Category: Mt. Hood Area

Castle Canyon and Sandy River Park – 09/23/2023

Post author By derwoodynck
Post date September 25, 2023
2 Comments on Castle Canyon and Sandy River Park – 09/23/2023

Some much-needed rain was forecast to arrive by Saturday afternoon. That combined with the presence of haze from the lingering wildfires had us looking for a shorter day that wasn’t focused on big views. We turned to a pair of hikes in the direction of Mt. Hood. (Originally the plan was for a third stop at Barlow Wayside Park, but it is currently closed due to the Camp Creek Fire.)

To start our day we drove to the West Zigzag Mountain Trailhead for the short, but steep, Castle Canyon Trail.
We’d parked here in 2020 when we hiked up to West Zigazag Mountian (post).

We could have parked at the Castle Canyon Trailehad but this trailhead was a bit closer and it allowed us to hike another portion of the Barlow Wagon Road.

We followed the Barlow Wagon Road Trail until we spotted a barricade. Just before the barricade we spotted a trail heading into the forest on our left.

The barricade ahead.

The trail before the barricade.

We mistakenly turned up this use trail which sported clear tread but also a good deal of blowdown.

This trail had seen maintenance at some point.

As we picked our way over and around the obstacles it became clear that we were not on the Castle Canyon Trail. A quick check of the GPS unit showed that we had turned off the Barlow Road too early. Luckily this trail crossed the Castle Canyon Trail after 0.2-miles.

There was no signage at the junction and the map on the GPS showed the Castle Canyon Trail further ahead, so we turned right on this new trail and followed it back 400′ to the Barlow Road where we confirmed that it was indeed the Castle Canyon Trail.
Trail sign along the road.

We turned around and headed up the Castle Canyon Trail arriving at signboard and wilderness registration box not far beyond the junction with the use trail.

Mt. Hood Wilderness map and information.

While the Castle Canyon Trail is only about a mile long it gains over 800′ most of it over the final three quarters of a mile.

Toward the end of the trail, we began to pass a series of volcanic rock formations.

The official trail ends at the top of a rock fin with a partially obstructed view called the Pinnacles Viewpoint.

Another use trail headed left (West) from the top of the fin passing through the forest for approximately 300′ to a second rock fin with a better view but unbeknownst to me it was home to some rather inhospitable yellow jackets.
The western fin.

Use trail along the western fin.

View up Castle Canyon.

Rock pillar across Castle Canyon.

Devil’s Peak (post) and Hunchback Mountain (post)

Looking down from the end of the rock fin.

Everything was fine while I was taking in the view but as I started back along the fin I felt a sharp prick on the back of my right hand. It took a moment to realize what had happened, but I quickly realized it was a ticked off yellow jacket. Given the terrain I was on I couldn’t move too quickly despite needing to get away from whatever nest was about. A second sting followed, this one on my calf and I was afraid one had gotten up may pant leg so I was now slapping my leg as I carefully (but quickly) retreated along the trail. By the time I’d made it back to the end of the official trail the pursuit seemed to have been abandoned and I took a moment to catch my breath.
Just after taking this picture on my way back I received my first sting.

I actually followed a use trail several yards above the end of the trail just to make sure I wasn’t being followed.

I could see Heather on the trail below so I made my way out onto the other fin which was yellow jacket free and waited for her to make her way up.

The trail on the other fin.

The Castle Canyon Trail below the rock fin.

After taking in the view from this fin we headed back down to the Barlow Wagon Road Trail and followed it back to our car.

One of two red-breasted sapsuckers on the tree.

The Castle Canyon Trail was approximately 0.2-miles East of the barricade that we’d seen from the use trail we turned up.

We liked the colors of this plant carpeting the ground along the road.

Back at the West Zigzag Trailhead.

From the trailhead we headed back to Highway 26 and followed it West into Sandy and made our way to the Sandy River Trailhead.
There isn’t much parking here but it is possible to park at nearby Sandy High School.

The Sandy River Trail follows an old roadbed downhill for a mile to the Sandy River in this undeveloped park. The Jim Slagle Loop Trail allows for an optional loop.
The upper junction with the loop trail was just 0.2-miles from the trailhead.

We stuck to the Sandy River Trail on the way down.

The Sandy River Midway Trail on the left was about 0.4 of a mile from the upper junction making a shorter loop (or figure 8) possible.

The lower junction with the Jim Slagle Trail was 0.6-miles from the upper junction.

Approximately 500′ from the lower junction we came to a trail pointer for a viewpoint.

We figured why not and followed the short path to the left to a rather obstructed view of the Sandy River.
The river is behind the trees at the top while the Sandy River Trail is clearly visible below.

After the short detour we continued down to the river where trails went in either direction. There were numerous use trails down to the riverbank, all of which were occupied by fishermen.

Since there was no open space along the river we quickly turned around and started back up to the loop trail where we turned right.

This trail climbed through the forest for almost a mile to the upper junction. The forest was nice and we spotted a large frog along the way.

From the upper junction it was just a short climb back to the trailhead.

The two hikes combined were a just under 7-miles (4.3 & 2.5 respectively). Perhaps not the most exciting trails we’ve hiked. The scenery was nice and they had enough to offer for their lengths.
Castle Canyon

Sandy River Park

I could have done without the stings, but it was a nice outing on a day when rain would finally be arriving. Hopefully it extends into Northern California to help with some of the fires down there. Happy Trails!

Flickr: Castle Canyon & Sandy River Park

Tags Castle Canyon, Castle Canyon Trail, Castle Canyon Trailhead, hiking, Jim Slagle Loop Trail, Oregon, rhododendron, Sandy, sandy river, Sandy River Park, Sandy River Trail, West Zigzag Mountain Trailhead

High Cascades Hiking Mt. Hood Area Oregon Trip report

McGee Creek Trail to McNeil Point – 08/05/2023

Post author By derwoodynck
Post date August 7, 2023
1 Comment on McGee Creek Trail to McNeil Point – 08/05/2023

It had been a couple of years since we’d hiked in the Mt. Hood Wilderness so we were due for another visit. There were a few trails that lead to the Timber Line Trail that we hadn’t checked out yet so we chose the McGee Creek Trail and planned on visiting McNeil Point for the third time. The first two visits had been via the Top Spur Trailhead (Post.

We were the second car at the McGee Creek Trailhead

The McGee Creek Trail is a fairly straight trail that climbs gradually a little more than a mile and a half to the Timberline Trail. The trail is completely forested and a bit brushy in places, but it was quiet, we only saw two other hikers on the trail and that was when we were on our way back down.

Registration box and signboard at the Mt. Hood Wilderness boundary.

There were a few downed trees but nothing too difficult to navigate.

The brush was mostly huckleberry bushes.

Trail side snacks.

McGee Creek Trail junction with the Timberline Trail.

We turned left onto the Timberline Trail and followed it for approximately 2.5-miles to the McNeil Point Trail. While the McGee Creek Trail had been quiet the Timberline Trail was an expressway, even early in the morning. There were a lot of wildflowers blooming but the number of people was honestly a bit of a distraction. Add in a lot of garbage (mostly unburied TP) and at least one pair of backpackers camped on a meadow that was clearly marked no camping and it wasn’t the best experience we’ve had on a trail.

Blowdown from the September 2020 storms that also flamed the destructive wildfires across the state. For more information on the storms impact on Mt. Hood check out this Wy’East Blog post.

Looking through the trees at one of the areas that suffered severe blowdown.

It was a cloudy day. We got sprinkled on briefly a couple of times.

Fireweed

Pinedrop

Avalanche lilies

Paintbrush

Valerian, spirea, and paintbrush

Gentians

Yellow monkeyflower

A tributary of McGee Creek.

Spirea along the Timberline Trail.

Shooting star

Pink monkeyflower

Fleabane

Beargrass

False hellebore

Partridge foot

Lupine

Lewis monkeyflower along a tributary of McGee Creek.

Beardstongue

Lousewort

Dry pond surrounded by beargrass.

The idiots camped in the meadow. There is even an arrow on the “Do not camp in meadow” sign pointing at the meadow. Please DON’T be these people.

The second pond still had some water in it.

Junction with the Mazama Trail (post).

The butterflies weren’t out today but the bees were.

The clouds just wouldn’t quite raise enough.

Mountain heather

Lupine and paintbrush

Beargrass along the Timberline Trail.

Paintbrush, partridge foot and lupine

Signpost for the McNeil Point Trail.

We followed the McNeil Point Trail uphill gaining a ridge above a branch of Ladd Creek.

We’d never seen a paint colored like this before.

Western pasque flower

Lupine and two types of monkeyflower

The trail eventually curved away from the ridge traversing a hillside above the headwaters of McGee Creek.

As the trail passed through a talus slope we heard several pikas and it didn’t take long to spot one dashing across the rocks with some greens in its mouth.

Pikas spend the Summer gathering greens for the rest of the year when they remain in their homes under the snows.

We wound up seeing at least three, one of which emerged to say “hi” to Heather.

Mountain heather and paintbrush.

Saxifrage

A variety of flowers.

Avalanche lilies

Sub-alpine fleabane

Western pasque flowers

Doe that was as surprised as we were when we spotted each other.

Lewis monkeyflower

The trail forks at a small plateau out of sight of the McNeil Point Shelter. The right fork is the most direct route to the shelter but we forked left thinking we might head further up the ridge toward the Glisan Glacier like we had done in 2015.
The righthand fork.

View from the plateau.

Some low clouds to the East.

Dwarf lupine

A hiker on the righthand fork headed for the McNeil Point Shelter.

As we approached the ridge a large group of hikers headed up the ridge from the shelter. When we reached the ridge we decided not to follow them up and instead turned downhill to the shelter.

Caves below the Sandy Glacier.

Bluebells of Scotland

The shelter below to the right.

Muddy Fork

Goldenrod

With the clouds the view wouldn’t have been great from the ridge on this day.

It had been approximately 1.5 miles from the Timberline Trail to the shelter. After taking a short break at the shelter we had a choice to make. Retrace our steps or take a steep scramble trail directly below the shelter. On our previous visits we had returned the way we’d come but today we decided to try the scramble route.

It was less than half a mile and approximately 700′ down to the Timberline Trail. The views were good and despite the steepness and a couple of long step downs it wasn’t as bad as we’d pictured.

Patches of blowdown along Bald Mountain Ridge.

Columbine

Valerian

Paintbrush and bistort

Aster

Chipmunk snacking on huckleberries.

Meadow near the Timberline Trail.

Arriving back at the Timberline Trail.

By descending via the scramble route we cut approximately 1.7-miles from the hike and got to see some new scenery. We were a bit surprised by the number of hikers climbing up this way but it probably shouldn’t have been surprising given how busy the mountain was. We turned left on the Timberline Trail and followed it downhill 1.8 busy miles to the McGee Creek.
Every once in awhile the trail was clear of other users.

We’re always drawn to this rock fin above the Muddy Fork.

Canada jay

McGee Creek Trail junction.

We turned right onto the McGee Creek Trail leaving the crowds behind and descended the 1.7-miles to our car.

Bunchberry

Is that sunlight?

While the clouds never lifted from Mt. Hood we did experience a window of blue sky near the end of our hike.

Our hike came in at 9.7 miles with approximately 2700′ feet of elevation gain.

It was a bit of a mixed hike for us. The wildflowers and wildlife were great but the number of other trail users, and some of the resulting trash and lack of etiquette prevented us from fully enjoying the experience. It has been quite a while since we’d been on such a consistently busy hike. That being said the McGee Creek Trail was a nice break from the crowds providing the type of solitude (and lots of berries) that we really enjoy. Happy Trails!

Flickr: McGee Creek Trail to McNeil Point

Tags hiking, McGee Creek, McGee Creek Trailhead, McNeil Point, Mt. Hood National Forest. McGee Creek Trial, Mt. Hood Wilderness, Muddy Fork, Oregon, Pika, scramble route, timberline trail, wildflowers

High Cascades Hiking Mt. Hood Area Oregon Trip report

Laurel Hill Wagon Chute and Barlow Ridge Loop – 10/30/2021

Post author By derwoodynck
Post date November 4, 2021
1 Comment on Laurel Hill Wagon Chute and Barlow Ridge Loop – 10/30/2021

We ended our hiking season with a bang, a pair of stops along the Barlow Wagon Road with an off-trail adventure, great views and beautiful weather. Created in 1846 the “Barlow Road” provided an alternate route along the Oregon Trail which previously ended at The Dalles where emigrates were forced to find passage down the Columbia River. The 80 mile road led from The Dalles to Oregon City crossing several rivers and the Cascade crest along the way. The wagons also had to navigate Laurel Hill’s steep descent and our first stop of the day was to visit the Laurel Hill Wagon Chute, the steepest drop along the road.

We parked at the small pullout along Highway 26 that serves as the Laurel Hill Trailhead.
Mt. Hood from the trailhead.

We followed the trail uphill on stairs to an abandoned section of the Mt. Hood Highway then turned right to find the bottom of the rocky chute.

The wagon chute.

A trail to the right of the chute led uphill to a 4-way junction where we turned left and followed this path a short distance to the top of the chute.

The left at the 4-way junction.

Looking down the chute.

After reading the sign near the chute and trying to picture actually lowering a wagon down the chute we returned to the old highway walking a short distance past the chute to a viewpoint above Highway 26.

Sunlight starting to hit the SE side of Mt. Hood.

Ravens photo bombing a close up of the mountain.

We backtracked from the viewpoint and descended down the stairs to our car.

We then drove east through Government Camp to Highway 35 before turning right onto FR 3531 at a pointer for Barlow Road and the Pacific Crest Trail. After 0.2 miles we parked at the Barlow Pass Trailhead/Sno-Park. Both the Barlow Wagon Road and the Pacific Crest Trail pass through the trailhead. After parking we headed to a picnic table and sign boards on the south side of the parking area.

The PCT was on our right heading south toward Twin Lakes (post) while the Barlow Wagon Road lay straight ahead.

We followed the wagon road for approximately a tenth of a mile before it joined FR 3530 (Barlow Road).
A portion of the original Barlow Wagon Road.

Barlow Road (FR 3530)

Just 40 yards after joining FR 3530 the Barlow Butte Trail veered downhill at a signpost.

The trail was still following the route of the wagon road as it passed through a forest that was hit hard by last Winter’s storms.

At the half mile mark we came to a junction with the Barlow Creek/Devil’s Half Acre Trail in a small meadow.

Following pointers for the Barlow Butte Trail and Mineral Springs Ski Trail we turned left here.

The trail began a gradual 0.4 mile climb to another junction where the Barlow Butte and Mineral Springs Ski Trail parted ways.

We made a hard right here sticking to the Barlow Butte Trail which quickly entered the Mt. Hood Wilderness.
Wilderness sign along the Barlow Butte Trail.

It was a mile from the junction where the Mineral Springs Ski Trail parted ways to the next junction. The trail climbed gradually at first but soon steepened as it began a series of switchbacks.

Getting steeper.

This was the worst of the blow down we had to navigate on this section.

Nearing the junction.

A small rock cairn marked the junction where a spur trail led left up to the old lookout site on Barlow Butte.

We turned left on the spur trail which began with a great view to the NE of the Badger Creek Wilderness including Lookout Mountain and Gunsight Butte (post)

It was a little chilly with temps in the mid 30’s combined with a stiff breeze adding to the wind chill.

On the right of the far ridge is Bonney Butte (post).

The summit of Barlow Butte is overgrown now with trees but just downhill from the former lookout site was a small rock outcrop with a view of Mt. Hood.

Remains from the lookout.

The Oregon Hikers Field Guide mentions a better viewpoint on yet another rock outcrop below this one but we didn’t scramble down to it. Instead we planned on visiting a couple of other viewpoints on the Barlow Butte Trail further along Barlow Ridge. So after a short break trying to use the trees to block the wind we headed back down to the Barlow Butte Trail and turned left (downhill) at the small rock cairn. The trail passed through a stand of trees before popping out on a rocky spine.
Barlow Butte and the top of Mt. Hood.

Frog Lake Buttes (post) is the hump in the center.

Western larches

Mt. Jefferson behind some clouds.

Sisi Butte (double humps) and Bachelor Mountain (post).

The rocks were a little frosty in spots so we had to watch our footing, especially dropping off the rocks back into the forest.

This is a good point to mention that the Oregon Hikers Field Guide has you turn back here for their Barlow Butte Hike but there is a second hike in the guide, the Barlow Ridge Loop which describes a possible 10.5 mile loop. This hike is listed as a “lost” hike due to the Forest Service having abandoned the trail along the remainder of Barlow Ridge. The Barlow Butte Trail at one time followed the ridge to its end and descended to Klingers Camp. We were keeping the loop option open but were planning on turning back possibly at the high point of the trail.

The next marker along Barlow Ridge was Lambert Rock which we reached a half mile from the small rock cairn on Barlow Butte.

It’s possible to carefully scramble up this rock past a memorial plaque for Dr. Richard Carlyle Lambert who perished while hiking in Utah.

The view of Mt. Hood was spectacular from the rock but the stiff breeze and cold air made for a short stay.
Barlow Butte to the left of Mt. Hood.

If not for the clouds to the south the Three Sisters and Mt. Jefferson would have also been visible from the rock.
Mt. Jefferson still behind some clouds.

Beyond Lambert Rock the trail dropped a bit into a saddle where another small rock cairn marked an unofficial cutoff trail to the left that leads downhill to FR 3560.

We continued to the right on the Barlow Butte Trail and 0.4 miles from Lambert Rock detoured to the right to what we hoped might be another viewpoint. Trees blocked the view north to Mt. Hood and east to Lookout Mountain. Again there would have been a decent view of Mt. Jefferson from this spot but we did have a good view west to Tom Dick and Harry Mountain above Mirror Lake (post)

Parts of Mt. Jefferson peaking through the clouds.

Tom Dick and Harry Mountain (with the rock fields near the top).

We continued on following the increasingly faint trail another third of a mile to it’s high point and another great view of Mt. Hood. While the trail was faint there were often cairns, blazes or diamonds marking the correct path.
Small cairns in a meadow.

One of the aforementioned diamonds.

Approaching the high point.

Clouds were starting to pass over Lookout Mountain at this point.

Mt. Hood from the high point of Barlow Ridge.

Up to this point the trail had been fairly easy to follow and there hadn’t been much blow down over it so we decided to continue along the ridge at least to the point where it started to steepen on it’s way down to Klingers Camp. For the next three quarters of a mile the trail was still visible at times and the occasional marker let us know we were still on the right course.
Carin in the trees ahead.

Elk or deer tracks leading the way.

Another section of frost.

We took this as a blaze.

That blaze led to this large cairn.

Things were starting to get interesting here.

Stopped here to listen for pikas, no luck though.

This could be trail.

Still on the right track, note the folded trail sign on the tree at center.

We lost the trail for good in a small beargrass meadow which was my fault. While I had brought a topographic map that showed where the trail was supposed to be I was navigating primarily based off of what I remembered reading from the Oregon Hikers field guide. I had remembered most of it well but had forgotten the part where “the trail swings off the ridge to the right….”. All I remembered was that the route eventually dropped steeply down the nose of a ridge. Not realizing it was the nose of a different ridge I kept us following Barlow Ridge for another 0.2 miles.
The small meadow.

Officially off-trail now.

This looked like a place the trail would go.

A final look at Mt. Hood from Barlow Ridge.

Not realizing that we were off the trail alignment we decided that the hiking had been easy enough up until now that we would go ahead and try for the loop. Down we headed looking in vain for any sign of trail. Several times we convinced ourselves that we’d found it, but it turns out if it was anything it was game trails.
This doesn’t look so bad.

One of several big trees we encountered.

Little orange mushrooms, how appropriate for Halloween.

Starting to encounter more debris.

If there had been a trail good luck finding it.

Heather coming down behind me.

We lost over 600′ of elevation in three quarters of a mile and things were only getting steeper. It was at this point that I turned my brain on and pulled the map out of Heather’s pack. I quickly saw what I’d done wrong, we were following the wrong ridge line down and should have been one ridge to the SW. The problem now was there was a stream bed between us. We backtracked up hill a bit and followed a game trail across the trickling stream and attempted to traverse over to the correct ridge.
Pretty decent game trail here.

This section was fun.

A bigger orange mushroom.

We struggled down and across, occasionally having to backtrack or veer uphill to find safer passage.
Uphill on this game trail.

Thickets of brush kept us from getting all the way over to the ridge we needed so we just kept going downhill knowing that we would eventually run into one of the forest roads at the bottom.

More steep fun.

We eventually made it to flat ground in a forest of young trees and ferns.

We could tell using our GPS that despite all of that we were only about two tenths of a mile from Klingers Camp. We were even closer to FR 240 and being tired of off-trail travel we headed straight for the road.
Look Ma a road!

We turned right on this road and followed it to a junction with Barlow Road.
It doesn’t look that steep from down here.

Barlow Road.

We turned right onto Barlow Road and followed it 150 yards to Klingers Camp.

After visiting the camp we continued on Barlow Road for five miles back to the Barlow Pass Trailhead. Along the way two pickups drove past us in the other direction. At the 1.6 mile mark we passed the Grindstone Campground and near the 4 mile mark the entrance to the Devil’s Half Acre Campground.

Western larches above Barlow Road.

Grindstone Campground

Barlow Creek

Crossing Barlow Creek near Devil’s Half Acre Meadow.

Clouds on top of Mt. Hood towering over the trees.

Barlow Road at the campground.

Devil’s Half Acre Meadow.

We could have taken the Devil’s Half Acre Trail from the campground to the Barlow Butte Trail but we weren’t sure what the condition was and the Field Guide didn’t mention taking it so we played it safe and trudged up the road.
Finally back to where we’d left the road in the morning.

Arriving back at the Barlow Pass Trailhead

Before we attempted the crazy loop we had planned on also making the 2.2 mile round trip hike to the Pioneer Woman’s Grave on the other side of Barlow Pass and then stopping at the Castle Canyon Trail for a final short hike. Neither of us had any interest in making another stop at this point but we were interested in the grave site. Unfortunately Heather’s plantar was acting up. Surprisingly, given the lack of good ideas we’d displayed so far, we came up with a alternate plan. Heather would drive to the Pioneer Woman’s Grave Trailhead while I hiked the Barlow Wagon Road to it. The trailhead is located right next to the grave site so Heather didn’t have to worry about her plantar and now I only needed to hike a little over a mile downhill.
The first other people (not counting the two drivers in the pickups) that we’d seen all day.

I hustled down the wagon road stopping along the way at another nice Mt. Hood viewpoint.

I did take the time to walk down the road 60 yards to the East Fork Salmon River to check out some stonework and wagon ruts left by the emigrants.
East Fork Salmon River

The 10.5 mile loop hike turned into 12 miles due to our being off course and wandering around trying to figure out where we were going so my day wound up being just under 14 miles total with approximately 3100′ of elevation gain. Heather got all the elevation gain with 1.2 miles less traveled. I probably wouldn’t try that loop again but I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t kind of curious what it would be like to actually follow the field guide correctly. Happy Trails!

Loop is in blue with the Pioneer Woman’s Grave in orange.

For reference here is where the trail is shown on the map we were carrying and here is a link to the map in the field guide.

Flickr: Laurel Hill Wagon Chute and Barlow Ridge Loop

High Cascades Hiking Mt. Hood Area Oregon Trip report

Hunchback Mountain – 7/11/2020

Post author By derwoodynck
Post date July 12, 2020
6 Comments on Hunchback Mountain – 7/11/2020

We extended our streak of 3000+ feet elevation gains and checked off another of Sullivan’s featured hikes with a visit to the Hunchback Trail in the Salmon-Huckleberry Wilderness. We started our hike at the trailhead just off Highway 26 at the Zigzag Ranger Station.

This trailhead is almost directly across Highway 26 from our previous hike, West Zigzag Mountain (post). Based on the forecast there was a really good chance that we’d get to see similar views of Mt. Hood that we’d missed the week before. Similar to that hike the Hunchback Trail began with a steep climb via a series of switchbacks which brought us into a wilderness area.

Pink pyrola

Unlike the Zigzag Mountain Trail, which was well graded and rarely felt steep, the Hunchback Trail felt quite steep at times.

Switchback below a rock outcrop.

Looking down the hillside from the trail.

Trail dropping to a saddle.

After nearly 1.75 miles of switchbacks the trail gained the ridge and turned SE following it for the remainder of the hike. After an up and down we gained our first limited view of the day to the south.
Little Cheney Creek drainage across the Salmon River valley Looking south across the Salmon River valley. The Bonanza Trail (post) climbs the ridge to the right up to Huckleberry Mountain (hidden behind the first tree on the right).

The ridge was a little more open than the forest below allowing for a wider variety of flowers.
Beardstongue (penstemon)

Washington lily

Tiger lily

Penstemon

Sub-alpine mariposa lily (cat’s ear lily)

Yarrow

The first really good view came after just over two miles when the trail climbed steeply up to a catwalk along rimrock cliffs.
Starting the steep climb.

Coming up to the cliffs.

Cliffs along the trail.

Huckleberry Mountain

Salmon Butte (tallest peak on the left and Tumala Mountain (pointy peak furthest back and right) Salmon Butte (post) (tallest peak on the left and Tumala Mountain (post) (pointy peak furthest back and right)

While Mt. Hood was visible through tree branches to the north there wasn’t enough of a view for photos. There were however plenty of flowers to take pictures of.
Blue-head gilia

Blue-eyed Mary

Oregon sunshine, blue-head gilia, penstemon and yarrow.

There was also quite a bit of clarkia present but it was too early in the day for the blossoms to be open so they would have to wait until we came back by later.

At the end of the cliffs the trail dropped back into the forest then almost immediately climbed steeply again arriving at a sign (on the opposite side of a tree) for the Rockpile Viewpoint.
Trail dropping toward the forest.

Trail starting to climb again.

Sign for the viewpoint.

The side trail headed steeply uphill and quickly devolved into a web of possible paths.

We followed what appeared to be the “best” route uphill for about 60 yards to the base of the “Rockpile”.

I scrambled up through the rocks enough to see that while it was a great viewpoint for Mt. Hood it was still a little too early for it as the Sun was right above the mountain.
The top of the rocks.

Washed out view of Mt. Hood

I let Heather know it probably wasn’t worth the effort to scramble up right now and we decided to stop on our way back instead.

After scrambling back down to Heather we returned to the Hunchback Trail and continued SE along the ridge. The next mile was the gentlest section of the trail as it continued to do some ups and downs but they were only little rises and drops with some level trail mixed in.

The forest here was home to a number of flowers that rely on their relationship to fungi to survive.
Pinesap

Pinedrop

Pacific coralroot

We also got a brief glimpse of Mt. Adams at one point through some trees.

Approximately 1.1 miles from the side trail to the Rockpile Viewpoint another side trail split off to the right. This one was much fainter and there was no sign where it left the Hunchback Trail but it headed uphill to the right toward some rocks.

We suspected that this trail led to the Helispot Viewpoint, but we weren’t positive and Sullivan described the view as overgrown so we decided not to follow this path just in case it wasn’t to the viewpoint. A hundred or so feet down the trail we wound up passing a sign (again on the opposite side of a tree) for the Helispot Viewpoint. There didn’t appear to be an actual route from the sign though as it was simply pointing at a hillside covered with rhododendron bushes.

We decided that on the way back we would take the route we’d seen above and continued on. Over the next mile the trail spent quite a bit of time on the east side of the ridge where the tread was wearing and rhododendron were beginning to encroach on it a bit. There was an short interesting walk on a narrow rocky spine and then there were two steep climbs which brought the trail to a bit over 4000′ in elevation.
Passing a rock outcrop on narrower tread.

Paintbrush

Rocky spine

Columbine

Climbing up the Hunchback Trail.

Heather coming up the trail.

Beargrass near the 4000′ elevation.

After reaching the high point the trail began a steep 400′ drop to another saddle, but luckily our turnaround point was only about 50′ down. That turnaround point was the third signed viewpiont along this stretch of the Hunchback Trail, the Great Pyramid.
Heading down to the viewpoint sign.

Side trail to the Great Pyramid.

The short side path led passed an obscured view SE and some wildflowers along a rock outcrop.

Unfortunately the whole area was overrun with thatching ants. After a few steps out along the rocks there were numerous ants climbing our legs and although their bites aren’t as painful as the all red harvester ants they aren’t fun either so we left the viewpoint to the insects and retreated back up the trail.

We followed the Hunchback Trail back to where we had planned to take the side trip to the Helispot Viewpoint and headed uphill on the faint path.

A short distance up we noticed a fairly distinct trail coming up from the left which we assumed was the trail that the sign had originally been pointing too. The viewpoint was just as Sullivan had described it, overgrown. Probably not worth the tenth of a mile side trip but there were a few flowers present.

We returned to the Hunchback Trail happy to be on the gentler mile section. We detoured back up to the Rockpile Viewpoint just as some other hikers were leaving it which allowed us to take a nice break there all by ourselves with the improved view of Mt. Hood.
The cliffs of West Zigzag Mountain to the left of Mt. Hood where we’d been the week before (post)

20200711_113107 We weren’t entirely alone as Heather was visited by a butterfly.

After a nice break we made our way back to the rimrock cliffs which were now fully in sunlight opening the clarkia and making for even nicer views.

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Looking down into the Salmon River valley

Looking west toward Highway 26

20200711_120439 Blue-head gilia

20200711_121116 Penstemon

Nevada deervetch

20200711_120246 Tiger lilies

20200711_120332 Oregon sunshine

Cat’s ear lilies

As we descended the 1500′ from the rimrock viewpoint to the trailhead our knees and feet were letting us know that they were done with three and four thousand elevation gain hikes for awhile. We’ll have to see about that :).

Both Sullivan and the Oregonhikers.org field guide put this hike at 9 miles roundtrip. They vary on elevation with Sullivan showing a 2900′ gain while the field guide showing 3270′. Our Garmin’s came in at 10.1 and 11.2 miles and we never pay attention to the elevation numbers. We were actually running an experiment on this hike regarding the distances shown on the GPS units. We both carry a Garmin GPSmap 62s unit. We’ve looked at the settings and they seem to be the same, but for the majority of hikes Heather’s Garmin reports a noticeable amount more mileage than mine (mine is typically closer to what the information for the hike states). For this hike we swapped units so I was carrying the one she normally does and vice versa. Sure enough the one she carried registered the higher 11.2 mile total. We are at a bit of a loss to explain what causes the discrepancy. On rare occasions the totals have been the same or within a tenth of a mile or two but more often than not the difference is at least a mile and sometimes a couple. Any thoughts out there as to what might cause this? I tend to hike faster, especially uphill but then I spend more time stopped waiting for Heather.

If you couldn’t tell the GPS thing is driving me a bit crazy, so much so that that night as we were going to bed I wondered aloud what would happen if one of us carried both GPS units on a hike? These are the things that keep me up at night :). Happy Trails!

Flickr: Hunchback Mountain

Tags Great Pyramid, Helispot Viewpoint, hiking, Hunchback Mountain, Hunchback Mountain Trailhead, Hunchback Trail, Mt. Hood, Oregon, Rockpile Viewpoint, Salmon-Huckleberry Wilderness, wildflowers

High Cascades Hiking Mt. Hood Area Oregon Trip report

West Zigzag Mountain – 7/04/2020

Post author By derwoodynck
Post date July 6, 2020
3 Comments on West Zigzag Mountain – 7/04/2020

We continued our 4th of July tradition of hiking by checking off another of William L. Sullivan’s featured hikes, West Zigzag Mountain (Hike #68 “100 Hikes/Travel Guide Northwest Oregon & Southwest Washington” 4th edition). He actually describes two hikes, a 1.8 mile round trip to Castle Canyon and an 11+ mile round trip to the former West Zigzag lookout site. We chose the longer hike for this visit which starts from Zigzag Mountain Trailhead.
Parking area is just a wide spot in the road.

Two trails start at the trailhead, the Zigzag Mountain Trail heads uphill to the left while the Road 19 Trail follows the closed road to the right. The Road 19 trail connects with the Castle Canyon Trail in 1.1 miles.

After a short steep climb the Zigzag Mountain Trail arrived at a wilderness permit box and Mt. Hood Wilderness map.

After filling out one of the self-issue permits we began to climb. Our last two hikes had cumulative elevation gains right around 4000′ so today’s 3100′ was a little better. It also helped that unlike the trails on our previous two climbs the Zigzag Mountain trail utilized a number of switchbacks to keep the grade much more manageable.
Zigzag Mountain Trail entering the Mt. Hood Wilderness.

The climb was forested with a few flowers present at the lower elevations.
Washington lilies

Tiger lilies

Self-heal

Salal

Candy sticks

Queen’s cup and bunchberry

Anemone

As we climbed we began to see a fair amount of rhododendron in bloom.

The trail made 15 switchbacks over the first two miles before straightening out for a bit along a ridge.

We passed a small rock garden with some penstemon along the ridge.

The ridge was a bit more open and here we found some beargrass and lupine blooming. There were also opportunities for views but it had clouded up overnight and those clouds weren’t burning off very quickly.
Beargrass

Lupine

The trail spent little time on the ridge top and instead rose up and down switching sides of the ridge as it passed under rock outcrops.
Trillium along the north facing side of the ridge.

Mushroom

Pinesap

Passing a rock outcrop.

West Zigzag Mountain from the trail.

Back to the north facing side.

Now on the south facing side.

Near the 2.5 mile mark we came to a rocky viewpoint where we had a nice view of West Zigzag Mountain ahead but not of much else due to the clouds.

Sub-alpine mariposa lily at the viewpoint.

Another series of switchbacks followed before the trail straightened out following the ridge of Zigzag Mountain near the 3 mile mark. After another three quarters of a mile of climbing the trail began a series of ups and downs along the ridge. This lasted for the final 2.5 miles to the former lookout site although none of them were very long or too steep. While there weren’t any wildflowers meadows on this hike there were quite a few flowers to be seen along the way.
Lupine and paintbrush

Beargrass and rhododendron

Huckleberry

Cliff beardtongue

Larkspur

Phlox

More cliff beardtongue

Penstemon

20200704_095101 Larkspur

On the ridge just before reaching the lookout site.

Around the 5.25 mile mark we came to what would have been a great view of Mt. Hood if not for the clouds.

After crossing the ridge the trail emerged from the forest near some rock outcrops that framed the forest below.

We followed a short path led to the top of the southern outcrop where we had a view over to the former lookout site.

Former lookout site in the tress to the left.

We sat on the outcrop and watched the clouds pass by.

With the limited views outward we focused our attention down picking out a few flowers that we hadn’t seen on other parts of the hike.

Tufted saxifrage

Arnica

Lousewort

Some of the rocks in Castle Canyon

When we started to get a little chilly we decided to head back, but first we had to visit the former lookout site to ensure that we connected this hike with our 2012 hike.

View of the outcrop from the lookout site.

Raceme pussytoes

We returned the way we’d come spotting a few flowers that we’d missed going the other direction.
Valerian

Salmonberry

Bleeding heart

Violet

Monotropa uniflora aka ghost plant

Despite the clouds never burning off (we did eventually see a couple of slivers of blue sky) it was a good day for the hike. The flowers were good and the clouds kept the temperature down and the gradual grade of the trail kept the 11.4 miles from feeling difficult. We wound up passing 8 other hikers on our return trip which is a pretty low number for a Saturday hike on a trail as close to Portland as this one is so that was also a plus as we are still doing our best to practice proper social distancing. We capped off our 4th by watching the fireworks in our neighborhood with our son and my parents. Happy Trails!

Flickr: West Zigzag Mountain

Tags hiking, Mt. Hood National Forest, Mt. Hood Wilderness, Oregon, West Zigzag Mountain, wildflowers, zigzag mountain trail

High Cascades Hiking Mt. Hood Area Oregon Trip report

Cloud Cap to Elk Cove – 8/17/2019

Post author By derwoodynck
Post date August 22, 2019
1 Comment on Cloud Cap to Elk Cove – 8/17/2019

For the grand finale hike of our August vacation we headed for Mt. Hood to do the section of the Timberline Trail from Cloud Cap to Elk Cove. We had been to Cloud Cap in 2016 during our hike up Cooper Spur (post) and we’ve visited Elk Cove a couple of times (most recently in 2017 post) via a western approach on the Timberline Trail. We had not however been on the 5 mile section of the Timberline Trail between the Coe Branch (we turned back at the crossing in 2014 post) and the Cloud Cap Saddle Campground.

We had a bit of a scare on the way to the trailhead as most of the drive was spent in a light drizzle which became heavier at Government Camp. At the White River sno-park Mt. Hood was hidden behind a layer of gray clouds but as we continued north on Highway 35 we emerged from the grey. By the time we were winding our way up Cloud Cap Road the sky was blue and there were no signs of the clouds hiding on the other side of the mountain. We parked at the Cloud Cap Trailhead and hiked through the campground to a pair of signboards marking the Timberline Trail.

We turned right onto that trail and followed it through a short stretch of green trees before emerging into a recovering fire scar.

The trail turns north toward Mt. Adams and away from Mt. Hood as it prepares to drop steeply into the gorge carved by the glacial Eliot Branch which could be heard roaring in the chasm below.
Mt. Adams ahead above the clouds.

We descended a series of switchbacks which provided ample views of Mt. Hood without having to strain our necks looking behind us.
Mt. Hood

The Eliot Branch has a reputation as being one of the trickier crossing on the mountain ever since a bridge was swept away over a decade ago. In fact the Timberline Trail had “officially” been closed for years (there were still unofficial crossings) until the Forest Service completed a reroute of the trail in 2016. As we neared the stream the first looks were impressive.

The combination of the cloudy water, thundering noise, and swift current make glacial streams seem particularly daunting. Crossing earlier in the day minimizes the amount flow making morning crossings easier than those later in the afternoon or evening. We arrived at the crossing shortly before 8am so that was in our favor. There was also a promising looking log a bit downstream but it looked like it might be a tricky descent to reach it from this direction and we were (or at least I was) hoping to get a little fording practice in so we picked a reasonable looking spot and made our way through the water which was only just reaching our calves at its deepest.

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It was a fairly uneventful crossing except for having forgotten just how cold a glacial stream is. Brrrr!!

We had lost over 350′ of elevation getting down to the Eliot that needed to be made up now that we were across. The Timberline Trail gained over 500′ in the next three quarters of a mile as it climbed out of the canyon.

We entered the Mt. Hood Wilderness on the way up.

The burned trees allowed for fairly consistent views of both Mt. Hood and Mt. Adams.
Mt. Adams

Mt. Rainier peaking over the clouds to the left of Mt. Adams.

Mt. Hood

The trail leveled out near the 6000′ elevation and passed through a stand of green trees before arriving at a small wildflower lined stream. A pair of marmots ran into the rocks as we approached.

Penstemon

Monkeyflower

Jacob’s ladder

Western Pasque flower

A second stream followed shortly after.

20190817_082231 Paintbrush

20190817_082250 Lupine with a beetle.

Continuing on we passed a hillside covered with western pasque flower seed heads, often referred to as hippies on a stick.

As we rounded a ridge end we stopped to talk to a backpacker going in the other direction. He asked if we were from the area and wanted to know which mountains he had been seeing to the north. In addition to Adams and Rainier, Mt. St. Helens was just barely visible from that spot which we were able to point out to him.

We rounded the forested ridge and came to a large rock field below the Langille Crags.

Just over a mile from the Eliot crossing we arrived at the first of Compass Creeks three branches.
IMG_7051_stitch

Compass Creek is fed by the Langille Glacier and each branch sports a waterfall above the Timberline Trail.

A short scramble up the rocks along the creek brought us to the base of the falls.

Mt. Adams from Compass Creek.

Wildflowers along Compass Creek.

Monkeyflower and paintbrush

Hummingbird near Compass Creek.

After admiring the falls we continued on rounding two small ridges before arriving at the middle branch of Compass Creek .3 miles from the first.

This branch didn’t have nearly the amount of water as the first leaving the waterfall a little wispy.

There was yet another stream a short distance away which was putting on a wonderful wildflower display including a nice combination of pink and yellow monkeyflowers.

Lupine, paintbrush and monkeyflower.

This alpine stream was sublime and a reminder of why Mt. Hood is such a wonderful place. We kept going passing an aster covered hillside and then another meadow full of other types of flowers.

It was another .3 miles between the middle and final branches of Compass Creek where another waterfall crashed down behind a snow bridge.

After crossing the final branch of Compass Creek the trail headed down a ridge along the creek passing views of a lower waterfall.
Mt. Adams (again) from Compass Creek.

Waterfall on Compass Creek below the Timberline Trail.

In the next mile we passed through a wildflower meadow, green trees, a fire scar, and lost 350′ of elevation before arriving at yet another little stream.

The trail then headed downhill more quickly as we approached the Coe Branch.

A little over a mile and a half from Compass Creek we arrived at the Coe Branch and were pleased to find a pair of nice makeshift log bridges spanning the stream.

The crossing was no issue at all and we soon found ourselves climbing away from the Coe.

The climb away from the Coe Branch wasn’t nearly as steep as the descent had been and after three quarters of a mile we arrived at a sign for Elk Cove.

We followed the trail into the meadow where the view of Mt. Hood and Barrett Spur (post) was as impressive as always.

IMG_7224_stitch

20190817_104227

We explored a bit and then rested at a familiar spot along the stream that flows through Elk Cove.

Coe Glacier

After resting and soaking in the scenery we headed back. We stopped again below Compass Creek Falls where we watched a hummingbird moth visiting the monkeyflowers.

When we had finally made it back to the Eliot crossing we used the log we’d seen that morning as suggested by some hikers who we passed shortly before reaching the stream.

We actually wouldn’t have minded the ice cold water at that point, but the flow had increased now that it was after 1pm so the log was the safest option. We made the final climb back up to Cloud Cap taking our final look at Mt. Hood and the Eliot Glacier.

The hike was 12.3 miles round trip with approximately 2700′ of cumulative elevation gain, most of which came from dropping down to and climbing up from the Eliot and Coe Branches. It was a perfect day, blue skies and cool temperatures, and there couldn’t have been a better way to end our 6 days of hiking. Happy Trails!

Flickr: Cloud Cap to Elk Cove

Tags Cloud Cap, Cloud Cap Saddle Campground, Coe Branch, Coe Glacier, Compass Creek, Compass Creek Falls, Eliot Branch, Eliot Glacier, Elk Cove, hiking, Hummingbird moth, Langille Crags, Langille Glacier, marmot, Mt. Hood, Mt. Hood Wilderness, Oregon, timberline trail

High Cascades Hiking Mt. Hood Area Oregon Trip report

Vista Ridge and Owl Point – 6/22/2019

Post author By derwoodynck
Post date June 27, 2019
3 Comments on Vista Ridge and Owl Point – 6/22/2019

In 2017 we hiked the Vista Ridge Trail to Eden Park, Cairn Basin, and Elk Cove in the Mt. Hood Wilderness (post). It had been a cloudy August day which deprived us of any views of the mountain save for a brief glimpse from Elk Cove. The lack of views was enough to put the trail back on our to do list, but there were a couple of other reasons we had wanted to get back to this trail. First was the side trip to Owl Point along a segment of the Old Vista Ridge Trail which was reclaimed by volunteers in 2007. The second was a desire to see the avalanche lilies that bloom profusely on Vista Ridge in the fire scar left by the 2011 Dollar Fire.

We had been following reports on the avalanche lilies from fellow hikers and after seeing that they were blooming we checked the weather forecast for a clear day and headed up to the Vista Ridge Trailhead.

The view of Mt. Hood had been clear on our drive so we decided to head out to Owl Point first and then up Vista Ridge for the lilies. We followed the Vista Ridge Trail for .4 miles to a junction with the Old Vista Ridge Trail at the edge of the 2011 fire scar.

We turned left onto the Old Vista Ridge Trail and headed toward Owl Point. The trail, which relies on volunteers to keep it maintained, was in good shape.

As we made our way north along though we began to run into some fog.

We had gone a little over half a mile from the junction and decided to turn back and save the viewpoint for later not wanting to risk missing out on a view. We backtracked to the junction, filled out a wilderness entry permit and headed up a fog free Vista Ridge.

Unlike our last visit this time we could see Mt. Hood through the snags as we climbed.

Looking back over our shoulders we could see the cloud that had caused us to turn back was not actually over Owl Point.

Mt. Adams beyond Owl Point

Most of the avalanche lilies were already past until shortly after entering the Mt. Hood Wilderness a mile up the Vista Ridge Trail.

At first the lilies were sparse but then small patches appeared followed by increasingly large fields of white.

20190622_091402

As we gained elevation we left the heavy bloom behind and began seeing flowers that had yet to open.

We hit snow about two and a quarter miles from the trailhead.

It was patchy and navigable without needing our microspikes and we continued uphill for another quarter mile passing a nice view of Mt. Adams and the Eden Park Trail along the way.

Eden Park Trail

We ended our climb at a snowfield where the Vista Ridge Trail headed left of the ridge toward its junction with the Timberline Trail.

The trail looked passable with the microspikes but we had a nice view from where we were and didn’t see a point in continuing on given we still wanted to get out to Owl Point and we were planning on hiking for the next three days straight.

Near our turn around we spotted some other early bloomers – western pasque flowers aka hippies on a stick.

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western pasque flowers already going to seed

Paintbrush and cinquefoil was also present.

20190622_093621

After an extended break enjoying the view of Mt. Hood we headed back down to the Old Vista Ridge Trail junction stopping along the way to once again admire the avalanche lilies and also to share a moment with a friendly yellow-rumped warbler.

We turned back onto the Old Vista Ridge Trail and repeated the first section which seemed to climb more this second time. (At least our legs felt like it did.) This time there was no fog though and we soon found ourselves at a viewpoint looking at Owl Point.

There was also a decent view of Mt. Hood.

After the initial climb the trail leveled out some along the ridge top where a few patches of snow remained.

That meant more avalanche lilies, although nowhere near the numbers that Vista Ridge was home to.

After climbing to a saddle we came to a sign for The Rockpile viewpoint.

The short spur trail led out to a nice view of Mt. Hood but we had startled a dog that was with some backpackers and it wouldn’t stop barking so we quickly took our leave heading for quieter surroundings.

The spur trail to Owl Point was just a tenth of a mile from the trail to the Rockpile.

We followed this spur to it’s end at a register at Owl Point.

Laurance Lake lay below to the east with Surveryors Ridge beyond.

Mt. Hood was the main attraction though.

We sat for awhile admiring the mountain and studying Vista Ridge where we could see the trail cutting across the snow beyond where we had turned around.

We also spent some time looking for pikas but never saw (or heard) any. We did however have a butterfly join us briefly.

When we had returned to the Old Vista Ridge Trail we continued north for another tenth of a mile to visit Alki Point.

This viewpoint looked north and on a cleared day would have offered views of Mt. St. Helens, Mt. Rainier, and Mt. Adams. We settled for a glimpse of Rainier’s summit above some clouds (that’s Mt. Defiance in the foreground) and a semi-obstructed view of Mt. Adams.

Mt. Rainier (sort of)

Mt. Adams

We headed back to the trailhead completing a 10.8 mile hike that would have been under 10 had we not had the false start on the Old Vista Ridge Trail in the morning. The avalanche lilies had not disappointed, it was a great way to start a four day stretch of hiking. Happy Trails!

Flickr: Owl Point and Vista Ridge

Tags Alki Point, Avalanche lilies, hiking, Mt. Hood, Mt. Hood National Forest, Mt. Hood Wilderness, Old Vista Ridge Trail, Oregon, Owl Point, The Rockpile viewpoint, Vista Ridge

Columbia River Gorge South Hiking Mt. Hood Area Oregon

Gorton Creek Falls, Punchbowl Falls Park, and Lost Lake

Post author By derwoodynck
Post date June 16, 2019
2 Comments on Gorton Creek Falls, Punchbowl Falls Park, and Lost Lake

After striking out on a view of Mt. Hood during our previous hike on the Boulder Ridge Trail (post) we planned on trying again during our next outing by visiting Lost Lake. The hikes around Lost Lake and up Lost Lake Butte had been on our schedule in both of the previous years but changes in those plans had bumped it back to this year.

A featured hike in Sullivan’s NW Oregon book (hike #74 in the 4th edition) it presented an issue with our rule to not have our driving time be longer than our hiking time. At a little under 8 miles for both trails we figured the hike would wind up taking us around 4 hours based on our typical pace leaving us an hour short of the 5 hour round trip driving time. Our solution was to add a pair of stops along the way where we could do a couple of short hikes which would bring the times closer in line with each other.

Our route to Lost Lake would be via Interstate 84 through the Columbia River Gorge to Hood River so for our first stop of the day we chose the less than a mile and a half round trip to Gorton Creek Falls. This hike began at the same trailhead (at Wyeth Campground) that we had used in 2016 for the Wyeth Trail (post) which REMAINS CLOSED after the 2017 Eagle Creek Fire.
Wyeth Trailhead

In fact with closures still in place over numerous parts of the gorge we stopped to consult the closure map both at the trailhead and then at the fence erected blocking access to the Wyeth Trail at its junction with the Gorge Trail.
Eagle Creek Fire closure map

With Gorton Creek outside of the closure area and no visible signs of closure we followed the unofficial trail along Gorton Creek from the junction.

A nice path follows the creek for about a half mile where it ends near Emerald Falls, a small 10′ cascade.

Emerald Falls

The much taller Gorton Creek Falls is another 100 yards up the creek and requires a bit of scrambling along the left side of the creek over boulders and through trees.

Gorton Creek Looking down the scramble route.

Obstacles along Gorton Creek Some of the obstacles

Gorton Creek below Gorton Falls First sight of Gorton Creek Falls through the trees.

Gorton Falls

It is a nice two tiered waterfall but the upper tier is only visible from certain angles.
Gorton Falls

Gorton Falls

After admiring the falls we headed back down to the trailhead completing the very nice 1.3 mile hike. We then continued driving east on I-84 to Hood River where we took exit 62 and followed our GPS to the Punchbowl Falls Park Trailhead. Not to be confused with the more famous Punch Bowl Falls which is located on Eagle Creek (also CLOSED due to the Eagle Creek Fire) this Punchbowl Falls is located on the West Fork Hood River in a county park established in 2016 after the land was purchased by the Western Rivers Conservancy. Trailkeepers of Oregon have since constructed trails (with a new one set to open this year) allowing for a short loop hike through oak woodlands and past a pair of waterfalls.

The trail starts at a gated service road.
Punchbowl Falls Park

Just beyond the gate are a signs for the park and trails.
Punchbowl Falls Park

Trail sign in Punchbowl Falls Park

We took the West Fork Trail which led to an open hillside with a few lingering ookow in bloom overlooking the West Fork Hood River.

Ookow

The path followed the river gorge through the oak woodland where there had been a nice lupine display by the looks of it.
West Fork Trail

Lupine

As we neared Punchbowl Falls we could see the crumbling remains of a staircase that had led down to a fish ladder along the river.
Old staircase to a fish ladder

Old staircase to a fish ladder

A very short side trail led to a viewpoint overlooking the falls and the wide bowl at the base.
Punchbowl Falls

Pool below Punchbowl Falls

We could also see the top of Mt. Hood rising up above the trees up river. There wasn’t a cloud to be seen near the mountain which was a great sign for our hike up Lost Lake Butte later.
Mt. Hood above the trees

Mt. Hood

From the viewpoint we continued on the West Fork Trail toward Dead Point Falls.
Trail sign in Punchbowl Falls Park

Another viewpoint along the way looked back up river to Punchbowl Falls and Mt. Hood as well as across the gorge to Dead Point Falls.

Dead Point Falls

Just a little further along was a signed spur trail to another viewpoint of Dead Point Falls and the confluence of Dead Point Creek and the West Fork Hood River.
Sign for Dead Point Falls

Dead Point Falls

Beyond the Dead Point Falls viewpoint we came to a junction with the Dogwood Trail which could be used to make a short loop back to the trailhead. We stuck to the West Fork Trail which descended slightly to another viewpoint, this time of the confluence of the West and East Forks of Hood River.
Trail junction in Punchbowl Falls Park

Punchbowl Falls Park

The East Fork Hood River was noticeably siltier having the clouded color indicitive of glacier runoff.
Confluence of the West and East Fork Hood Rivers

At a junction just beyond the viewpoint we turned right at a point for the East Fork Trail opting not to continue down to the river which was only a tenth of a mile or two away but we didn’t really feel like climbing back up.
East Fork Trail sign

By the end of this year the East Fork Trail will extend out along the East Fork Hood River but for now this path brought us to the gated serviced road which we turned right onto and followed back toward the trailhead.
Punchbowl Falls Park

After about 150 yards we came to the Dogwood Trail as it crossed the road where we turned uphill to the left.

A lone pink pyrola was blooming along this trail which we followed through the wood for two tenths of a mile to signboards and completing a .9 mile loop.

Dogwood Trail

From Punchbowl Falls Park we drove back the way we’d come a mile to Lost Lake Road were we took a right and followed a car with Florida license plates nearly the entire 13.5 paved miles to the entrance to the Lost Lake Campground. I bring this up to ask that if people aren’t comfortable driving on the narrow curvy forest roads that’s fine but when you have cars following you and are going 20 mph below the speed limit and have multiple chances to pull over, please do it (end mini-rant).
Lost Lake Campground entrance

There is currently a $9 day-use fee charged to enter the Lost Lake area but the OregonHkers Field Guide mentioned a possible starting point along gated Jones Creek Road just before the campground entrance. We parked at a small pullout here (room for a couple of cars).
Pullout near Lost Lake Campground

The precursor to the Pacific Crest Trail, the Oregon Skyline Trail (now the Old Skyline Trail) could be accessed here and followed up to the Lost Lake Butte Trail. The only problem was we didn’t read the field guide closely enough. It states that there is a sign for the Old Skyline Trail at the road junction, but the GPS map showed the trail leaving the road a little beyond the gate. Having missed that detail we headed up the road watching for the trail which didn’t materialize. Just under a quarter mile from the gate the road forked and we followed the left hand fork which led toward the location of the trail on the map. Approximately 100 yards later we found the unsigned Old Skyline Trail crossing the road.

We turned right onto the trail and followed it through the forest looking for a four way junction where we would turn onto the Lost Lake Butte Trail. That trail was also not where the map on the Garmin indicated it would be. The junction was about a tenth of a mile further south than shown on the map but it was obvious and well signed.

Old Skyline Trail junction with the Lost Lake Butte Trail

At the junction we took the Lost Lake Butte Trail and began the 1000 plus foot climb to the summit. A Forest Service Crew had just come through the weekend before to do maintenance, so it was in great shape.

Lost Lake Butte Trail

The forested route offered no views to speak of and there was as an unusual lack of flowers along the route but it wasn’t a bad climb and in 45 minutes we were passing the remains of the Lost Lake Butte lookout tower.
Foundation from the old lookout on Lost Lake Butte

Although much of the former 360 degree view is now blocked by trees the view south to Mt. Hood remains and is spectacular.
Mt. Hood from Lost Lake Butte

Mt. Hood from Lost Lake Butte

To the right of Mt. Hood we also had a pretty good view of the upper portion of Mt. Jefferson.
Mt. Hood and Mt. Jefferson from Lost Lake Butte

Mt. Jefferson from Lost Lake Butte

It was also possible to look north across the Columbia River and see Mt. Adams.
Mt. Adams from Lost Lake Butte

Mt. Adams from Lost Lake Butte

After spending some time enjoying the view and talking with a couple form Astoria who were staying at the Lost Lake Lodge we headed down. When we arrived back at the four way junction we crossed over the Old Skyline Trail and followed the trail down to a paved road crossing.
Trail crossing of the Lost Lake Camground road

Google has this marked as the Old Growth Trailhead but the sign here called this the Rhododendron Trail which led to the Old Growth Trail.
Rhododendron Trail to the Old Growth Trail

Rhododendron Trail

We followed this trail through the forest to a junction where we turned left onto the Old Growth Trail.
Rhododendron Trail

Trail sign at Lost Lake

The Old Growth Trail is an interpretive trail with a number of informational signboards along the way. It joined the Shrader Old Growth Trail (post) as one of our favorite interpretive trails. Much of the trail was boardwalk and there were a few pullouts with benches where one could sit and enjoy the forest.
Interpretive sign along the Old Growth Trail

Old Growth Trail

Bench along the Old Gowth Trail one of the pullouts

Interpretive sign along the Old Growth Trail

The Old Growth Trail ended at another paved road crossing (it was a mile one-way in between the two roads).
Connector trail between the Old Growth and Lakeshore Trails

We crossed the road and followed a pointer for the Lakeshore Trail.
Connector trail between the Old Growth and Lakeshore Trails

The Lakeshore Trail, as it’s name suggests, loops around the shore of Lost Lake. We turned left when we reached the trail and started our way clockwise around the lake.

We passed the Huckleberry Mountain Trail which connects up with the Pacific Crest Trail on the ridge above Lost Lake. We had passed the upper end of the trail on our visit to Buck Peak in 2016. (post)

Lakeshore Trail junction with the Huckleberry Mountain Trail

The trail looped around to the west side of Lost Lake where the hillside was much steeper than that of the opposite side where Lost Lake Butte rose up from the forest.
Forest along Lost Lake

Lost Lake Butte from Lost Lake

There was one short section where the trail was under water and a brief but steep detour led up the hillside and back down. Other than that the trail was in good shape. Flowers including rhododendron, anemones, bleeding heart and wild bugbane were in bloom.
Lakeshore Trail

Rhododendron blossoms

Anemone

Bleeding heart

Wild bugbane

The trail briefly becomes a boardwalk as it passes over the lake’s inlet creeks where small fish and rough skinned newts could be seen swimming.
Lakeshore Trail

There were some little fish swimming here

Rough skinned newt

As we made our way around the lake Mt. Hood finally began to come into view.
Mt. Hood across Lost Lake

Numerous side trails led down to the shore between the boardwalk and the Lost Lake Resort providing excellent views of Mt. Hood and lots of newts to watch in the clear water.
Mt. Hood from the Lakeshore Trail

Rough skinned newts

Rough skinned newt

Bench along the Lakeshore Trail

Mt. Hood from the bench

Things were pretty hectic as we neared the day-use area and only got busier as we neared the lodge.
Sign for the Lost Lake General Store

We left the Lakeshore Trail near the lodge and cut up through the resort toward the entrance road in hopes of following it back to our car. We had just popped out of some trees onto that road when a pickup passed us and we heard someone call out my name. We turned to look as the truck stopped and realized it was my cousin Lance and his family. They were visiting the lake for the first time too and were planning on doing some kayaking. It was quite the random encounter. After saying hi we went our separate ways and returned to our car and headed home. We wound up taking Highway 35 to Highway 26 around Mt. Hood instead of returning via I-84 after pulling up Google traffic and seeing that there were at least two accidents holding up traffic on the Interstates.

Our route on the trails at Lost Lake added up to 7.7 miles giving us 9.9 miles combined. It turned out to be a nice combination of hikes with varying scenery and different types of trails and best of all we got to see Mt. Hood this time around. Happy Trails!

Flickr: Gorton Creek Falls, Punchbowl Falls Park, and Lost Lake

Tags Dead Point Falls, East Fork Hood River, Emerald Falls, gorge trail, Gorton Creek, Gorton Creek Falls, hood river, Lakeshore Trail, Lost Lake, Lost Lake Butte, Lost Lake Butte Trail, Mt. Hood, Old Growth Trail, Old Skyline Trail, Punchbowl Falls, Punchbowl Falls Park, West Fork Hood River, Wyeth Trailhead

High Cascades Hiking Mt. Hood Area Oregon Trip report

Boulder Ridge Trail and Wildwood Recreaction Area

Post author By derwoodynck
Post date June 10, 2019
3 Comments on Boulder Ridge Trail and Wildwood Recreaction Area

Our most recent hike brought us to the BLM managed Wildwood Recreation Site. We were going to be taking the Boulder Ridge Trail from the site to a viewpoint along Huckleberry Mountain in the Salmon-Huckleberry Wilderness. The view had escaped us during a 2015 hike the same viewpoint using the Bonanza Trail (post). Cloudy conditions that day had been our downfall so we were a little apprehensive when we saw the forecast calling for a slight chance of showers in the morning but then it called for the skies becoming mostly sunny.

With the Wildwood Recreation Site not opening until 8am (the road is gated) it meant we would be getting a little later start than we normally would which would hopefully give the clouds more time to burn off. After paying the $5 day use fee we parked at the trailhead parking area which acts as the trailhead for the Boulder Ridge Trail as well as for two short interpretive trails – The Cascade Streamwatch and the Wetlands. We decided to do both of these before heading up the Boulder Ridge Trail to give the weather even more time to clear up.

We began with the paved Cascade Streamwatch Trail.

The trail led down through the forest to the bank of the Salmon River with several interpretive signs along the way.

Of particular interest was a 3D model of the Salmon River drainage including Mt. Hood. It mapped out the southern and western flowing creeks and rivers drain into the Sandy River and eventually the Columbia.

Further along the loop is an underwater viewing area. There were only a few small fish visible on this day but we imagined that at times it would be quite a sight.

We continued on the loop which passed a sandy beach near a deep hole in the Salmon River where at times spawning steelhead trout and chinook salmon can be seen.

After completing this short (under a mile) informative loop we returned to the trailhead parking and walked over to a signboard for the Boulder Ridge Trail.

A paved path here lead to a bridge spanning the Salmon River and the start of the Wetlands Boardwalk.

We took each of the side trails along the boardwalk starting with the detour to Cattail Marsh.

The next side trip was to see the results of beaver dams and how they help create the wetlands. We didn’t see any beavers (yet again) but there were some newts swimming in the waters.

Next up was a “Ghost Forest” caused by rising waters caused by the beavers work.

The boardwalk then passed a large amount of skunk cabbage before reaching a final detour to a view of the transition from a wetland to a stream.

The boardwalk ended at a junction where a left turn led to the Boulder Ridge Trail while a right turn would complete a short loop back to the parking area (also under a mile total).

Left we went passing a sign for the Boulder Ridge Trail and signing in at a signboard.

The trail wasted little time in launching uphill needing to gain 3100′ to reach the top of Huckleberry Mountain. Not only did it head uphill immediately but it crossed a rocky area that had been exposed by a series of seeps. It looked narrow and possibly slick.

The trail climbed steeply gaining 1400′ in then next two and a quarter miles where a rocky viewpoint looked into clouds instead of Mt. Hood. Just a bit before reaching the viewpoint we had entered the Salmon-Huckleberry Wilderness. One thing that has never disappointed us about the Salmon-Huckleberry Wilderness and surrounding area is the beauty of the forest. The clouds might have been blocking our views of Mt. Hood but the fog added a nice element to the forest.

Rhododendron

Honeysuckle

Beargrass and rhododendron along the trail.

Coralroot and sourgrass

Candy stick

Damp iris

We passed by the viewpoint hoping that maybe there would be a view by the time we were headed back down. The trail continued to climb gaining another 800′ over the next mile and a quarter where another rock viewpoint looked east.

Green lichen

A few trees peaking through the clouds along McIntyre Ridge (post)

With no view to speak of we turned our attention to the flowers in the area.
Penstemon

Paintbrush

Biscuitroot

Beargrass

Lupine

For the next half mile the trail climbed more gradually spending some time on the ridge top amid a carpet of green before dropping off and arriving at a small seasonal stream where some Scouler’s corydalis was blooming.

Another half mile of climbing brought us to the end of the Boulder Ridge Trail at a signed junction with the Plaza Trail.

The only choice to continue here was to turn right onto the Plaza Trail as there is no longer any discernible continuation of it to the left of the junction.

It was almost 11:45 now and we had been hoping that the skies would be starting to clear but looking up revealed no sign of it happening anytime soon. We still had approximately a mile and a half to our goal though so we sallied forth. After a brief respite from climbing the trail headed uphill into more fog.

As the trail passed the 4000′ elevation it passed through a small grassy meadow where a few phlox were blooming.

As the trail gained the final 280′ of elevation there were more open areas where indian plum was blooming while the beargrass was just starting.

We passed by a large ant pile.

When we reached the viewpoint the clouds had not only not lifted but they were actually worse than they had been in 2015.
2019

Huckleberry Mountains summit 2015

Slightly disappointed we made our way to a rock outcrop and again looked to the nearby flowers instead of Mt. Hood.

Phlox

Paintbrush

Penstemon

Avalanch lily

Wild onion

We stayed for a bit looking for any hint of the clouds breaking but they sky remained a canvas of white so we started back down shortly before 1pm. The view had changed quite a bit at the eastern facing viewpoint when we arrived 45 minutes later. It was still overcast but the clouds had lifted noticeably.

By the time we reached the lower viewpoint that we had not stopped at earlier there was a significant amount of blue sky overhead.

The only problem was a mass of clouds directly over (or in front of) Mt. Hood.

You win some you lose some. We made our way back down to the Salmon River stopping to admire some yellow coral root along the way.
20190608_145138

20190608_145110

Despite missing out on the view again the 12.9 mile hike was a good one albeit challenging with over 3000′ of elevation gain. The interpretive trails were a lot of fun and the Mt. Hood National Forest in the Salmon-Huckleberry Wilderness was as scenic as ever. Happy Trails!

Flickr: Boulder Ridge

Tags bonanza trail, boulder ridge trail, Cascade Streamwatch Trail, hiking, huckleberry mountain, Mt. Hood National Forest, Oregon, plaza trail, salmon river, Salmon-Huckleberry Wilderness, scouler's cordyalis, Wetlands Boardwalk, Wildwood Recreation Site

Hiking Mt. Hood Area Oregon

Dog River Trail

A bit of potentially wet weather had us looking for a hike that had the potential to be dry and not too dependent on having a view. We, of course, also preferred it to be a new hike. We turned to Matt Reeder’s 2nd edition of “Off the Beaten Trail” for inspiration. A recent addition to our collection of guidebooks, “Off the Beaten Trail” features 50 hikes plus 5 bonus hikes within a two and half hour drive of downtown Portland. While a number of the hikes are also mentioned in Sullivan’s “100 Hikes” guidebooks (our usual go-to source) they are typically additional hikes from the back of the books so they lack in-depth detail. There are also several hikes that don’t appear in Sullivan’s books.

We chose the Dog River Trail (Reeder’s Hike #30) due to its location and a favorable looking forecast. According to NOAA there was a 30% chance of showers after 11am and being located on the east side of Mt. Hood often meant less cloud cover. After driving through a few showers in the Columbia Gorge we did indeed find some blue sky near Hood River and the views of Mt. Hood were perfect as we drove south on Highway 35.

The Dog River Trail
begins at the Dog River Trailhead along the eastern shoulder of Highway 35 18.2 miles south of Hood River (20 miles north of the junction with Highway 26).

The most common users of this trail are mountain bikers, a group of which have adopted the trail.
Plaque at the Dog River Trailhead

The trail starts off at an elevation just over 2100′ and climbs steadily nearly 5.5 miles to its end at a three way junction with the Zigzag and Surveyor’s Ridge Trails.

Just beyond the gate at the trailhead the trail passes very close to the Dog River.

We quickly lost sight of the river as we climbed along a hillside to a footbridge over Puppy Creek.
Dog River Trail

Puppy Creek

The next 1.8 miles was a gradual climb past a variety of wildflowers before dropping slightly to the Dog River.
Chocolate lily

Vanilla leaf along the Dog River Trail Vanilla leaf

Anemone Columbia windflower (anemone)

Red flowering currant

Ball-head waterleaf

Dogwood and a crab spider Dogwood (and a crab spider)

Arnica Arnica

Lupine Lupine

Lupine starting to bud Lupine yet to bloom

Woodland stars

Larkspur and biscuitroot Larkspur with biscuitroot in the background

Fairy slippers

Indian paintbrush

Popcorn flower

Sandwort

Sticky blue-eyed mary

Hooker’s fairy bells

Solomon's seal Solomon’s seal

One of the reasons for the variety of flowers was the variety of forest types along this stretch.
Dog River Trail

Dog River Trail

Another footbridge led us across the Dog River.
Dog River Trail

Dog River

Beyond the Dog River the trail climbed to a saddle and crossed over a ridge.
Dog River Trail

Dog River Trail

We were now on the west facing side of the ridge and had our first looks at Mt. Hood. Initially the mountain is only visible through the trees but 1.3 miles from the Dog River crossing we came to a rocky viewpoint. From the time we had last seen the mountain driving to the trailhead a line of clouds had begun to make there way in between.
Mt. Hood from the Dog River Trail

Mt. Hood

Mt. Hood from the Dog River Trail

Mt. Hood

Considering we had started the day thinking we would be lucky to see even part of the mountain this was a pretty nice treat, but after having an unobstructed view during the drive the clouds were a minor disappointment. While the view was impressive it would have been spectacular minus the clouds in front.

In addition to the view there were a couple of other types of flowers to be seen at the viewpoint.
Penstemon

Phlox Phlox

Reeder has this viewpoint be the turn around point in the guidebook making for a 6.6 mile out and back. He also describe a couple of options to extend the hike which of course interested us (okay mostly me). We continued on from the viewpoint promptly crossing over the ridge again. From this side we could now see Mt. Adams through the trees to the north. A bonus volcano sighting.

Mt. Adams

A series of switchbacks brought us back over the west facing side of the ridge and up a short, steep, rocky section of trail.
Dog River Trail

We began watching for any signs of an old road bed on top the ridge above the trail. The plan we had settled on to extend the hike was to hopefully use a forest road shown on the map to make the hike a lollipop by taking the Surveyor’s Ridge Trail to the forest service road. Approximately 100 yards from the end of the switchbacks we spotted a promising looking unmarked spur trail heading uphill to our left.
Dog River Trail on the right with a spur to FR 620 on the left

We marked that spot on our GPS and continued on the Dog River Trail which had leveled out a bit passing another viewpoint that Reeder has marked on his map as “Ponderosa Point”. The view here would have also been impressive but we arrived in conjunction with enough clouds to cover the upper 3/4ths of the mountain. A talus slope nearby was more impressive at that point and we wondered if any pika lived there.
Talus field along the Dog River Trail

We didn’t see or hear any and continued on. The trail began to descend slightly passing through some nice forest. We kept our eyes out for flowers and any other interesting sights.
Dog River Trail

Manzanita

Currant A currant

Jacob's ladder Jacob’s ladder

Something has been busy Popular tree

There were a few openings toward Mt. Hood but the clouds were keeping most of it covered. We did get a nice look at Polallie Creek Falls though.

We had been watching for wildlife too but aside from a few birds and a couple of millipedes all we saw was a slug on one of several small bridges over wet spots.
Slug on a footbridge

Slug

When we arrived at the junction with the Zigzag and Surveyor’s Ridge Trails we noticed a fourth trail signed “Viewpoint”.
Viewpoint at the Dog River Trail and Zig Zag Trail jct

This short trail led briefly downhill to a view north of Highway 35 and the East Fork Hood River (Mt. Hood was still hiding).
Highay 35 and the East Fork Hood River

After checking out the viewpoint we returned to the junction and turned onto the Surveyor’s Ridge Trail.
Surveyor's Ridge Trail sign

The Surveryor’s Ridge Trail climbed gently through the forest for nearly a mile before arriving at Forest Road 620 and Dufur Mill Road (Forest Road 44).
Surveyor's Ridge Trail

Trillium

Jacob's ladder There was quite a bit of Jacob’s ladder along this stretch of trail.

Oregon anemone

Forest Road 620.

There was a single truck parked here and an outhouse. Along the shoulder of Dufur Mill Road there was also a small patch of snow. We had wondered if there was any remaining at this elevation (4240′). We turned left and headed north along FR 620 where we soon found a few more patches of lingering snow.
Snow along Forest Road 620

Forest Road 620

It was a pleasant but uneventful road walk. We followed the road downhill ignoring two forks to the left followed by an overgrown fork to the right.
Forest Road 620

After entering an area that had been clearcut sometime in the past Heather spotted a sign post off to our right (approximately 1.75mi along FR 620). I went to investigate.
Wy'East Middle School sign amid trees planted by the 1994 8th grade class

Just in case anyone from the Wy’East Middle School 1994 8th grade class is wondering here are the trees that were near the sign.
Trees planted by the 1994 8th grade class of Wy'East Middle School

Shortly after finding the sign the road finished bending to the west and we began heading toward the Dog River Trail. The road then turned northward again along the ridge above the Dog River Trail. There were a couple of viewpoints along this stretch including one at the top of the talus slope we had scanned for pikas earlier that day.
Mt. Hood behind some clouds A still cloudy Mt. Hood

Dog River Trail below the talus slope Looking down the talus slope with the Dog River Trail visible between the trees to the right.

The road bed had been steadily narrowing the further we went.
Forest Road 620

After a little over 2.5 miles on the road we passed a promising view of Mt. Adams if not for the clouds that had now overtaken it as well. We settled for a nice view of Bald Mountain which we had hiked in 2017 (post) and is accessible via the Surveyor’s Ridge Trail.
Bald Butte in the distance

Bald Butte

Not far from that viewpoint the old roadbed ended and we found ourselves on a short section of trail connecting us back to the Dog River Trail.
Trail connecting Forest Road 620 to the Dog River Trail

We had indeed come out via the spur trail we had marked that morning. The stretch between the Surveyor’s Ridge Trail and Dog River Trail was 2.75 miles and we were now just over 3.5 miles from the Dog River Trailhead. We had seen the first other people of the day from the viewpoint atop the talus slope when a pair of trail runners went by down on the Dog River Trail. Now that it was later we encountered a few mountain bikers on our way back but it was far from busy. We stopped at the first viewpoint again to say goodbye to the mountain. The clouds had changed again and now they were just covering the very top portion.
Mt. Hood behind some clouds

This gave us a nice look at Barrett Spur.

We also had a good view of the Eliot Glacier.
Elliot Glacier on Mt. Hood

Our lollipop came in at 13.3 miles with approximately 2500′ of cumulative elevation gain. The showers never developed and we got to see a lot more of the mountains than we had honestly expected. The variety of wildflowers was good and there looked to be plenty more getting ready to bloom in the next week or two. It certainly felt off the beaten trail but it was definitely worth the visit. Happy Trails!

Flickr: Dog River Trail

Tags Dog River, Dog River Trail, hiking, Mt. Hood, oregon hiking, Surveryor's Ridge Trail, wildflowers, Wy'East Middle School class of 1994, Zigzag Trail