Category: Hiking

Mount Ray / Island Lakes Loop – 09/18/2025

Post author By derwoodynck
Post date September 23, 2025
No Comments on Mount Ray / Island Lakes Loop – 09/18/2025

After spending Wednesday in the Mt. Jefferson Wilderness revisiting parts of a 2010 hike (post) I headed south to the Waldo Lake area to revisit our 2013 hike to Fuji Mountain (post). In order to not have this be an exact repeat of that hike I decided to add the Mount Ray – Island Lakes Loop which utilizes a 3.5-mile section of the Fuji Mountain Trail.

I had originally planned on starting at the Mount Ray Trailhead and hiking the loop counterclockwise with a possible detour to the summit of Fuji Mountain, but after studying the topographic map it made more sense to start at the Fuji Mountain Trailhead at Gold Lake where we had begun the 2013 hike. By starting here I could avoid ending the hike on the uphill from the Gold Lake Trail to the Mount Ray Trailhead.

Looking back at the Fuji Mountain Trail across Waldo Lake Road from the trailhead.

To find the Gold Lake Trail I walked toward the Fuji Mountain Trail looking for a path downhill on the left that would lead me to the Gold Lake Trail. There was a trail marked on the map right across from the Fuji Mountain Trail, but I knew if I couldn’t find that I could walk down Waldo Lake Road about 150 yards and take the path down that Heather and I had taken just last year on our Marilyn Lakes Loop hike (post).

As I walked back along the long trailhead parking area I spotted a small sign on a tree below and then noticed a faint patch heading down to it.

I’m not sure if these three rocks were meant to be a cairn or they just happened to be there, but this is where the path was. It slants down back to the left.

The trail sign I’d spotted from the road above. (I was once again starting before sunrise so there wasn’t much light available for photos for the first 20-30 minutes.)

The path led me to the obvious Gold Lake Trail where I turned left.

The Gold Lake Trail climbed very gradually along the hillside above Gold Lake and the Gold Lake Research Bog, both of which were mostly hidden by trees.

Old mushroom

This was one of the best views available through the forest.

Wet section near the bog.

Another old mushroom and a bead lily.

Coral fungus

Ray Creek

After following the Gold Lake Trail for 1.7-miles I arrived at a junction with the Mount Ray Trail.

Trail/Nordic signs at the junction with the Mount Ray Trail.

I turned left onto the Mount Ray Trail and was expected a decent climb for the 0.4-miles up to the Mount Ray Trailhead but was pleasantly surprised at how gradual it wound up being.

Mushrooms turned into the theme of the day as there were not only a lot of them, but some of them were huge.

The Mount Ray Trailhead is just up Waldo Lake Road from the trail itself. The person at the pickup was the only one I saw all day until I was back at the Fuji Mountain Trailhead.

I crossed the road and continued to follow the Mount Ray Trail as it gradually climbed through the forest.

Wilderness permit box. The box didn’t have any self-issue permits inside, but I wouldn’t be entering the Waldo Lake Wilderness on this loop, so I didn’t need one anyway.

Small meadow on the flank of Mount Ray.

Valerian

There was one short, steep section near the middle of the 2.2-miles from the road to the junction with the South Waldo Trail.

Squirrel on the log.

Aside from a lot of birds I didn’t see a lot of wildlife during the hike. A few chipmunks and squirrels were it although there was plenty of deer sign around.

The trails were by and large clear of any obstacles which isn’t surprising given they are open to mountain bikes. It seems like those open to bikes are well maintained, if they are regularly used by mountain bikers.

The trail entered Pothole Meadows near the source of Ray Creek.

The creek bed is to the left. It was basically dry at this point, but the meadow was damp.

Aster

Blue diamond marking the trail leaving the meadow.

The trail steepened a bit beyond the meadow as it made the final climb to the South Waldo Trail junction.

The 4-way junction with the South Waldo Trail.

Heather and I had been to this junction during our South Waldo Loop hike in 2015 (post).

I turned left at the junction on the South Waldo Trail following an Island Lakes pointer.

The trail climbed steeply at times gaining 400′ in 0.6-miles before starting to descend toward the Island Lakes.

Small creek that wasn’t shown on the maps.

Mount Ray

This woodpecker was too busy to bother with looking at me.

Maiden Peak (post)

This little meadow was at the high point of the trail.

Bleeding heart

After another 0.6-miles downhill I began seeing smaller unnamed lakes and ponds through the trees and after another quarter of a mile spotted Upper Island Lake on the right.

Upper Island Lake through the trees.

We had visited both Upper and Lower Island Lakes in 2013 so I wasn’t sure if I would detour to either this time around. Upper Island was close enough to the trail (and level enough) that I wound up detouring around a small pond to visit the lake.

The pond.

Upper Island Lake

After looping around the pond I returned to the trail and after looking down at Lower Island Lake decided not to revisit that one.

Sign for Lower Island Lake.

Beyond the Island Lakes the South Waldo Trail continued to descend to a junction with the Fuji Mountain Trail, a little over two miles from the Mount Ray Trail.

One of several more unnamed lakes/ponds along the trail.

Signs at the junction with the Fuji Mountain Trail.

With the visibility being pretty good considering the Emigrant Fire was burning less than 15-miles to the SE I decided to make the 2.2-mile climb to the summit of Fuji Mountain so I turned right at the junction. For the first mile the trail made a series of ups and downs netting a gain of just 300′ but there was a good deal more uphill involved.

Golden-mantled ground squirrel

After the mile I arrived at a junction with a spur trail arriving from the Fuji Mountain Trailhead at Road 5833. The junction was just inside the 2022 Cedar Creek Fire scar.

I turned right here and began the final 1.2-mile climb to the summit. Initially the trail was right along the border of the fire scar.

Fireweed

Mount David Douglas

Eventually the trail veered into the fire scar to begin a series of switchbacks to the summit.

Diamond Peak. The Emigrant Fire is to the right and behind the mountain.

Just ahead the trail gained the ridge at a viewpoint.

The ridge to the left is Bunchgrass Ridge (post).

The flat mountain in the center is Mount David Douglas. Directly behind (and way back) in the distance is Bohemian Mountain and Fairview Peak (post).

Looking up the ridge beneath the summit.

Viewpoint at the final switchback before the summit.

The final push.

Chipmunk

The former lookout site atop Fuji Mountain.

It looked a lot different this time given the massive 2022 Cedar Creek Fire combined with the fact that it had been snowy in 2013 and there was definitely haze from the wildfires in the air today .

The pointy Mt. Thielsen (post) behind and to the left of Diamond Peak.

Cowhorn Mountain (post) is the leftmost pointy peak followed by Howlock Mountain, Mt. Thielsen, Sawtooth Mountain (post), and finally the hump in the distance to the right is Llao Rock along the rim of Crater Lake.

Looking down at the fire scar.

Similar view in 2013.

The Husband, Middle Sister, South Sister (post), Broken Top, and Mt. Bachelor (post)

Due to the haze Mt. Hood wasn’t visible at all this time and Mt. Jefferson was a struggle to see. Three Fingered Jack and Mt. Washington were visible to the naked eye but the camera had a hard time making them out.

Mount Ray with Crane Prairie Reservoir and Paulina Peak (post) behind.

Maiden Peak to the left with Odell Butte behind Odell Lake.

After a nice break at the summit I headed back down. It was 2.2-miles back to the South Waldo Lake junction and then another 3.6-miles down to the trailhead where I was parked. The lower 3.6-miles had its own set of ups and downs which I had conveniently blocked from my memory so instead of a nice long downhill section there was a fair amount of short climbing involved.

Fireweed

The South Waldo Trail junction.

Pinesap

There were two named lakes and several unnamed lakes/ponds along the lower 3.6-miles.

Verde Lake

Birthday Lake

The second of two nordic ski trails that left to the right. Both were very faint as far as tread goes indicating that they are not used much when there isn’t any snow.

California tortoiseshell

Pond

There were some areas where the mountain bikes had worn a good grove in the trail making it hard to land flat footed.

Maiden Peak through the trees.

I see cars!

Just like the previous day’s hike my GPS showed 15.3-miles when I was back at the car. As far as elevation gain goes, I am estimating it was around 3000′ when all the ups and downs are included.

Skipping the summit would have saved a little over 4.5-miles and around 1200′ of climbing leaving a moderate 10.8-mile loop with and estimated 1800′ of elevation gain. It’s hard to skip the summit given the Mount Ray – Island Lakes Loop lacks any major views. That being said the forest is very nice with the meadows and lakes providing some variety of scenery. I don’t know how busy the loop gets on weekends but not seeing another person on the trails was another plus for this hike. Happy Trails!

Flickr: Mount Ray – Island Lakes Loop

Tags birthday lake, Cedar Creek Fire, fuji mountain, Fuji Mountain Trail, Fuji Mountain Trailhead, Gold Lake, Gold Lake Trail, hiking, Lower Island Lake, Mount Ray - Island Lakes Loop, Mount Ray Trail, Mount Ray Trailhead, Oregon, Pothole Meadows, South Waldo Trail, Upper Island Lake, Verde Lake

High Cascades Hiking Mt. Jefferson Area Oregon Trip report

Duffy Lake Trail to Jorn Lake – 09/17/2025

Post author By derwoodynck
Post date September 22, 2025
6 Comments on Duffy Lake Trail to Jorn Lake – 09/17/2025

For the second hike of my September vacation I decided to revisit one of our earliest hikes. Our first visit and only previous visit to Duffy Lake (post) had been over 15 years ago and was only our 14th day spent hiking. Since that time I have spent 774 more days on trails. My plan for this outing was to revisit Duffy and Mowich Lakes and to continue on to Jorn Lake which we had visited on a 2016 hike starting from the Marion Lake Trailhead (post). I left open the option to hike up Red Butte depending on the amount of wildfire haze, and how I was feeling.

I obtained a Central Cascades Wilderness Day Use Permit for the Duffy Lake Trailhead and arrived shortly before sunrise (I had expected to be delayed by road construction.)

There were already a lot of cars at the trailhead.

I set off on the Duffy Lake Trail which was quickly joined on the left by the main spur of the Duffy Lake Trail which begins at Big Meadows Horse Camp at the Mt. Jefferson Wilderness boundary.

It’s 3.3-miles and 750′ of elevation gain to Duffy Lake from the trailhead which makes for a pretty gentle climb. Both Heather and I prefer to have shorter sections broken up by markers (preferably no more than 1.5-miles) and for this hike I used a couple of trail junctions to do just that. From the junction with the cutoff to Big Meadows Horse Camp it is approximately 1.4-miles to the Turpentine Trail.

The first of two rock fields along this stretch. I heard a couple of pikas but was unable to spot any of them.

The second rock field.

You can loop back to the trailhead by combining this trail with the Big Meadows Tie Trail which brings you to the Duffy Lake Trail coming from the horse camp about a half mile from the junction near the trailhead. Heather and I did that in 2010, but I opted not to add the additional three quarters of a mile to my day.

From the junction with the Turpentine Trail it is another mile and a half to the next junction with the Lava Lakes Trail.

The North Santiam River’s dry bed alongside the trail.

The trail crossing the riverbed.

A small part of Duffy Butte visible ahead.

The Lava Lakes Trail connects to the Maxwell Butte Trail (post) 2.8-miles away at Twin Lakes.

Three tenths of a mile from the Lava Lakes Trail I arrived at a 4-way junction at the SW end of Duffy Lake where a day use area provides a nice view.

Signs at the 4-way junction. The day use area was to the left and the faint 0.4-mile Duffy Prairie Trail forked off to the right.

Day use sign on the tree at the bottom.

Lousewort

Aster

After a quick stop at the day use area I continued along the lake stopping on a footbridge over the outlet which feeds the North Santiam River when the lake is full enough.

Common merganser

Shortly after crossing the bridge I arrived at a junction with the Blue Lake Trail which marks the end of the Duffy Lake Trail. The Blue Lake Trail is eight miles long with one end a tenth of a mile to the right (east) of the Duffy Lake Trail at a junction with the Duffy Prairie and Santiam Lake Trails and the other end at the Marion Lake Trail. In 2010 we had forked right onto the Duffy Prairie Trail then we took the Santiam Lake Trail to visit Santiam Lake and returned to the Blue Lake Trail via the Dixie Lakes Trail. I knew I wasn’t going to visit Santiam Lake since we had revisited that lake from the Pacific Crest Trail in 2021 (post). I was considering taking the Dixie Lakes Trail on the way back and cutting down here on the Blue Lake Trail though.

For now I continued straight on the Blue Lake Trail passing more great views of Duffy Lake and Butte.

It was just over three quarters of a mile from the Duffy Lake/Blue Lake junction to Mowich Lake which required gaining nearly 300′ of elevation. Along this section the trail passed in and out of the 2003 B&B Fire scar.

Meadow near the end of Duffy Lake.

Duffy Butte from the fire scar.

Huckleberry bush

The trail leveled out before arriving at Mowich Lake.

No campfire sign just before the lake. I took the spur to the left which led down to the lake while the Blue Lake Trail continued to the right.

Heading down to Mowich Lake.

Red Butte to the right.

Instead of returning to the trail via the spur I’d come down I decided to follow the lake shore for a bit thinking I would just pop back up on the Blue Lake Trail when another use trail appeared.

American pipit

Opting to follow the lake shore turned out to be a bit of a poor choice. I wasn’t seeing any other use trails and I could see on the map that the Blue Lake Trail veered uphill away from the lake near its middle. After checking my GPS and seeing that I was getting pretty close to where the trail would be turning away, I decided to just turn uphill and bushwack to it.

The trail is up there somewhere.

Found it!

Duffy Butte behind Mowich Lake.

The trail climbed gradually through the fire scar and past the junction with the Dixie Lakes Trail.

It was approximately 0.8-miles between the spur trail down to Mowich Lake and the Dixie Lakes Trail junction.

The trail leveled out at the junction and continued a third of a mile to a use trail just before Alice Lake.

Pearly everlasting along the trail.

Level trail in unburnt forest.

At the use trail I faced the choice of continuing straight to Jorn Lake or detouring up Red Butte. I was feeling up to the 500′, half mile climb and more importantly the visibility was good. The issue I ran into was there were three tents set up nearly on top of the trail. Not wanting to trapse through their camp I cut through the forest and started up the butte hoping to pick up the use trail at some point.

Alice Lake below.

The summit of Red Butte.

After climbing almost two tenths of a mile I spotted the use trail.

The use trail in the dirt area in the middle of the trees.

Following the use trail.

Penstemon

Bumble bee on thistle.

Maxwell Butte from the use trail.

Scott Mountain (post) on the left and Diamond Peak (post) in the distance to the right.

Mt. Jefferson behind the trees.

The summit of Red Butte.

Once I was at the summit I headed south to an overlook of Mowich Lake.

The two Dixie Lakes are visible in the forest to the left of Mowich Lake.

Three Fingered Jack, Mt. Washington, and the Three Sisters.

The Three Sisters behind Mt. Washington.

After admiring the view from this end of the butte I headed back across the summit to get the view to the north.

South Cinder Peak (post) between the trees and Rockpile Mountain to the right of them.

A little scrambling over the downed trees to the left resulted in a great view to the north.

Northern flicker

Saddle Mountain and Marion Mountain (post) to the left with Jorn Lake below and Mt. Jefferson in the distance.

Jorn Lake

Mt. Hood peaking up to the left of Mt. Jefferson.

Fritillary on thistle.

After soaking in the view headed back down the trail looking for a little shade to take a break in.

I used this log as a bench to have a snack and change out my socks before following the use trail down to Alice Lake.

Milk kellogia

I passed a little closer to the tents on my way back to the Blue Lake Trail then turned left and headed toward Jorn Lake.

Red Butte across Alice Lake from the Blue Lake Trail.

The tents on the far side of Alice Lake.

The trail began to descend toward the Eight Lakes Basin losing approximately 200′ in nearly a mile to a junction with the Bowerman Lake Trail near Jorn Lake.

Aster

Green Peak, Saddle Mountain, and Marion Mountain

Jorn Lake

I turned right onto the Bowerman Lake trail for a moment then took a use trail down to the lake.

After visiting the lake I headed back up the Blue Lake Trail. Two tenths of a mile from the Bowerman Lake Trail junction I veered downhill on a faint use trail to visit Red Butte Lake.

The top of Three Fingered Jack from the trail.

The use trail.

Three Fingered Jack from Red Butte Lake.

From Red Butte Lake I cut back up to the Blue Lake Trail and climbed back up past Alice Lake to the Dixie Lakes Trail junction.

From what little I could see of the Dixie Lakes Trail it appeared to be in good shape, so I veered left and headed for the lakes.

After half a mile I spotted North Dixie Lake through the trees.

I found a good use trail and headed down to the lake for a closer look.

Once again I decided to follow the lakeshore instead of returning to the trail and followed it to the southern end with a good view of Red Butte.

From North Dixie Lake I crossed a meadow and arrived at South Dixie Lake.

Woodpecker

Elk and deer prints in the mud.

It was a lot easier to cut back over to the trail from South Dixie Lake than it had been from Mowich Lake.

Not long after leaving South Dixie Lake the trail began to descend to its junction with the Santiam Lake Trail.

This was the only tree down along the trail which clearly receives maintenance from time to time.

The Three Pyramids (post)

Paintbrush

It was a total of 1.6-miles from the Blue Lake Trail junction to the junction with the Santiam Lake Trail.

I turned right on the Santiam Lake Trail and followed it 0.4-miles to the 3-way junction with the Blue Lake and Duffy Prairie trails.

Unsigned junction with the Duffy Prairie Trail on the left and the Blue Lake Trail on the right.

Since we had taken the Duffy Prairie Trail in 2010 I forked right onto the Blue Lake Trail which descended steeply to the junction with the Duffy Lake Trail in just a tenth of a mile.

The junction with the Duffy Lake Trail.

I turned left onto the Duffy Lake Trail and followed it 3.6-miles back to the car. There wasn’t much new to see on the way back. I still wasn’t able to spot any of the pikas I was hearing in the rock fields. Outside of small birds, chipmunks, and squirrels the only other critters I saw were a couple of grouse including one in the trail near the trailhead.

This hike came in at 15.3-miles with a just over 2000′ of cumulative elevation gain.

While most of the hike was on trails that we’d previously hiked I managed to get a small amount of new trail. While we’ve covered a lot of the area around Three Fingered Jack there are still some trails/sections left to explore.

There were a lot of people on the trails here, which was a little surprising given it was a Wednesday in September, but they were pretty spread out so no location that I visited felt crowded outside of the trailhead. The view from Red Butte is a really good one and well worth a visit. Happy Trails!

Flicker: Duffy Lake Trail to Jorn Lake

Tags Alice Lake, Blue Lake Trail, Dixie Lakes, Dixie Lakes Trail, Duffy Lake, Duffy Lake Trail, Duffy Prairie Trail, hiking, Jorn Lake, Mowich Lake, Mt. Jefferson Wilderness, Oregon, Red Butte, Red Butte Lake, Santiam Lake Trail

Columbia River Gorge South Hiking Oregon Trip report

Benson Plateau via the Herman Creek – 09/15/2025

Post author By derwoodynck
Post date September 17, 2025
2 Comments on Benson Plateau via the Herman Creek – 09/15/2025

I began my final solo vacation of the year with a visit to the Columbia River Gorge National Recreation Area and the Mark O. Hatfield Wilderness. My plan was based on an entry in Matt Reeder’s “PDX Hiking 365” (1st edition) guidebook.

He describes a 14-mile out and back hike to the Plateau starting at the Herman Creek Trailhead with a cumulative elevation gain of 3800′. Most of the hike passes through the 2017 Eagle Creek Fire scar using the Herman Creek, Herman Creek Bridge, and Pacific Crest Trails.

I arrived at the trailhead before sunrise due to wanting to get through Portland traffic before 6am.

There were a few important pieces of information at the trailhead signboard.

Important information included the need of a NW Forest Pass to park at the trailhead, that there is currently a campfire ban, and no fireworks are allowed (illegal use of fireworks started the Eagle Creek Fire).

I set off on the Herman Creek Trail and followed it uphill passing under a powerline corridor to a junction with the Herman Creek Bridge Trail at the 0.6-mile mark.

I forked right onto the 1.1-mile-long Herman Creek Bridge Trail which descended to the Herman Creek Bridge then climbed to a junction with the Pacific Crest Trail (PCT).

Herman Creek

Climbing toward the PCT. Note the red leaves on the left which is poison oak. There was a fair amount of poison oak along the lower portion of this hike. There were a couple of spots where I had to get small to squeeze between some of it, but I was able to avoid it by staying alert.

Beardtongue

More poison oak. With it turning red for the Fall most of it was easy to spot.

First pika sighting of the day. (Can you spot it?)

The Columbia River Gorge is the lowest elevation at which pikas live. These members of the rabbit family require temperatures below 78 degrees and primarily live at higher elevations with longer snowy seasons during which they live underground surviving on greens collected during summer months.

The Moon above cliffs.

The junction with the PCT. The hike up to this point had retraced part of our 2015 to Pacific Crest Falls (post).

In 2015 we had gone right to visit the waterfall, but this time I turned left on the PCT which quickly entered the Mark O. Hatfield Wilderness.

From the junction it was a nearly constant 5-mile climb to Benson Plateau. There were a couple of small saddles that provided a little up and down near the plateau but otherwise it was a steady but never steep climb.

First good viewpoint across the Columbia River.

Another pika. I heard several but only spotted three or four.

The summit of Mt. Adams peaking over the ridge across the river.

Table Mountain (post) on the left and Greenleaf Peak (post) on the right.

The amount of poison oak lessened as the trail climbed giving way to friendlier greenery.

One of two large trees over the trail. This one required the removal of my pack so that I could crawl under. The other one was just enough smaller that it could be climbed over.

View along the trail.

A little more of Mt. Adams showing.

Heading into the sunlight.

Grouse on the PCT. There wound up being at least 5 or 6 grouse nearby.

Grouse in a tree.

The tree I climbed over.

There were a few overgrown sections, but fortunately they were high enough up that the poison oak was no longer an issue.

Up, up, up through the forest.

Strategic use of switchbacks helped keep the trail from being too steep.

Near the switchback above I caught a strong whiff of fire. Not smoke in the air, but the unmistakable smell of fire. It made me a little uneasy because there weren’t any nearby fires showing on the online maps I’d checked before leaving. After climbing another switchback the trail gained a ridgetop, and I discovered the source of the smell. A pair of bow hunters had set up a fire ring and built a fire right next to the trail and a tree. They had their tent, sleeping bags and gear strewn about and when they spotted me they explained they were trying to “dry out” their gear. It was obvious from their need to quickly explain why they had a fire that they knew it wasn’t okay. I didn’t feel comfortable calling them out on it so I made my way around their gear and continued on.

The ridgetop. The bow hunters were about 100 yards behind me at this point.

I continued on getting a view of Mt. St. Helens through the snags.

Another grouse. This was one of 8 to 10 that were in this area.

The cliffy Hamilton Mountain (post) on the Washington side of the gorge.

Explorer’s gentian

After another switchback the trail arrived at an open viewpoint.

The PCT continuing uphill.

Mt. Adams

Closer look at Mt. Adams

Mt. Hood partially hidden by trees.

Mt. Hood

Approximately a half mile from the illegal campfire I arrived at Teakettle Spring.

It was good to know that there was water available here as the only other source I’d passed was Herman Creek. I was carrying an extra Hydroflask full of water just in case, and after seeing the campfire I came up with another use for it. I decided that I would add that water to my pack bladder when I reached the plateau and then refill the Hydroflask from the spring on the way down to use on the fire pit if necessary.

The trail continued to climb beyond the spring before crossing two saddles along a ridge. In the second saddle the Benson Way Trail arrived on the right.

Beargrass along the trail is much better than poison oak.

Sections of the ridge burned intensely in 2017.

Near the second saddle the trail left the 2017 fire scar, although a very small section did burn in the 2024 Whiskey Creek Fire.

The Benson Way Trail on the right.

The final climb to the Benson Plateau.

The trail eventually leveled out on the plateau.

Approximately three quarters of a mile from the Benson Way junction I passed the Benson-Ruckle Trail, again on the right.
Trail signs for the Benson-Ruckle Trail.

Reeder mentioned a campsite near the junction, but I didn’t see an obvious one. I continued on looking for the campsite but after a tenth of a mile I instead spotted a short use trail to a rocky viewpoint. I decided that would make for a good spot for a break.

It wasn’t a huge view, but it was nice and the rocks made for a great spot to sit down, have a snack, add the remaining Hydroflask water to my pack, and then change into dry socks.

After the break I headed back the way I’d come. It would have been possible to use the network of trail on the plateau to make a loop around it, but 14-miles was enough for me today.

I made my way back down to Teakettle Spring and refilled the Hydroflask as planned.

The hump with radio towers behind the ridge is Mt. Defiance (post).

Not long after leaving the springs I encountered the bow hunters who were standing in the trail looking at their phone. They asked me if I knew where the spring was because they were “plumb out of water”. I informed them it was about 100 yards further up the trail and continued on now wondering if they were out of water due to dousing the campfire or if they had had enough water to do that in the first place.

Approaching the best viewpoint.

Not only was Mt. Adams a little clearer but I realized the top of Mt. Rainier was visible from the viewpoint as well.

Mt. Rainier behind Red Mountain (post).

Huckleberry leaves.

Vine maple

When I arrived at the site of the fire pit I could tell that they had at least attempt to extinguish the fire.

The fire pit. In no way is this acceptable, even if fires weren’t currently banned. If it is legal to have a fire and you feel you must please follow Leave No Trace Principles.

Even though there was no visible smoke I knew that fires can easily burn underground, sometimes for days until they reach a tree or stump at which point they can reemerge above ground causing a full-on wildfire. I felt the dirt over the fire and sure enough it was still putting off heat so I exposed some of the coals and poured the Hydroflask out over them. This produced a lot of hissing so I did a little stirring and added more water from my bladder attempting to make “campfire soup”. After doing what I could with what I was carrying I marked the location with the GPS so I could report it to the Forest Service when I had the chance which I did later.

I continued down the trail and when I neared the tree that required crawling under met a pair of backpackers heading up to the plateau. I described the fire pit to them, and they indicated that they were carrying extra water and would add some if necessary.

Other than that it was an uneventful downhill until I reached the rocky hillsides where I once again had some luck spotting pikas.

This one was more than happy to pose for me for a bit.

At the end of the day my GPS read 14.2-miles with the 3800′ of elevation gain as advertised.

Despite the issue with the illegal fire this was a nice, challenging hike. There really isn’t anything that will blow you away scenery wise, but there is enough of a mix to keep it interesting. While the upper portion of the trails can get pretty snowy from November through late April/early May this would be a great training hike while waiting for the higher elevations to become snow free. Happy Trails!

Flickr: Benson Plateau

Tags Benson Plateau, Benson Way, Benson-Ruckle Trail, Columbia River Gorge, grouse, Herman Creek Bridge Trail, Herman Creek Trail, Herman Creek Trailhead, hiking, Oregon, Pacific Crest Trail, PCT, Pika, Teakettle Spring

High Cascades Hiking Oregon Three Sisters Area Trip report

Park Meadow to Golden Lake – 09/13/2025

Post author By derwoodynck
Post date September 15, 2025
No Comments on Park Meadow to Golden Lake – 09/13/2025

September is one of the trickier months for picking hikes. The transition to Fall has begun meaning most of the wildflowers are done while the Fall colors are just getting started. Rain begins returning (and sometimes snow at higher elevations), but many of the waterfalls are still running low. Finally, wildfire smoke has often been a problem in recent years.

The hike to Park Meadow and Golden Lake seemed a good option as it isn’t a big wildflower hike and there aren’t a lot of plants known for their Fall colors. We had visited the meadow and Golden Lake during a 2014 backpacking loop around the South Sister (post). That visit was enough for us to count having hiked part of Sullivan’s featured hike in his “100 Hike/Travel Guide Central Oregon Cascades” (post), but it meant we’d skipped the five miles of trail between the Park Meadow Trailhead and Park Meadow.

With a forecast of mostly smoke and cloud free skies we made the two-and-a-half-hour drive to the trailhead.

The trail begins across Forest Road 16 from the trailhead at a signboard and wilderness permit box.

Currently for day hikes the only permit currently required is the free self-issued wilderness permit that we filled out at the signboard. For overnight trips a Central Cascades Wilderness Permit is required.

The Park Meadow Trail spends most of its time in the 2012 Pole Creek Fire scar which burned nearly all the trees leaving views of the Three Sisters and Broken Top through the snags. The trail also loses 350′ of elevation for the first 3.9-miles to Wychus Creek.

Junco

Heather spotted three deer on the rise in the distance.

Lupine

At the 0.25-mile mark the trail arrives at junction with the Metolius-Windigo Trail. We stayed straight following the pointer for “JCT. PARK MEADOW TR.”

The Three Sisters on the horizon.

Sparrow

Fireweed

Northwestern rabbit-tabacco

Broken Hand along Tam McArthur Rim (post) on the left with the tip of Broken Top above the hill on the right.

Pearly everlasting

Just over two miles from the trailhead we arrived at an unnamed stream near the second junction with the Metolius-Windigo Trail.

Reflection in the stream.

We again stayed straight continuing on the Park Meadow Trail which soon came to a crossing of Snow Creek at the border of the Three Sisters Wilderness.

Pearly everlasting along Snow Creek.

Paintbrush

Sweet bee on milk kelloggia

We spotted a pair of ravens in the snag tops ahead.

Raven

Penstemon

Broken Top and South Sister (post).

Broken Top

South Sister

Woodpecker from below.

Near the 4-mile mark we arrived at Wychus Creek. At 6000′ this was the lowest elevation of the hike.

From Wychus Creek it is just over a mile to Park Meadow. Shortly before reaching the meadow the trail leaves the fire scar.

Cinquefoil

Aster

Orange sulphur

Entering unburned forest.

South Sister from a pond at the end of Park Meadow.

Red-tailed hawk

Broken Top from Park Meadow

Park Creek crossing.

Park Meadow junction with the Green Lakes Trail.

On our backpacking loop we used the Green Lakes Trail to reach the meadow from the Camp Lake Trail making this junction the point at which we completed Sullivan’s entire featured hike. I arrived here first because Heather and I had split up back at Wychus Creek. She had decided against pushing on to Golden Lake which was another 1.7-miles and 500′ in elevation gain away.

I hiked through the meadow which was filled with alpine gentians and then began to climb through the forest to the unmarked junction with the use trail to Golden Lake.

Alpine gentians

Golden-mantled ground squirrel

Townsend’s solitaire

Small cairn and bandana marking the use trail. This is approximately 1-mile from the junction in Park Meadow.

I veered left up the use trail which quickly leveled out and brought me to Golden Lake in 0.7-miles.

South Sister from the use trail.

Broken Top from the trail. If you look down the trail on the right between the trees, you can see a deer crossing the trail.

While it isn’t an official trail there is no camping allowed within 250′ of Golden Lake. In addition, throughout the Three Sisters Wilderness building, maintaining, attending, or using a fire, campfire, or stove fire above 5700′ is prohibited. Stoves must be fueled with liquid or compressed gas.

The Moon above south sister.

Golden Lake and Broken Top with some September haze. There is a crossing of the outlet that leads to the eastern shore.

The Three Sisters from Golden Lake.

I wasn’t planning on going beyond Golden Lake, but I had left that option open depending on time and how I was feeling. On our backpacking trip we had continued up to a tarn almost a mile (and another 500′) and set up camp. We wound up not staying there though when we got spooked by the sudden arrival of smoke and a visible smoke column on the far side of South Sister. It was a rookie mistake as the fire wound up being over 40-miles away. Now that I was back 11 years later I couldn’t pass up the opportunity to visit the tarn and our almost campsite again. I followed a path along the eastern shore to the outlet creek then headed uphill.

Looking back along the path along the eastern shore.

Uphill along the inlet.

Pink monkeyflower

I believe the purple is an aster, red a paintbrush, and yellow Buek’s groundsel.

Aster and pink monkeyflower

Tilling’s monkeyflower

The creek emerges from springs at the base of a moraine.

The final push to the tarn is a steep climb up a glacial moraine.

The Three Sisters and the creek from the moraine.

The tarn.

Due to the position of the Sun and the smoke getting a good picture of Broken Top from the tarn was impossible.

South and North Sister from the tarn. Middle Sister is behind the clump of trees which is where we had set up our tent in 2014.

I made my way around the tarn and stopped at the 2014 campsite to take a break.

California tortoiseshell

Another attempt at Broken Top.

Fireweed along the smaller tarn.

Campsite

Middle and North Sister from the campsite.

After a snack and a change of socks I headed back down. It was just before 11am when I made my way back down the moraine and then by Golden Lake again.

South Sister

Middle Sister and Prouty Point

North Sister

Arnica and paintbrush near one of the springs feeding the creek.

Alpine speedwell

Lupine

Mushroom

The inlet creek crossing ahead.

I simply retraced my steps from here back to the trailhead. There were a few more wildlife sightings along the way and a few more trail users. The elevation gains after Wychus Creek were a mean trick given it was now warmer while I was heading uphill but there was an occasional cool breeze and it wasn’t too hot of a day to begin with (low 60’s).

Northern flicker

The trails were all in good shape. This was the “worst” obstacle encountered.

Mushroom

Park Creek

Common wood nymph in pearly everlasting.

One of the numerous small uphill sections on the way back to the trailhead.

A little more haze and a couple more clouds on the way back.

Black Crater (post)

Another uphill and more clouds forming overhead.

The post on the right marks the site of the former trailhead. This is approximately 1.2-miles from the current trailhead.

I arrived back at the trailhead a little after 1:30pm and found Heather waiting in her camp chair.

My hike to the tarn above Golden Lake came in at 15.2-miles with 1800′ of cumulative elevation gain. Heather’s to Park Meadow was a little over 10-miles with 800′ of elevation gain.

This was indeed a good time for this hike. There were no mosquitos or yellow jackets to speak of. The former are a problem in July and early August and the latter can get aggressive later in the Fall. While most of the wildflowers had passed there were still some blooming and it wasn’t too hot. The lack of tree cover combined with the uphill on the way back wouldn’t be a lot of fun on a hot summer day. Happy Trails!

Flicker: Park Meadow to Golden Lake

Tags Broken Top, Golden Lake, Green Lakes Trail, hiking, Oregon, park creek, Park Meadow, Park Meadow Trail, Park Meadow Trailhead, Snow Creek, South Sister, Three Sisters Wilderness, Wychus Creek

Central Coast Hiking Oregon Oregon Coast Trip report

Twin Rocks & Hoquarton Slough – 09/06/2025

Post author By derwoodynck
Post date September 8, 2025
1 Comment on Twin Rocks & Hoquarton Slough – 09/06/2025

The arrival of a weather system bringing showers along with the chance of thunderstorms in many areas led us to choose a beach hike for our second outing of September. We headed to the city of Rockaway Beach and parked at the Rockaway Beach Trailhead.

This was our second visit to the city of Rockaway Beach but the first to the actual beach having visited the Old Growth Cedar Preserve on the previous visit (post). It was overcast but no showers and more importantly no lightening. (Which we’d seen on our drive through the coast range.) We headed down to the beach and faced a choice, we could head north to the Nehalem River or south to Tillamook Bay where the Tillamook River empties into the Pacific Ocean. The distance to the two rivers is roughly the same from the trailhead so we made our choice based on the presence of Twin Rocks along the way to Tillamook Bay.

Twin Rocks in the distance.

We followed the beach south just over three miles to the north jetty of the bay. The tide was just starting to come back in, so we were able to head out a bit on the beach.

There were two small creeks to cross on the way past Twin Rocks. The first was Saltair Creek which was easily crossed dry footed.

Semipalmated plover

Heitmiller Creek was a bit wider but not particularly deep. Even my trail runners were able to keep the water from seeping in the mesh of the toe boxes.

Lions mane jellyfish

Brown pelicans

Just a bit of blue sky.

Looking back toward Twin Rocks.

Whimbrel

Coast Guard tower on the north jetty.

North Jetty

Bayocean Spit (post) across the Tillamook River.

The Barview Jetty Trailhead is located next to the Coast Guard tower and we stopped there to use the facilities. It’s possible to hike inland between the jetty and some wetlands to the Barview County Park Trailhead. We opted not to hike the half mile to that trailhead (parking is $10 at both of these trailheads) and instead turned around and headed back to the Rockaway Beach Trailhead.

Sentry making sure people stay out of the wetlands near the Barview Jetty Trailhead.

Oregon Coast Trail pointer near the Barview Jetty Trailhead.

Yarrow

Dry stream bed.

This raven was staring intently at our car.

Our hike ended up being 6.4-miles with minimal elevation gain. This is a popular beach on sunny weekends so this was a perfect day for a less crowded visit.

It was a fairly quick hike for us given the level walking was primarily on compact sand, and because of that we were in danger of violating our self-imposed rule of not spending more time driving than hiking. Since it was still before 9:30am we decided to add a second stop for the day at the Hoquarton Slough Trail. It was about a 20-minute drive to Hoquarton Park in Tillamook.

Here the Hoquaton Interpretive Trail starts at some signboards and passes several observation decks of Hoquaton Slough.

Rose

Bindweed

After 0.2-miles this path reaches the end of the park and curves up to meet a former railroad that is now a paved path.

After approximately a third of a mile the old railroad grade trail passes the Misty Meadow Dairy on a gravel road. There were a lot of cute barn cats in this area, but there was also the distinctive smell of a working dairy. I grew up around dairies in Central Oregon and although I wouldn’t call it pleasant there is something nostalgic about the smell. Heather on the other hand was not a fan.

We were being watched.

The paved path resumed on the far side of the dairy entrance.

A tenth of a mile beyond the dairy the trail crosses over Highway 6 and then turns right into Goodspeed Park.

Goodspeed/Tillamook Skate Park

Redwood in Goodspeed Park.

We turned around at Goodspeed Park and made our way back to our car.

Great blue heron in Hoquarton Slough.

Back at Hoquarton Park.

This was an odd little trail coming in at 1.3-miles roundtrip.

We saw one other walker and what we’re pretty sure was a drug deal. As with pretty much every other trail in a town these days there were some homeless camps back in the vegetation near Hoquarton Park as well. It probably isn’t one we’d revisit but it was an interesting experience. We will be heading back to Rockaway Beach at some point to make the hike north to the Nehalem River though. Happy Trails!

Flickr: Twin Rocks and Hoquarton Slough

Tags Barview Jetty Trailhead, Goodspeed Park, hiking, Hoquarton Slough, Hoquarton Slough Interpretive Trail, Lions mane jellyfish, Oregon, Rockaway Beach, Rockaway Beach Trailhead, Tillamook, Tillamook Bay, Twin Rocks

Hiking Oregon Salem/Albany Trip report Willamette Valley

Willamette Mission State Park – 09/01/2025

Post author By derwoodynck
Post date September 4, 2025
1 Comment on Willamette Mission State Park – 09/01/2025

After two days of challenging hikes we opted for a recovery outing on Labor Day. We chose Willamette Mission State Park for the short hike since it is less than 30 minutes from Salem, and we could use the annual State Park pass we purchased earlier this year.

Our only other visit to the park was back in 2019. Our hike that day started from the overflow parking area and was just over 7-miles long which was more than we were looking to do today. This time we parked at the Filbert Grove Day Use Area.

There are quite a few trails packed into the park, both paved and natural surface.

We took a paved path past the restrooms and through the disc golf course to the Bike Path.

We turned right on the Bike Path which we had hiked on our previous visit.

Dove and possibly a woodpecker.

Moth mullein

Willamette River

Rabbit on the side of the trail.

Rabbit

We turned off the Bike Path onto the natural surface Mission Trail when it joined from the right.

Orange jewelweed

Barred owl

Viewpoint of the former Willamette Mission site.

The former mission site across Mission Lake.

Female wood duck

After 0.4-miles on the Mission Trail we came to an unsigned fork.

We took the right fork which was a short connector to the Jogging Trail. We quickly took another right onto a fainter path which went to the right of the Mission Lake B picnic shelter.

The trail became more obvious here.

After just a tenth of a mile we turned left at a “T” junction.

The righthand fork is a little longer loop and rejoins the lefthand fork 0.2-miles from this junction.

There were a lot of active squirrels and birds in the park.

Squirrel

Spotted towhee

Egrets

The other end of the loop on the right.

The Jogging Trail passed a horse and group camp on the left and a hiker/biker camp on the right before arriving at the Filbert Grove Day Use Area.

Hiker/Biker Camp

Filbert Grove Day Use Area

We crossed the day use area to return to the car completing the short 2.2-mile loop.

There was almost no elevation gain for this hike.

The hike was exactly what we needed to help keep our muscles from stiffening up too much from the previous day’s hikes without being too strenuous. The Jogging Trail was new to us and there are still a number of trails here that we’ve yet to explore. Given its proximity to Salem, a return trip or two is in order. Happy Trails!

Flickr: Willamette Mission State Park

Tags Barred Owl, Filbert Grove Day Use Area, hiking, Mission Lake, Oregon, Willamette mission, Willamette mission State Park, willamette river

High Cascades Hiking Mt. Hood Area Oregon Trip report

Silcox Hut and Paradise Park – 08/31/2025

Post author By derwoodynck
Post date September 3, 2025
No Comments on Silcox Hut and Paradise Park – 08/31/2025

For our second hike of Labor Day Weekend we decided to head to Mt. Hood’s Timberline Lodge and hike up to the Silcox Hut.

The hike to the hut was one of the options Sullivan described in his Timberline Lodge Trails entry of “100 Hikes/Travel Guide Northwest Oregon & Southwest Washington”. We had done the longer options to meet our goal of hiking at least part of all 100 featured hikes in the book (post) so this was a chance to put a bow on this hike.

We parked at Timberline Lodge and hiked past the lodge on the Mountain Access Road.

Sunrise from Timberline Lodge.

We followed the access road to a junction with the Timberline Trail/Pacific Crest Trail.

We angled to the right on a use trail looking for the Mountaineer Trail

The Mountaineer Trail heads uphill along the small ridge ahead.

We turned left when we reached the small ridgetop and began the mile long, nearly 1000′ climb to the Silcox Hut.

The trails are braided and there was also a dirt road that we followed for a bit, but as long as you head up along the ridge toward the buildings, you’re on track.

Aster

The Palmer Lift to the left of the Palmer Glacier.

The Magic Mile and Palmer Lifts to the left with the Silcox Hut to their right (a white van is parked in front).

Timberline Lodge below. The haze is from the numerous wildfires currently burning.

Silcox Hut and Illumination Rock

Mountain bluebird

There was a private event going on at the hut but there was a picnic table nearby where we took a break.

Mt. Hood from the Silcox Hut.

After our break we followed a road over to the ski lifts where we faced two options. Sullivan’s entry has you follow this road down below the Magic Mile Lift back to Timberline Lodge, but since we were going to head toward Paradise Park we picked up the Mountaineer Loop Trail which would drop us onto the Timberline Trail nearly three quarters of mile from the lodge.

The Magic Mile Lift runs during the summer allowing for a less strenuous climb to the Silcox Hut.

The Mountaineer Loop continues from the end of the first turn in the road below the Magic Mile Lift.

We should have stayed on the road between the two lifts but instead we went up and around them and wound up looking down at the curve where the Mountain Loop continued. We followed a use trail down to the curve.

Tundra aster

Pussy paws

The large cairn ahead marks the trail.

Heather had decided that she was not going go all the way to Paradise Park and would instead turn around at the Zigzag River and return to the lodge to wait for me. Since I would be doing over 5.5 more miles than she we split up and I went ahead and reached the Timberline Trail first.

Illumination Rock

Looking down toward Timberline Lodge

Golden-mantled ground squirrel

I turned right onto the Timberline Trail and followed it for two and a half miles to the crossing of the Zigzag River.

Wilderness information along the Timberline Trail.

Mt. Hood Wilderness signs at Sand Canyon West Branch.

The Timberline Trail on the far side of the Little Zigzag Canyon.

Mt. Hood from the Little Zigzag River.

Junction with the Hidden Lake Trail (post).

Tom, Dick, and Harry Mountain (post)

One and a half miles from the Mountaineer Trail the Timberline Trail arrives at viewpoint above the Zigzag River Canyon.

From the viewpoint it is a mile and 600′ down to the river.

There was a lot of beargrass earlier in the year.

Big mushroom

Sickletop lousewort

Beardtongue

Grass-of-parnassus

Paintbrush

Arnica

The trail crosses near the left of this photo. I was able to rock hop across and keep my feet dry.

Zigzag Falls

Zoomed in photo.

Heather went up to the falls when she got to the river.

A half mile climb gaining 250′ led up from the river to a junction with the Paradise Park Loop Trail where I turned right.

Another mile of climbing brought me to a junction with the Paradise Park Trail (post) in the middle of a wildflower meadow.

Pearly everlasting and paintbrush

Aster along the trail.

Trail sign at the junction ahead.

Fritillary butterfly.

The trail leveled out as it passed through the meadow and after a quarter mile I passed the ruins of the former Paradise Park Shelter.

Western pasque flower

Valerian

Monkeyflower

Pink and yellow monkeyflower and paintbrush near Lost Creek.

The shelter ruins.

I continued along the trail crossing another branch of Lost Creek and passing through wildflower meadows with views of Mt. Hood.

Fireweed

The iconic (and crowded) split rock on the hillside to the left.

Gentians

Bistort, lupine, and groundsel

Part of the crowd at Split Rock.

Yocum Ridge (post) in the distance.

The trail eventually descended back into the forest and arrived back at the Timberline Trail a little over a mile from the shelter ruins.

The Timberline Trail/PCT junction.

I turned left on the Timberline Trail and started back toward the lodge. It was roughly 2.2-miles back to where I had turned up the Paradise Park Loop Trail and another 3.7 back to Timberline Lodge. I kept a good pace as I made my way back to the Zigzag River.

Monkeyflower

Heading down to Rushing Water Creek.

I heard several pikas in the rocks here but failed to spot any of them.

A barely flowing waterfall on Rushing Water Creek.

Looking back as I passed the Paradise Park Loop Trail.

My pace slowed considerably as I made the mile climb out of the Zigzag Canyon. In hindsight I should have stopped for water from the river, but I didn’t and wound up having to ration what I had left in order to make it back to the lodge. (The Little Zigzag River had no visible water this late in summer.)

Canada jay

Mt. Hood from the Zigzag Canyon overlook.

There was a lot of sneaky uphill on the way back to the lodge and I was dragging by the time I reached the Magic Mile chairlift which is where the last of my water was sipped.

The Palmer and Magic Mile Lifts on the hillside ahead.

The top of Timberline Lodge from beneath the Magic Mile Lift.

Heather had texted me and let me know she had gotten a table upstairs at the Ram’s Head Bar & Restaurant.

I made my way through the crowds, and after calling out a family for allowing their kids to throw rocks at a ground squirrel (sigh), I found her table. Heather got a Strawberry Spinach Salad which was refreshing, and I ordered the Maple Bourbon Bacon Meatballs. The food hit the spot and so did the couple of glasses of water I downed before we headed home.

My hike came in at 14.2-miles with approximately 3300′ of cumulative elevation gain. It was a challenging hike which I made more difficult by not stopping for water when I had the chance.

Happy Trails!

Flickr: Silcox Hut to Paradise Park

Tags hidden lake trail, hiking, Little Zigzag River, Lost Creek, Magic Mile Lift, Mountaineer Loop Trail, Mt. Hood, Oregon, Pacific Crest Trail, Palmer Lift, paradise park loop trail, Rushing Water Creek, Silcox Hut. Paradise Park, Timberline Lodge, timberline trail, zigzag river

Hiking Mt. St. Helens Trip report Washington Washington Cascades

Lava Canyon – 08/30/2025

The morning after our last hike, at Silver Falls State Park (post), I woke with a bad case of vertigo and wound up in urgent care thinking I might have an ear infection. That wasn’t the case, but it took the better part of a week for things to settle down putting our hiking plans on pause. By Labor Day Weekend the vertigo had passed, and I was just dealing with a little excess pressure in my left ear. That was good enough for us to head back out for the trails.

For our first hike of the holiday weekend we picked Lava Canyon in the Mount St. Helens National Volcanic Monument. This hike had been on our list of trails to revisit for a while now and given the forecast for smokey conditions in the Oregon Cascades it looked like a good time to do it.

Our first visit to Lava Canyon was in September 2012 (post) before we’d decided to try and hike all of William L. Sullivan’s featured hikes. During that visit we did Sullivan’s shorter option, a 1.3-mile lollipop loop following a much longer hike at Ape Canyon. For this visit we wanted to do his longer option and add on a little bit of time on Smith Creek Trail. Doing some pre-hike research led me to the Oregon Hikers Field Guide which described a loop utilizing The Old 83 Trail to return to the Lava Canyon Trailhead.

Our typical early start meant we were the first ones on the trail Saturday morning.

We headed down the paved path past a viewpoint and then a warning sign.

Muddy River

At the 0.4-mile mark we came to a junction with the short loop we’d done on our first visit.

On our previous visit we returned using the bridge shown above. That loop currently isn’t an option due to damage to the suspension bridge a quarter mile further along the trail.

Viewpoint above Upper Lava Canyon Falls.

The view of the falls leaves a little to be desired but there is a better view a little further down the trail.

Upper Lava Canyon Falls

Beyond the viewpoint the trail becomes rougher.

The closed suspension bridge.

The Lava Canyon Trail continuing past the suspension bridge.

Warning regarding the conditions along the Lower Lava Canyon Trail.

We continued down the increasingly rough trail and came to a view of Lava Canyon Falls.

The top of Lava Canyon Falls.

Lava Canyon Falls

Fireweed

The trail was very narrow in places and high, not a good one for people who have issues with heights, children or pets.

This missing section of tread was the sketchiest part of the trail. There was a significant drop which would have been fatal.

The next waterfall we passed was Middle Lava Canyon Falls.

Unnamed stream crossing.

A short distance beyond Middle Lava Canyon Falls we came to the 30′ to 40′ ladder.

After securing our hiking poles we climbed down the ladder and continued along the trail.

Basalt above the trail.

At an unmarked junction we made a hard right turn to take a 0.2-mile spur trail to the top of The Ship where there was a view of Lower and Lava Canyon Falls.

This is the view of the spur trail (on the left) looking back after having passed the junction and turning around.

There was a shorter ladder on The Ship.

Chicken tails

Huckleberry leaves turning colors at the end of summer.

Lower Lava Canyon Falls

After a short break to enjoy the view we carefully headed back down to the Lava Canyon Trail.

The spur trail above the ladder.

We continued another third of a mile to another unsigned junction where we turned right.

We took the spur to avoid the challenging conditions that the sign near the suspension bridge had mentioned. The spur trail crossed the Muddy River on a good footbridge then followed the river 1.1-miles to the Lower Smith Creek Trailhead.

This trail was also a little rough but there were no major challenges.

Mt. Margaret (post) and Mt. Teragram (rocky knoll).

Mt. St. Helens

About 100 yards before reaching the trailhead we passed a yellow rope hanging down the steep embankment. None of the maps or hike descriptions we’d looked at said anything about using a rope to get down to the river, so we ignored it and continued on.

Zoomed in look at the rope from the Muddy River.

The rope is located at the center of this photo.

As it turned out we should have used the rope to get down because the maps and descriptions indicated that from the trailhead you would walk north along the former Forest Road 8322, but that old roadbed ended at a vertical drop where the was no way to safely scramble down to the river.

Vehicle parked near the trailhead sign in the distance.

FR 8322 roadbed heading toward the former bridge site.

Unable to descend from the end of FR 8322 we decided to continue down that road past the trailhead looking for an alternate route instead of returning to the rope. About a quarter mile from the trailhead we came to some campsites where we found a rough scramble trail that we used to get down to the riverbank.

We made a u turn along the river and headed back toward the old bridge site where we would ford the Muddy River.

While the trail had been a little sketchy at times the scariest part of the hike came as we were heading back up to the ford of the Muddy River. There was a family camped near the trailhead, and they decided it would be a good idea to let the kids shoot their 22’s across the river valley. It wasn’t surprising that they would be that careless given they had a big campfire going despite a full ban on campfires in the forest. (Forest Order 06-03-00-25-01) I tried yelling and waiving my arms and I don’t know if that got their attention or if one of the adults spotted us, but they did stop shooting and we made it past.

We changed into our water shoes and forded just below the log here. The water was knee deep and cold.

View back to where FR 8322 used to be. There was no way we were getting down that.

We picked up the obvious trail which climbed easily up the far embankment.

The trail headed back along the river before veering away and arriving at a junction with the Lava Canyon Trail.

The Smith Creek Trail ends at Forest Road 99 just north of the Smith Creek Viewpoint (post)

We stuck to the Smith Creek Trail which followed the old roadbed. After a third of a mile we came to a junction with lots of flagging and some cairns.

Smith Creek from the trail.

Another view of Smith Creek.

Lupine

The unsigned but well-marked junction with The Old 83 Trail. The Old 83 Trail would loop us back to the Lava Canyon Trailhead, but first I wanted to explore a little more of the Smith Creek Trail. Heather opted to skip this detour, so we split up here.

The Smith Creek Trail was relatively level and, for the most part, continued to follow the old roadbed. There was a mix of forest and occasional views of Smith Creek.

Aster

Unnamed creek.

I had planned on hiking for half an hour then turning around, but as the 30-minute mark approached the GPS showed I was close to a junction, so I made that my turn around.

View up Smith Creek toward Windy Ridge near the junction.

The junction wound up being where FR 94 used to split off to cross Smith Creek.

After the hike I realized I had turned around less than half a mile from Ape Canyon (post) which would have been a logical spot to turn around, but I was already 5 minutes over my allotted time. I made my way back to The Old 83 Trail and turned up it following Heather.

The Old 83 Trail followed the former route of FR 83 3.3-miles uphill to FR 83 near the trailhead. The wide road was easy to follow with no major blowdown present. It was a quite walk back for me and despite being sure I would see some wildlife I never spotted anything other than an occasional small bird. Heather however saw at least one and possibly up to three owls.

Barred owl

Crane Lake is back in the trees to the left. There was no view from the roadbed and neither of us found the use trail that supposedly led to it.

Mushroom and foam flower

Groundsel

Trail sign for The Old 83 Trail.

The Lava Canyon Trailhead from FR 83.

My hike was 11.4-miles with roughly 1500′ of elevation gain.

The trailhead was very busy by the afternoon but on the trail I only saw two backpackers. The Old 83 Trail and the Smith Creek Trail were both in good shape, but the Lava Canyon Trail had some rough spots making it quite an adventure. Happy Trails!

Flickr: Lava Canyon

Tags hiking, Lava Canyon, Lava Canyon Falls, Lava Canyon Trail, Lava Canyon Trailhead, Lower Smith Creek Trailhead, mt. st. helens national volcanic monument, Muddy River, Smith Creek, Smith Creek Trail, The Old 83 Trail, The Ship, Washington

Hiking Oregon Salem/Albany Trip report Willamette Valley

Silver Falls State Park – 08/16/2025

Post author By derwoodynck
Post date August 18, 2025
4 Comments on Silver Falls State Park – 08/16/2025

A rare August atmospheric river was forecast to hit the NW with a potential to drop 1-3 inches of rain in the mountains and an inch or more in the northern Willamette Valley. By Sunday the system was projected to be moving on and giving way to sunny skies. We adjusted our plans accordingly and had decided to visit Silver Falls State Park on Sunday after the rains subsided to see how the waterfalls looked with the additional rainwater.

We got a little rain on Friday, and more overnight, but by early Saturday morning it became apparent that the river had stayed to the north and mostly missed the Salem area. Around 9am we decided that there was no reason to wait an additional day and quickly packed up and were on our way to Silver Fall by 10am.

We parked in the busy South Falls Day Use Area and hung our State Park Day Use Parking Permit. (Parking is $10.00 for one day.)

Our plan was to hike the Trail of Ten Falls in a clockwise direction starting with South Falls.

South Falls Lodge and Cafe

South Falls

For the loop you can either hike behind South Falls or continue to a footbridge over South Fork Silver Creek below the falls. The majority of people go behind the falls which is normally the route we take as well, but it looked pretty busy behind the falls so we headed for the bridge.

South Falls from the bridge.

After crossing the bridge we turned right to continue on the Canyon Trail along the creek.

Hedgenettle

Largeleaf avens

The next waterfall up was Lower South Falls, approximately a mile from South Falls.

Like South Falls the trail goes behind Lower South Falls.

Lower South Falls wound up being our favorite today.

We continued on the Canyon Trail past a junction with the Maple Ridge Trail which provides an option for a shorter loop back to the South Falls Day Use Area.

It was nearly another mile on the Canyon Trail to the third waterfall, Lower North Falls on the North Fork Silver Creek.

Self-heal

Footbridge over the North Fork Silver Creek.

The recent rain was most obvious with this waterfall. We’ve visited the waterfall twice in July when it typically looks like this.

Just after passing Lower North Falls we detoured left on the short spur to Double Falls.

Double Falls

Back on the Canyon Trail the next waterfall up was Drake Falls followed shortly by Middle North Falls.

Drake Falls

Middle North Falls

Middle North Falls is another waterfall that you can hike behind, but unlike South and Lower South Falls it is not part of the loop. We detoured on the spur trail that led downhill behind the falls.

We returned to the Canyon Trail and continued on to a junction with the Winter Trail. Winter Falls all but disappears in the Summer and even with the recent rain we didn’t expect that there would be enough flow to make the half mile roundtrip detour worth it.

The Winter Trail footbridge through the trees.

A third of a mile beyond the Winter Trail we passed Twin Falls which is the most difficult of the waterfalls to get a good view of.

After the leaves fall off the trees there is a decent view of Twin Falls from the trail as you are coming from the Winter Trail junction, but today this was the best view we had.

Near Twin Falls the Twin Falls Trail split off to the left which led uphill to the new North Canyon District (post). If you found the need for a restroom while you were on the loop the only one outside of the South Falls Day Use Area is located at this new trailhead.

We opted not to make the climb up to the new North Rim Trail and stuck to the Canyon Trail for another mile to North Falls.

Required picture of these large boulders in the creek.

North Falls

North Falls is the other waterfall that you can hike behind and we followed the Canyon Trail underneath.

Rainbow below North Falls.

Scouler’s corydalis

We climbed the steps on the far side of North Falls to the junction with the Rim Trail, but before continuing the loop we detoured to Upper North Falls. It’s approximately four tenths of a mile from the junction with the Rim Trail to Upper North Falls.

To reach Upper North Falls you pass under a footbridge coming from the North Falls Trailhead and Highway 214.

Bleeding Heart

Upper North Falls

After visiting Upper North Falls we returned to the Rim Trail and followed it nearly 2-miles back to the South Falls Day Use Area where we had another half miles back to our parked car.

North Falls from the Rim Trail.

Salal berries. These were the only ripe edible berries that we came across. They aren’t the best trail berries, but these were fairly juicy and sweet prompting me to have a couple.

Winter Creek at the top of Winter Falls. Our suspicion of low water flow was confirmed.

Given where we parked and various detours our GPS showed an 8-mile hike with approximately 600′ of elevation gain.

Despite the atmospheric river being more of a seasonal creek in our part of Oregon there had been enough rain to make a noticeable impact on the falls which was fun to see. It was another reminder that Silver Falls State Park is worthy of a visit anytime of the year. Happy Trails!

Flickr: Silver Falls 2025

Tags Canyon Trail, Double Falls, Drake Falls, hiking, Lower South Falls. South Falls, Middle North Falls, North Falls, Oregon, Rim Trail, Silver Falls State Park, South Falls Day Use Area, Twin Falls, Upper North Falls

Hiking Mt. Rainier Trip report Washington Cascades

Naches Peak Loop (Mt. Rainier) – 08/08/2025

Post author By derwoodynck
Post date August 15, 2025
No Comments on Naches Peak Loop (Mt. Rainier) – 08/08/2025

For our final hike of our Mount Rainier vacation we landed on the Naches Peak Loop. This was originally not going to be our final hike but after several changes to our plans throughout the week it wound up here and we couldn’t be happier that it did. This was a spectacular hike with tons of wildflowers, great views, and a nice variety of wildlife.

Less than 40 minutes from Packwood we arrived at the trailhead a little before 5:45am.

Double Peak

The Naches Peak Loop Trail is 3.5-miles with 500′ of elevation gain. A portion of the loop follows the Pacific Crest Trail which provided an opportunity for a side trip down to Dewey Lakes in the William O. Douglas Wilderness.

It is recommended to hike the loop clockwise to maximize the views of Mount Rainier so that was our plan as we set off. The wildflower display was immediately profuse.

Heading down to the start of the loop near Tipsoo Lake.

Tipsoo Lake

Spirea, lupine, western pasque flower, and bistort.

We turned left at the start of the loop and climbed for a third of a mile to the Pacific Crest Trail at Chinook Pass.

Western pasque flower seedheads and aster.

Valerian and bistort

Larkspur

Arnica, fleabane, lupine, bistort, and valerian.

Partridgefoot

Highway 410 at Chinook Pass.

Trail sign for the PCT.

We turned right on the PCT and crossed the highway on an overpass.

The PCT was more level as it traversed the hillside below Naches Peak.

Looking back at Yakima Peak.

We were leaving the National Park and entering the Okanogan-Wenatchee National Forest.

The top of Mount Rainier to the left of Yakima Peak.

Saxifrage

Bird’s beak lousewort

At one point we looked back toward Yakima Peak and spotted some deer dashing across the hillside.

Doe and two fawns.

White mountain heather

Wilderness information for the William O. Dougals Wilderness.

Paintbrush

Grass-of-parnassus and an arnica.

Allumroot

Columbine with several other types of flowers.

Cusick’s speedwell

Pink monkeyflower

Wilderness sign

Bird with a snack.

Naches Peak

Just under a mile from Chinook Pass the PCT passes a small tarn below Naches Peak. We detoured around the tarn on a use trail.

Sickle-top lousewort

Penstemon

Aster

Pink monkeyflower and arnica

Pussytoes

Dewey Peak

The top of Mt. Adams between Dewey and Seymour Peaks.

Mt. Adams

Golden-mantled ground squirrel enjoying the view.

Dewey Lake below Dewey Peak.

We came to a junction 1.7-miles from Chinook Pass where the PCT forked left to head downhill to Dewey Lake.

Heather decided not to make the side trip down to Dewey Lake as it added over 600′ of elevation gain, and over 3 miles to the hike. I headed down the PCT which made one big switchback then headed more directly toward the lakes.

Double Peak with the snowy Tatoosh Range behind.

Stevens, Boundary, and Unicorn Peaks

Yarrow

Rainiera

No fires reminder.

Dewey Lake

There are several smaller ponds/lakes along the PCT in addition to Dewey Lake.

The largest of the smaller bodies of water.

Reflections in a pond.

PCT along Dewey Lake.

I turned around at the southern end of the lake and headed back to the Naches Peak Loop.

Elephants head at Dewey Lake.

Sandpiper

Junco

Great blue heron

Lousewort

Mushrooms

Grouse

The signs at the Naches Peak Loop junction ahead.

I continued counterclockwise on the Naches Peak Loop. The wildflowers were not as thick on this side of Naches Peak, but the views of Mount Rainier were excellent.

The Tatoosh Range.

Mt. Rainier and Naches Peak

Unnamed lake along the Naches Peak Loop.

There were some good flowers near the unnamed lake.

Robin

A nice buck crossed the trail just ahead of me then disappeared into the forest.

Harebells

Cedar waxwings

Mt. Adams

Hawkeye Point and Johnson Peak in the Goat Rocks Wilderness in front of Mt. Adams.

Sourdough Ridge

Yakima Peak and Highway 410.

Tipsoo Lake from the southern trailhead.

Yakima Peak from Tipsoo Lake.

Mt. Rainier from Tipsoo Lake.

Butterfly

Pine siskin

The trailhead where we had parked on the far side of a small pond.

With the detour to Dewey Lakes my hike wound up being 7.2-miles with roughly 1200′ of elevation gain.

This wound up being the perfect hike to end our trip with providing big views and extensive wildflower meadows along with a surprising variety of wildlife sightings. It was also short enough that we on our way back to Salem a little before 10am allowing us to be home mid-afternoon (no thanks to Portland traffic). It had been a great trip, even with the flat tire the first day. The temperatures had been especially welcome as it never got above 60 degrees Fahrenheit. It seems like it had been many years since our last summer vacation that didn’t include 90-to-100-degree temperatures at some point. We were also pleasantly surprised with how often we didn’t notice the crowds. While the park was busy there were times every day where we were able to enjoy a feeling of solitude, even in the Paradise Area. We weren’t in the park on a weekend so things might have felt differently on a Saturday, but our experience was very positive. I don’t know when we’ll be back, but there are still plenty of trails left for us to explore at Mount Rainier. Happy Trails!

Flickr: Naches Peak Loop

Tags cedar waxwings, Chinook Pass, deer, Dewey Lake, grouse, hiking, Mount Rainier National Park, Naches Peak, Naches Peak Loop, Okanogan-Wenatchee National Forest, Pacific Crest Trail, PCT, Tipsoo Lake, Washington, wildflowers, William O. Douglas Wilderness