Category: Mt. Hood Area

The Other Eagle Creek (Salmon-Huckleberry Wilderness)

Post author By derwoodynck
Post date May 11, 2014
3 Comments on The Other Eagle Creek (Salmon-Huckleberry Wilderness)

We continued what I have dubbed “Creek Week” by visiting another Eagle Creek the day after our trip to the one in the Columbia Gorge. Even though both creeks share the same name and both are located partially in the Mt. Hood National Forest the similarities end there. This Eagle Creek flows through the old growth forest of the Salmon-Huckleberry Wilderness and is much less visited than the one in the Gorge. There are no dizzying cliffs or giant waterfalls but rather the relaxing sound of running water while you stroll through a lush forest.

It was good that the trail was so relaxing because the drive to it was anything but. The hike was listed as an additional hike in the 2012 edition of William Sullivan’s 100 Hikes in Northwest Oregon & Southwest Washington complete with driving directions. He warned of a confusion of logging roads and he was right. I had also Googled the route and printed out directions from the Forest Service to the trailhead. The road names all matched but each of the directions gave different distances once we got onto SE Harvey Rd. Google said 1.2 miles, the Forest Service 1.8 miles, and Sullivan a more detailed 2.6 miles. Our first mistake was not paying attention to the difference in the distances given followed by not using the odometer as soon as we turned onto Harvey Rd. The area was heavily logged with operations ongoing so there were many side roads and turnoffs and no signs for any type of trail. We drove to the end of what we thought was Harvey Rd. and found a pile of garbage where people had obviously come out to shoot guns (seems to be a favorite pastime in that area) but no sign of a trail. We turned around and headed back the way we’d come looking for any sign of a trail that we might have missed. There were a couple of possibilities but nothing obvious. As we were reading the different instructions we noticed the different mileages which made it more confusing. In the end we decided to drive back to the start of SE Harvey Rd. and use the Odometer. There was nothing at the 1.2 mile mark so the Google instructions were ruled out. At the 1.8 mile mark a gated road led down to the right. The trail description in the book stated that the trail began on an overgrown old road so this had possibilities. I got an idea here and turned on the GPS to see if we were at the trail but when the map came up there was no trail where we were so we hopped in the car and continued to follow Sullivan’s mileage directions. We stopped at one point when we spotted what looked like it might have been an old road with a possible trail leading from it but again using the GPS it was clear that we still had not found the trail. At the 2.4 mile mark we spotted a barricaded road leading down to the right so again we stopped to check it out. This time the GPS showed us on a direct line for the trail and a small path led between the snags blocking the road. There were no signs but this was it.

What we believe happened was the Forest Service stared counting mileage about half a mile after Sullivan started. Then the final approximate quarter mile of Sullivan’s directions had been since blocked by the logging operation because after a brief walk on the road we came to a second small barrier behind which we found an overgrown road such as he had described.

In any event according to the GPS we had found the trail and were on our way down to Eagle Creek. We finally found a sign to confirm what the GPS was telling us. Near the end of the overgrown road there was some flagging and a sign announcing the beginning of the Salmon-Huckleberry Wilderness.

After entering the wilderness the trail looked less and less like an old road until it finally became a full on trail.

We ran across some interesting trees/trunks on the early portion of the trail. One of our favorites was a tree growing on top of an old trunk. You could see the new trees root system running down the length of the old trunk.

Another old trunk had a stream flowing out from under it.

There were many streams and creek to cross along the trail, but only one bridge.

There was no way we were going to keep our feet dry on some the crossing but that was okay with us, the streams just added to the beauty of the forest.

Due to the dense forest there weren’t a large variety of wildflowers but there were some including bleeding heart, wood violets, lots of trillium, and a new one to us scouler’s corydalis.
Bleeding Heart

Wood Violets

Trillium

Scouler’s Cordylis

Open areas where were filled with salmon berry bushes.

We were up above Eagle Creek at times and then we would be walking next to the water for a bit. It was a decent sized creek lined with lush forests.

We didn’t see a lot of wildlife on this hike but I think that was partially due to the lushness of the forest. At one point we startled a deer that was in the creek but all I saw was splashing then a brown and white flash as it ran into the trees. What we did see was an Ouzel, an interesting spider, a couple of newts, and one of our favorite little song birds that I believe is a Pacific Wren.

We turned around when we reached the end of the Eagle Creek Trail. Here it connected to the Eagle Creek Cutoff Trail which fords Eagle Creek before heading up a ridge to the Old Baldy Trail.

The Eagle Creek Cutoff ford

We had a little drizzle from time to time up to this point but as we began our return trip the drizzle turned to a light rain. We made quick work of our return slowing only due to the climb back up the old road. It had been a great hike for relaxing end to our creek streak with. Next up we’re going to attempt to get a view, but in the Pacific Northwest Spring views can be tricky. Until then Happy Trails!

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Tags bleeding heart, Eagle Creek, hiking, Mt. Hood National Forest, Oregon, Ouzel, rough skinned newt, Salmon-Huckleberry Wilderness, scouler's cordyalis, Trillium, wood violet

High Cascades Hiking Mt. Hood Area Oregon Trip report

Yocum Ridge

Yesterday we completed what turned out to be our longest hike to date – Yocum Ridge. According to our 100 hikes guidebook the distance of the trail is 8.7 miles one way to a viewpoint of Mt. Hood’s Sandy Galcier. With that in mind we were anticipating a total distance around 17.5 miles, but by the time we were done exploring Yocum Ridge our garmin showed a total distance of 19.7 miles. :O Our original plan was to meet my parents at the trail head and hike together to Ramona Falls, but they were unfortunately unable to make it so Heather and I were off on our own just before 7am.

It was a cloudy morning as we crossed the Sandy River and made our way along Ramona Creek toward the falls.

Ramona Creek is one of the prettiest creeks we’ve hiked along, but the dense forest always seems too dark to get any pictures to really do it justice.

When we arrived at Ramona Falls it was just as impressive as we had remembered it from our first visit the previous July.

From Ramona Falls we took the Timberline Trail north for .7 miles to the Yocum Ridge trail and began our climb. We were presently surprised by the gentle grade of the trail which climbs nearly 3000′. The lower portion of the trail was heavily forested with lots of mushrooms and red huckleberries. We spotted one pika (and heard many more) and a small frog along the trail as well. The clouds were low and a light fog filled the trees making it impossible to tell if the trail offered any views. We passed a couple of small ponds and some meadows that had been home to flowers earlier in the year.

We were holding out hope that we would eventually climb above the clouds and into blue skies but we began to think that was just wishful thinking. We caught our break though as we approached the south side of the ridge near a rock field and wild flower meadow. When we came out of the trees in the meadow we were greeted by blue sky and sunlight. Looking up toward Mt. Hood the summit was visible above the tree tops.

The clouds were still all around so we decided to double time it up the trail not knowing how long the views would last. We were slowed by the increasingly scenic wildflower meadows and views to the south across Paradise Park to the distant summit of Mt. Jefferson.

As we hurried up the trail other flowers such as western pasque, bistort, fireweed, and groundsel showed up in the meadows. The trail then entered a series of spectacular meadows as it traversed around the ridge finally revealing a view of Mt. Hood.

Small clouds were passing in front of the mountain as we approached through the meadows. From this side of the ridge we had an up close view of Illumination Rock and the Reid Glacier.

The wildflower meadows were on all sides as the trail headed straight for the mountain.

The trail eventually came to the edge of the Sandy River canyon where melt water from the Reid Glacier feeds the Sandy River. A series of waterfalls could be seen (and heard) below.

We explored the area and spotted another good sized water fall further down and across the canyon. This one was flowing from the Paradise Park area down into the Sandy River.

Waterfall along the Paradise Park branch of the Sandy River

We finally pulled ourselves away from the spectacular views and continued on the trail toward the north side of the ridge. The trail climbed as it crossed the ridge and passed through many more wildflower meadows. When we reached the north side of the ridge we found the clouds again. There was a bank of clouds settled over the valley between Yocum Ridge and McNeil Point. Here the trail turned up the ridge at it’s steepest grade. We reached a small saddle below the rocky cliffs that top the ridge where we found a couple of camp sites and lingering snow patches. To the right of the cliffs we could see blue sky, but on the left it was all clouds. We decided to continue on what appeared to be a faint path across loose rocks and sand to see if we could once again rise above the clouds. The “faint path” completely disappeared and visabillity was all but gone when we decided to turn around and go back. We looked at some trip reports later that showed we had been headed straight for the mountain with the Sandy Glacier to our left but we’d have never known it.

Back at the saddle the clouds began to rise keeping the mountain hidden but giving us a better look at the flowers surrounding this area. He we found lupine, cat’s ears, and even a few avalanche lilies. While exploring the tent sites we stumbled on a small group of scotch bluebells.

When we started our return trip the clouds had risen from the valley floor giving us views below, but when we arrived at the Reid Glacier viewpoint Mt. Hood was hidden. We found a couple of fellow hikers here that we had met near Ramona Falls and asked if they had made it in time to see the mountain and they had not. We all stuck around waiting to see if we would catch another cloud break since there was still plenty of blue sky around. While we were waiting a Red Tailed hawk circled overhead checking us and the meadow out.

While I was attempting to catch the hawk in flight Mt. Hood decided to make an encore appearance.

The clouds continued to roll in allowing us brief glimpses of the mountain before we decided it was time to start our return trip.

On the way down we were provided some new views due to the rise in the cloud levels. We spotted the bottoms of Mt. Jefferson and Mt. Adams, Lost Lake, and the large waterfall coming from Paradise Park.

We stopped briefly at Ramona Falls where a large crowed now milled about and then continued on the final 3.4 mile leg along the Sandy River to our waiting car. It was a long hike and we only got to see half of the views, but in the end it didn’t matter. What we did see was amazing enough and now we have an excuse to return since we have unfinished business on the north side :). Happy Trails.

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Tags hiking, Lost Lake, Mt. Jefferson, Oregon, Paradise Park, Ramona Creek, Ramona Falls, red tailed hawk, reid glacier, sandy glacier, scotch bluebells, timberline trail, Yocum Ridge. Mt. Hood

High Cascades Hiking Mt. Hood Area Oregon Trip report

Barrett Spur via the Mazama Trail

Post author By derwoodynck
Post date August 15, 2013
9 Comments on Barrett Spur via the Mazama Trail

After a short break following our vacation in Central Oregon we were back on the trails exploring the north side of Mt. Hood. Our scheduled hike was the Mazama Trail which climbs to the Timberline Trail along Cathedral Ridge. From the Timberline Trail we would head clockwise around the mountain passing through Cairn and Wy’East Basins to a viewpoint overlooking Elk Cove. Then the plan was to head up to Dollar Lake then on to the 7300′ knoll on Barrett Spur and go cross-country back down to Wy’East Basin and back to our car, possibly visiting Eden Park on the way back. If that sounds like a lot it’s because it was. 🙂

The forecast called for isolated thunderstorms beginning at 1pm so we made sure we got our usual early start. There had been a nice storm that came through the previous night and clouds lingered near the mountain as we drove toward the trail head.

When we arrived at the parking area a group from the Mazamas was camped there. We found out they had been doing trail maintenance for 4 days. One of the group informed us that Search and Rescue had come down the trail the day before looking for a hiker that was missing from the Ramona Falls area and that we should keep on the lookout (We found out later that he was found after the S&R team had spoken with the Mazama group). From the trail head we had a great view of Mt. Hood with Barrett Spur just below and to the left and Cathedral Ridge to our right.

The Mazama Trail was reconstructed by the Portland Mazama Club and they also maintain the trail. The group that had been doing the recent trail work had done an excellent job and the trail was in great shape. The trail sets off in a forest of Rhododendron but quickly comes to a rock slide which it switchbacks up through. After reentering the forest a second series of switchbacks ensue. This may have been the most switchbacks we’ve encountered in such a short distance but they made the climb a bit easier than it would have been otherwise. Near the bottom of the switchbacks we met a snowshoe hare on the trail.

Once we had completed the switchbacks the trail climbed more gradually sometimes through burnt forest and others in the green trees. The previous days rain kept the dust and ash from being an annoyance in the burnt sections and the 4.2 miles of the trail went by surprisingly quickly.

When we reached the Timberline Trail we took a left and headed for Cairn Basin. We had been on this section of the trial the previous year when we had hiked up the Top Spur Trail to McNeil Point. It was interesting to find that even though we were visiting almost two weeks earlier in the year the flowers were already at a later stage due to the low snow pack and early Spring. Still the displays were impressive.

We crossed Ladd Creek, passed through Cairn Basin, crossed another branch of Ladd Creek, and made our way to Wy’East Basin.

Aster field in Wy'East Basin — Aster field in Wy’East Basin

It would have been possible to head up to Barrett Spur from here, but we were unsure of the path so we decided to go on to the Elk Cove viewpoint and then up past Dollar Lake and try and come down to this point instead so I marked it on the Garmin for later reference.

The “unofficial” trail to Dollar Lake is approximately .7mi from Wy’East Basin, but we wanted to check out the Elk Cove viewpoint which was just an additional .2mi according to William Sullivan’s description. I didn’t do a very good job of reading his description though so we walked past the viewpoint and continued down the Timberline Trail toward Elk Cove a ways before I realized we had dropped further than we had intended. We consulted our topo maps, the garmin, and Sullivan’s book and climbed back to the correct viewpoint then walked back to find the path to Dollar Lake just as it was described in the guide book. The saving grace of the extra descent and subsequent climb was a nice field of western pasque flowers and paintbrush with a mountain view.

We took the path up to Dollar Lake and easily spotted the trail heading up Barrett Spur on the opposite side. We took the sometimes faint path up along the edge of Elk Cove’s Canyon. Flowers dotted the ridge adding color to the climb and below in Elk Cove a vibrant display of flowers surrounded a patch of melting snow.

At one point we heard an odd noise that we couldn’t place at first. We paused looking back down toward Elk Cove where the sound had come from when we heard it again. This time it was clear as a bell as it rose up the canyon walls, it was a Bull Elk bugling. 🙂

As we neared the knoll, clouds began to cover Mt. Hood and by the time we had reached the wind break atop it we were in the clouds and Mt. Hood was hidden.

We settled in at the wind break to have lunch and hopefully have the clouds pass which they quickly began to do. As they lifted we were gifted with some spectacular views of the mountain.

When it was time to head back down we could see the Timberline Trail below and after once again consulting our maps we decided on the correct ridge to follow down to Wy’East Basin. On the way up we’d spotted a small cairn that seemed to mark a possible path we could follow so when we reached it we veered left. A series of cairns led us along the ridge past several snow fields. Clumps of lupine and paint managed to grow amid the rocks in the gully.

We followed the path down through the gully and wound up right where we had hoped in Wy’East Basin.

Back on the Timberline Trail I threw out the idea of taking a slightly longer return route by dropping down into Eden Park. We decided a different path was worth the extra .7 miles and took the Vista Ridge Trail for .3 miles and then turned right on an unmarked trail toward Eden Park. More floral displays greeted us along the way and Eden Park did not disappoint.

From Eden Park we climbed back up to the Timberline Trail at Cairn Basin and hung a right to get back to the Mazama Trail. This time the trail felt all of the 4.2 miles despite the fact we were going downhill. When it was all said and done we had covered 16.2 miles and climbed a cumulative 5089′. The weather had remained nice despite the forecast and we still had a good view of the mountain as we prepared to drive home.

Happy Trails.

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Tags Barrett Spur, Cairn Basin, cathedral ridge, eden park, Elk Cove, hiking, Mazama Trail, Mt. Hood, Oregon, snowshoe hare, timberline trail, wy'east basin

High Cascades Hiking Mt. Hood Area Oregon Trip report

Elk Meadows

Greetings, we recently made our first visit of the year to Mt. Hood. We had taken a handful of trips to the west side of the mountain last year and had fallen in love with it. So for this hike we decided to check out the east flank of Oregon’s tallest mountain. The plan was to travel a big loop around the area to hit as many sights as possible. Starting at the Elk Meadows trail head just off highway 35 near the Mt. Hood Meadows ski area the plan was to hike around the far end of the meadow, head up Gnarl Ridge for an up close view, then take the Timberline Trail through Mt. Hood Meadows, and return to the car via the Umbrella Falls trail to visit two waterfalls along the East Fork Hood River. Total planned distance was 15.2 miles (which I verified using two different maps).

We set off on the Elk Meadows and soon reached the boundary of the Mt. Hood Wilderness at Clark Creek. After crossing the creek (and into the wilderness) another .6 miles brought us to Newton Creek and a nice view of Mt. Hood.

We crossed the creek on a makeshift bridge and began climbing up towards Elk Meadows. Purple lupine began lining the trail as we approached the meadows and soon we could see the open green expanse through the trees ahead. Our arrival was ill timed as it was early on a weekend morning so many backpackers were camped around the perimeter. We did our best to avoid disturbing the campers and skipped a visit to the old shelter, but we still managed to get some good views.

We veered off the perimeter trail and took the Gnarl Ridge trail up toward the mountain. After a mile or so we reached the junction with the Timberline Trail on its way around Mt. Hood. We continued on the Timberline Trail through ever better wildflower meadows as we gained elevation. This portion of the trail winds around Lamberson Butte which kept Mt. Hood hidden for awhile. As we worked our way around the butte we spotted Mt. Adams and the very top of Mt. Rainier away to the north. Eventually forest began to give way to sand and rocks as we approached the Gnarl Ridge viewpoint. Dwarf lupine and buckwheat dotted the drier ground able to survive in the exposed dry climate. Mt. Hood now loomed before us while the Newton Creek Canyon replaced Lamberson Butte on our left. Behind us to the south snowy Mt. Jefferson was joined by the Three Sisters and Broken Top in Central Oregon. To the SE there appeared to be a fire which it turned out was in fact a forest fire on the Warm Springs Indian Reservation.

We had been informed by a fellow hiker we’d run into earlier that there were a couple of waterfalls coming off of snow melting higher up on the mountain, but we couldn’t see them from where we’d stopped. We decided to split up and see if we could get a view so Heather headed further up the ridge while I turned around and scrambled up Lamberson Butte. From the butte I was able to see the falls, the higher of the two seemed to be flowing straight out of the rocks and sand.

I could barely make out Heather up on the ridge and decided to go see if she had a closer view from where she was. She didn’t, but she did find a great overlook of Newton Creek as it flowed down through the canyon.

Having found the waterfalls we headed back down the Timberline Trail and headed down into the Newton Creek Canyon. On the way down we ran into Ken, the hiker who had told us about the waterfalls, on his way back up the trail. He had been down to the creek but was uncertain of the correct place to cross and hadn’t been able to spot the continuation of the trail on the opposite side of the creek. I had seen trail reports on Portlandhikers.org from hikers that had made the crossing in the previous couple of weeks so I knew there was one, and between my maps and GPS unit felt confident we could find it. Ken decided to join us and followed us back down to the creek. We wound up using the map, GPS, and binoculars but in the end found two good crossings and Ken quickly spotted the flagging marking the continuation of the trail.

One of the “bridges” across Newton Creek

At the top of the canyon Ken turned down the Newton Creek Trail to complete his planned loop and we continued clockwise around the mountain on the Timberline Trail.

When we reached the Clark Creek canyon the gray sandy ground began to give way to more plants and flowers. We could see down to Heather Creek as it flowed through the canyon on its way to join Clark Creek. The lush valley below was a stark contrast to the bare ridges beyond as Heather Creek flowed down the middle in a series of picturesque waterfalls.

We crossed the creek just above a nice waterfall surrounded by beautiful wildflowers. It was certainly one of the prettiest places we’ve been.

When we gained the canyon ridge we came to the Mt. Hood Meadows. The ski lifts sat idle and the ski runs were replaced with green slopes decorated with wildflowers. As we passed through the meadows we noticed that each one seemed to have a slightly different mix of flowers often with Mt. Hood towering above. One would be cat’s ear lilies and lupine, another beargrass and paintbrush, and yet another of western pasque flowers and paintbrush. This was a treat for Dominique since his favorite flower is the paintbrush but he also enjoys the “Hippies on a stick”.

Paintbrush & Western Pasque Flowers (Hippies on a Stick)

After a little over three miles since saying goodbye to Ken we reached the Umbrella Falls Trail. In 3.5 miles we would be back at our car but first we had some waterfalls to visit. Up first was Umbrella Falls, the trails namesake. We crossed the East Fork Hood River just below this fall which was rather scenic.

Normally we would have stuck around for awhile and enjoyed a snack while taking in the falls, but after the unplanned scramble up Lamberson Butte and extra climb up the Timberline Trail it was getting late and we were all pretty tired. We continued on to a sign for Sahalie Falls which was down in a narrow canyon. The trail down was steep and after surveying it I went down alone. This was another nice waterfall and the breeze created by it felt wonderful. After climbing back out of the canyon we completed the final .5mi leg of our loop and arrived at the trail head.

Once again Mt. Hood had delivered a spectacular hike. In addition to the mountain views, wildflowers, and waterfalls we saw dozens of butterflies and a pair of Western Tanagers. We have three more hikes planned around Mt. Hood this year and can’t wait to see what else the mountain has to offer. Happy Trails.

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Tags Clark Creek, Elk Meadows, gnarl ridge, hiking, Hippies on a stick, Mount Hood Meadows, Mount Hood Wilderness, Mt. Hood, Mt. Jefferson, Newton Creek, Oregon, Western Pasque Flower

High Cascades Hiking Mt. Hood Area Oregon Trip report

Wildcat Mountain

Greetings, I’m back again with another trip report from the Salmon-Huckleberry Wilderness. We were making a second attempt at Wildcat Mountain; which we had tried to do in May but had run into fresh snow on the road to the trail head. I’d seen a trip report on portlandhikers.org from 6/09/13 saying that the trail head was open and that in a couple of weeks the flower show should be going strong.

We were aware that there have been issues in this area with illegal shooting & off highway vehicle operation but the forest service and volunteers have been attempting to limit access and discourage the bad behavior. Evidence of this battle was everywhere on the drive to the trail head. Numerous “No Shooting” signs lined the road and almost every spur road was barricaded to block access. Unfortunately litter (mostly beer cans and empty shell casings) was visible in many areas as well. When we reached the new McIntyer Ridge trail head the parking area was covered in more of the same. It was a shame because the surrounding forest was beautiful.

We had a little difficulty finding the correct path due to our not noticing the small temporary trail sign at first. The OHV use was obvious given the width and condition of the trail. We followed this wide path for a mile to an opening which provided the first view of Mt. Hood. Shortly after the opening the tail narrowed leaving the OHV damage behind.

Rhododendrons bloomed in mass along the trail and we spotted several patches of avalanche lilies proving that snow had melted not too long before.

Next the trail entered a meadow of beargrass which was still, for the most part, not in bloom. I hoped that this would not be the case when we reached the next viewpoint in a meadow with a memorial bench.

The bench meadow did not disappoint. A good number of beargrass plumes rose up while paintbrush and penstemon added red and purple to the ground. The view of Mt. Hood was great and a pair of hummingbirds zoomed about visiting the flowers. One of them even landed long enough for me to get a couple of pictures.

Continuing along the path we reached a junction with the Douglas Trail and turned SE along it toward Wildcat Mountain. A short side trail led up to the summit where an old lookout tower once stood. In order to get a decent view we had to follow a very faint trail through rhododendrons toward Mt. Hood. When we reached an opening not only did we have a view of Mt. Hood but Mt. Adams and Mt. Rainier now appeared to the NW. After returning to the Douglas trail we continued SE to another viewpoint on a rocky section of the ridge. More wildflowers covered this area and Mt. St. Helens and the top of Mt. Jefferson now joined the views.

We continued on the Douglas trail to it’s end at the Plaza trail and turned around. Clouds had begun forming around the mountains changing the views on the way back. We stopped again at the bench (I don’t think you could not stop here) where I took a few more pictures.

We heard a few gunshots on the way back which sounded like they may have been coming from the Douglas trail head, and learned from a couple of hikers that they had run into a pair of OHVs (illegally) on the trail. We hadn’t heard them, but the presence was easy to see. The trail had been torn up and fresh damage done to several trees and plants along the path.

It’s hard to understand why some people just can’t follow the rules or how they could possibly leave such a mess without regard to anyone or anything else. If you were able to bring it in you can certainly pack it back out. That’s enough of a rant from me 🙂 Despite the depressing state of the trail head and OHV damage it was a great hike with wonderful views. The best thing that could happen to this area is to have more responsible/legal users. Maybe that would discourage the bad seeds and give the area a chance to recover from their damage. Happy (clean) Trails

Tags Avalanche lilies, Beargrass, hiking, Mount Jefferson, Mt. Adams, Mt. Hood, Mt. Rainier, Mt. St. Helens, Oregon, Salmon-Huckleberry Wilderness, Wildcat mountain

High Cascades Hiking Mt. Hood Area Oregon Trip report

Salmon Butte

It’s raining mice! We’ve all heard the saying “It’s raining cats and dogs” but on our last hike it rained mice (well a mouse anyway). I’ll explain that later, but for now let me tell you where we were. For Father’s Day we headed toward Mt. Hood and the Salmon-Huckleberry Wilderness. Our plan was to head to the top of 4877′ Salmon Butte where we hoped to have a view of about a half dozen Cascade peaks.

The trail head is located next to the Salmon River, a fork of which it quickly crosses on a old bridge. The river is left for good here as the path follows an abandoned road up toward a former trail head. The road was closed down due to repeated washouts which we could see evidence of as we passed over numerous small creeks. The roadbed was fairly overgrown with green grasses and many small flowers. After travelling on the road for a little over a mile we reached the former trail head and turned into the forest. Not long after entering the forest a we came to a sign announcing the boundary of the wilderness. This was our first visit to the 62,455 acre Salmon-Huckleberry Wilderness which is part of the Mt. Hood National Forest.

The trail offered no real views for the first 2.5 miles as it steadily climbed up through the forest. Rhododendrons lined the trail, many of which were in bloom adding a splash of pink amid the green. Although the total elevation gain for the trail is almost 3200′ it was rarely steep and never for very long which was a welcome change to last week’s trudge up Heartbreak Ridge. At the 2.6 mile mark a viewpoint at a rocky ridge end opens across the Mack Hall Creek Valley and to Salmon Butte itself. The ridge end was home to a small but diverse number of flowers. There were a couple red paintbrush, a single lupine, a lone cats ear, a couple of yellow flowers, and a blue filed gilia which was a first for us.

Leaving the viewpoint the trail reentered the forest and climbed along the west side of a ridge for 2 miles before we would reach the next viewpoint. Still there was plenty to keep us entertained which is where the mouse rain incident occurred. As we were walking along I saw something out of the corner of my eye and heard a “thump” on the hillside just to the left of us. My first thought was pine cone, but the thump was too loud and the color wrong for a cone so my next thought was that someone had thrown a rock at us. It nearly rolled into Heather. As she attempted to avoid it we realized it was an animal. The poor mouse got its bearings and scurried off the side of the trail and disappeared into the brush. We have no idea where it came from, if it just slipped or possibly escaped from a bird in the trees above, but we certainly won’t forget our first encounter with mouse rain.

At a switchback near the 3.9 mile mark a short side path extended out to a small but amazing hillside meadow. There was no view to speak of but the hill side was carpeted with plectritis, larkspur, and little yellow monkeyflowers.

The trail eventually moved from the west side of the ridge to the east and shortly after reached a viewpoint with the first view of Mt. Hood. Here beargrass and rhododendrons lined the trail in various states of bloom. For the next half mile the trail climbedd gently along the top of the ridge before a couple of steep switchbacks reached a second abandoned road. This was the road to the former lookout tower that no longer exists on Salmon Butte. As the road curved up around the summit Mt. Jefferson came into view to the south followed by Mt. Hood to the north. After .3 miles we reached the summit and sweeping across the Salmon-Huckleberry Wilderness to the north, south, and east.

Although there were a few clouds in the sky we had an excellent views of Mt. Hood and Mt. Jefferson.

Mt. Adams and Mt. St. Helens were clearly visible in Washington and the North Sister was peaking over the shoulder of Mt. Jefferson to the south. With an assist from the binoculars we were finally able to identify Mt. Rainier as well. We enjoyed a peaceful lunch as the only people on the summit. We were not alone though. A couple of swallowtail butterflies flitted around the summit and a gray jay flew up to check us out. There was also a chipmunk busy eating seed on a tree trunk, obviously knowing this was a perfect spot for lunch.

We passed several hikers on our way back down but no more falling mice. When we rejoined the old road near for the final 1.2 miles the scenery had changed. Scores of white candy flowers had opened to the sun and now dotted the green grass along the path. This was a really nice hike and in the end didn’t feel like we’d gone 3170′ in 11.2 miles. Until next time – Happy Trails (and watch out for falling mice :))

Tags blue field gilia, hiking, Mt. Adams, Mt. Hood, Mt. Hood National Forest, Mt. Jefferson, Oregon, plectritis, Salmon Butte, Salmon-Huckleberry Wilderness