I then detoured down a use trail to visit Too Much Bear Lake.

The first use trail didn’t provide much a view of the lake.

One of two great blue herons that I did see from the first use trail.

Back up on the trail along the basalt cliffs.

I detoured again down to Too Much Bear Lake on a better use trail that did bring me to the edge of the lake.

After my second foray down to the lake, I continued on the loop.

There were several short spurs that led to viewpoints on the right.

This spur led to an obstructed view of Lower Diamond Creek Falls, which according to the NW Waterfall Survey, has a height of 180′ over 4 drops.

Lower Diamond Creek Falls from the viewpoint.

Zoomed in on the waterfall.

Continuing on the loop the trail passes near the top of Lower Diamond Creek Falls.

The trail continues a gradual climb to a junction 1.3-miles from the start of the loop. The trail to the right is signed “Lower Diamond Creek Falls” however this is an error, and the spur trail actually descends to Diamond Creek Falls.

I turned down the spur trail and descended to a footbridge over Diamond Creek.

Musk monkeyflower

Shortly after crossing the bridge the trail brings you to 134′ Diamond Creek Falls, in my opinion one of Oregon’s prettiest.

The setting adds to the beauty.

In 2013 we had visited on July 4th and were hounded by mosquitos, but today the waterfall was mosquito free, so I was able to enjoy the waterfall and explore as I liked.

Yellow willowherb

I’m assuming this is an arnica of somesort.

After spending some time at the waterfall I returned back up to the loop and continued on to an overlook of the waterfall.

Sickletop lousewort near the overlook.

Just beyond the overlook the trail split again at an unsigned junction. The loop continued to the left while the Vivian Lake Trail headed uphill to the right.

I headed right and began the 2.2-mile climb to Vivian Lake. For the first 0.3-miles the trail crossed some swales, Diamond Creek using a road bridge, and climbed to a railroad crossing.

Prince’s pine

Bugbane

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Columbine

Approaching the road.

Fireweed

Diamond Creek

The trail continuing on the other side of the bridge.

Gnome plant was prevalent in the forest.

More swales

The railroad tracks.

No trains today but the tracks are in use.

On the far side of the tracks there are two trails, an obvious old roadbed and a narrower trail to the roadbeds right. They will both get you to the same place, but the narrower trail is the official Vivian Lake Trail (it’s also shorter) and the one I took.

A quarter mile beyond the railroad tracks the trail comes to a wilderness registration box at the edge of the Diamond Peak Wilderness.

While I was filling out the self-issued permit I felt a bite near my right elbow and looked down to see three mosquitos there. There was another on my left arm and none of them had reservations so I dispatched of them and quickly continued on. After 75 yards I realized I no longer had hiking poles so I had to turn around and go back to the kiosk to retrieve them. After gathering my poles I again headed toward Vivian Lake.

Twinflower

Lupine

Sugar sticks

Mushrooms

Hedgenettle

One-sided wintergreen

The trail climbed steeply at times passing a very obscured view of Middle Fall Creek Falls.

You can hear the waterfall much better than you can see it.

There is a much better view of Fall Creek Falls 1.3-miles from the Diamond Creek Falls Loop.

Spur to the viewpoint above Fall Creek Falls.

Fall Creek Falls

Beyond Fall Creek Falls the trail leveled a bit as it traveled above Fall Creek before steepening again prior to reaching a signed junction near Vivian Lake.

Rosy spirea

Clasping arnica

Approaching the signed junction. The trail to the right leads to the lake while the Vivian Lake Trail continues to the left to Notch Lake and eventually the Vivian Lake Trailhead (post).

I followed the trail to Vivian Lake and made my way to some campsites where I took a break on the lakeshore.

There were a few mosquitos in this area, but they were absent from the lakeshore.

Frog in the grass.

My break spot.

My only company at the lake were a few ducks who kept their distance.

Aside from an occasional faint smell of smoke and some haze depending on the direction I was looking the fires weren’t an issue.

Just as I was about to leave the clouds began to break up and I decided to make my way around the lake a bit to try and get a view of the top of Mt. Yoran.

Mt. Yoran

After getting my view of Mt. Yoran I made my way back to the Vivian Lake Trail, stopping often to admire the scene at the lake.

Once I was back to the Vivian Lake Trail I headed downhill toward the Diamond Creek Falls Loop.

On my way down I spotted something coming up the trail below me.

It wasn’t another hiker, but rather a young buck who stopped and stared at me through the trees.

We stared at one another for a while then I told him I was heading that way. Proving deer are smarter than cows he turned around and took a couple of steps down the trail, then left the trail and bounded away from me uphill through the brush. Cows would have taken a few steps down the trail, stopped, looked back at me and then taken a few more steps down the trail. This would have repeated for a half mile or more and resulted in the trail being carpet bombed with cow pies, but I digress.

Back to the hike when I finally reached the Diamond Creek Falls Loop I turned right and completed the loop.

False hellebore

Snacks included blueberries, huckleberries, and a ripe salmonberry.

The Diamond Creek Falls Loop.

Rhododendron lined the trail. The loop is a great hike for rhododendron earlier in the year but that is also typically mosquito time.

Mount David Douglas from the trail.

The trail crossed two roadbeds.

Completing the loop.

I recrossed Salt Creek then turned right looping around the picnic area to return to the trailhead parking lot next to a Diamond Creek Falls Trail sign.

I somehow managed to turn my GPS off after marking the trailhead and didn’t catch it until I was at Too Much Bear Lake so I had to fill in the first part of the track manually. Based on the additional information I did get, this hike was between 9.5 and 10 miles with 1900′ of elevation gain.

Even though it was a Thursday I was surprised that I only passed one other person on the trails, and that was shortly before I completed the Diamond Creek Falls Loop. There were a few cars at the trailhead and people headed to Salt Creek Falls but I’d had the trails almost entirely to myself. Happy Trails!

Flickr: Salt Creek Falls to Vivian Lake

Tags Diamond Creek Falls, Diamond Creek Falls Loop, Diamond Peak Wilderness, Fall Creek Falls, hiking, Oregon, Salt Creek Falls, Too Much Bear Lake, Vivial Lake, Vivian Lake Trail