Category: Trip report

Fret Creek to Flag Point and Lookout Mountain – 10/16/2021

Post author By derwoodynck
Post date October 21, 2021
5 Comments on Fret Creek to Flag Point and Lookout Mountain – 10/16/2021

**Unfortunately the Flag Point Lookout burned in the 2026 Grasshopper Fire**

For the second weekend in a row we abandoned plans for a night in the tent in favor of day hike. Similar to the weekend before the forecast for was for a mostly sunny and warm Saturday followed by rain and/or snow moving in Saturday night through the end of the weekend. We decided on the Fret Creek Trail in the Badger Creek Wilderness. Our plan was to take that trail to the Divide Trail and visit the Flag Point Lookout to the east followed by Lookout Mountain to the west. While we had been to Lookout Mountain twice before (2014, 2019) we had not visited the Flag Point Lookout nor had we hiked the lower portion of the Fret Creek Trail. We were hoping to get some good views and see some of the areas Western Larch trees as they began to turn color.

The Fret Creek Trail starts between Fifteen Mile Campground (post) and Fret Creek along Forest Road 2730 across from a trailhead sign at a pullout on the left.

A few larches along Road 2730

Fret Creek Trail across from the pullout.

For the first third of a mile the trail climbed fairly steeply above Fret Creek.
Entering the Badger Creek Wilderness.

The trail eventually leveled off crossing Fret Creek several times before once again launching steeply uphill before arriving at Oval Lake just under 2 miles from the trailhead.

Starting to climb again.

Sign for Oval Lake.

The small lake is just off the trail but has several campsites in the surrounding forest.

We’d visited the lake briefly in 2014 during our first ever backpacking trip and it looked quite a bit like we’d remember but with less water given the time of year.
June 28, 2014

After checking out the lake we continued climbing on the Fret Creek Trail for 0.2 more miles to its end at the Divide Trail.
A bit of snow left from the recent snowfall.

The Divide Trail.

We turned left on the Divide Trail and climbed for 0.3 miles to a ridge crest where we took a side trail out to Palisade Point. This rock outcrop has a nice view south across the Badger Creek Wilderness to Mt. Jefferson and the Three Sisters.

Some snow near a switchback along the trail.

Mt. Adams starting to peak over a ridge to the north.

Mt. Adams with some larch trees in the foreground.

Lookout Mountain from the Divide Trail (The bare peak in between the two bare snags. Just to the right of the left snag.)

Side trail to Palisade Point.

Broken Top, The Three Sisters, Mt. Washington, Three Fingered Jack (just the very top), Mt. Jefferson, and Olallie Butte (post) were visible in the distance.

Mt. Jefferson with the tip of Three Fingered Jack to the left and Olallie Butte to the right.

Mt. Hood peaking up over the rocks.

Panoramic view with Badger Creeks valley below.

Rocks below Palisade Point.

After the stop at Palisade Point we continued east along the ridge for 1.2 miles losing a little over 300′ to Flag Point Lookout Road (NF 200). Occasional views opened up along the way.
We ran into this jumble of downed trees shortly after leaving Palisade Point but fortunately it was the worst of the obstacles.

Flag Point Lookout from the trail.

A small meadow that was full of flowers a couple of months ago.

A stand of larches.

A better view of Mt. Hood.

Zoomed in.

Looking back through larches at a Badger Creek Wilderness sign near Road 200.

Looking back at the Divide Trail.

We had been to this junction on our 2014 backpacking trip where we turned off the Divide Trail here onto the Badger Creek Cutoff Trail to hike down to Badger Creek. This time we took Road 200 which led to the Flag Point Lookout in 0.8 miles.
Road 200

Chipmunk

Nearing the lookout.

The lookout is staffed in the Summer and used to be available as a rental during the Winter but the Forest Service discontinued that a few years ago.

A gate blocks access to the platform and tower but climbing the stairs below the gate provided for some more excellent views.
Mt. Rainier and Mt. Adams to the north.

Mt. Rainier and Mt. Adams

Three Fingered Jack, Mt. Jefferson, and Olallie Butte

View east to the hills above the Columbia River.

We spent quite a while admiring the views and then more time attempting to spot one of the pikas that we could hear in the rock field below the lookout. Alas none of the little rock rabbits wanted to make an appearance but several robins did.

We headed back to the Divide Trail and stayed straight at the junction with the Fret Creek Trail. It was just 1.6 miles to Lookout Mountain and on such a beautiful day we couldn’t pass up the chance of another spectacular view.
Passing the Fret Creek Trail.

We did need to gain almost 800′ of elevation to reach Lookout Mountain which at times was a fairly steep climb.

Another viewpoint along the way where Badger Lake was visible.

Badger Lake

We had seen our first fellow hikers on our return from Flag Point and now we were seeing more of them as well as a little more snow.

The final pitch to the summit, there is at least one hiker visible up top.

Looking back to Flag Point.

Looking NE toward The Dalles and the Columbia River.

Mt. St. Helens, Mt. Rainier, and Mt. Adams

View south past Badger Lake to Mt. Jefferson.

After another nice break we headed back, but just under half a mile from the summit we turned right on a side path to what Sullivan labels the Helispot. Several campsites were located here and yet another amazing view.
Flag Point from the Helispot.

And of course Mt. Hood again.

After exploring the Helispot area we hopped back onto the Divide Trail and returned to the Fret Creek Trail. We made a final quick stop at Oval Lake before returning to our car and heading home.

Fret Creek from the road near the trailhead.

The hike was just over 13 miles with approximately 2800′ of elevation gain. A number of shorter options could be done and longer trips are also possible with the numerous trails in the Badger Creek Wilderness.

It was great to see the mountains with fresh snow and nice to have some snow on the ground after the dry Spring and Summer. They are calling for a La Nina Winter which could mean plenty of precipitation. After this year we would welcome it. Hopefully it will be in the form of snow for the mountains and not rain though. Happy Trails!

Flickr: Fret Creek to Flag Point

Tags Badger Creek Wilderness, Divide Trail, Fifteen Mile Campground, Flag Point, Flag Point Lookout, Fret Creek, Fret Creek Trail, Helispot, hiking, Larch, lookout mountain, Mt. Hood, Mt. Hood Wilderness, Oregon, Oval Lake, Palisade Point

High Cascades Hiking Mt. Jefferson Area Oregon Trip report

Round and Square Lakes – 10/9/21

Post author By derwoodynck
Post date October 14, 2021
1 Comment on Round and Square Lakes – 10/9/21

We were hoping to get a backpacking trip in over the holiday weekend but the forecast called for rain/snow in the mountains starting Saturday night through the rest of the weekend so we opted instead for a day hike instead. The good news was that the forecast for Saturday was for partly to mostly sunny skies so we were hoping for some nice views. We’d chosen a hike to Round and Square Lakes near Three Fingered Jack and the Mt. Jefferson Wilderness which was the shortest of the drives (a little over 1 1/2 hours from Salem) that we had been considering. While we hadn’t been to Round Lake yet we had passed by Square Lake on a loop hike in 2012 (post). Earlier this year on our hike to Santiam Lake (post) we had retraced some the beginning of that loop. For this hike we would also be starting at the Pacific Crest Trailhead at Santiam Pass but would be retracing the final 4.5 miles of the 2012 loop between Booth Lake and the trailhead.

Both Reeder and Sullivan describe hikes to Round and Square Lakes but each of their descriptions are for out and back hikes starting at the Round Lake Trailhead which is closer to the Sisters/Bend area. Starting at Santiam Pass cut off some driving but it did add approximately 5 miles of hiking to our days total. We arrived at the trailhead just in time to catch a bit of color from the sunrise.

Black Crater (post)

After 0.2 miles we turned right at the junction with the Old Summit Trail.

The Old Summit Trail traverses a hillside above Highway 20 through snags left over from the 2003 B & B Complex (Bear and Booth Fires). The lack of larger trees provides plenty of views south to Black Crater, Broken Top, the Three Sisters, Mt. Washington, Hayrick Butte and Hoodoo Butte. The over night clouds were quickly breaking up as we hiked revealing more and more of the mountains.
Black Crater and North Sister

Black Crater, the top of Broken Top, some of the Sisters, and part of Mt. Washington.

Hayrick and Hoodoo

Between Mt. Washington and Hayrick Butte is Scott Mountain (post).

Cache Mountain is the high point furthest to the left.

Broken Top and the Three Sisters

Mt. Washington

The Three Sisters. The summit of South Sister is between North and Middle Sister behind 9321′ Prouty Point.

Black Butte (post)

Near the 2 mile mark we entered the Mt. Jefferson Wilderness. The wilderness sign provided a good reference for comparing how much taller the trees were this time versus in 2012.

Mount Jefferson Wilderness sign A different angle from 2012.

Shortly after entering the wilderness we began descending toward Square Lake. Three Fingered Jack was somewhat hidden behind a cloud further to the north.

The only deer we spotted during the hike popped out of some brush below the trail for just a moment before disappearing back into it. As has been the case more often than not this year I did not have my camera at the ready so all I got was one of their white rumps.
One white rump with a black tail amid the ferns near the center of the photo (good luck).

The trail wrapped around the lake past a large campsite to a junction with the Round Lake trail approximately 2.5 miles from the trailhead.

The only paintbrush we would see all day.

The top of Mt. Washington is just visible on the other side of Square Lake.

At the junction we followed the pointer for the Round Lake Trail and continued along Square Lake.

Mt. Washington’s spire again.

A rainbow was trying to form to the west.

We soon left Square Lake and continued through the recovering forest.

Lodgepole pine seeds require fire in order to be released from their tight cones.

The Round Lake Trail is just about 2 miles long running between the junction and the Round Lake Trailhead to the east. Several maps show the trail passing near Long Lake Lake along the way. It does not but rather veers away form that lake. It may have been an older pre-fire alignment but Reeder mentions this discrepancy in the map and warns “don’t even bother trying to find it unless you’ve got lots of time and patience”. I’ll be honest and say this sounded like a little bit of a challenge so when we were able to spot the western end of Long Lake we decided to make an attempt for it.
Our first sighting of Long Lake (zoomed in).

Using our GPS and a paper map as backup we angled cross country toward the lake which quickly was hidden from sight. There were plenty of downed trees to climb over or around and one line of snowbrush to push through but we also were able to follow some game trails which helped us find ways through the obstacles. It was also evident that the area around the lake can be pretty wet and probably muddy meaning getting as close as we did probably wouldn’t be possible at other times.

We reached the western end of the lake after three tenths of a mile. It took less than 15 minutes but without a map and some route finding skills we wouldn’t advise it.

Ducks taking off from Long Lake.

Any thoughts of walking around the north side of the lake quickly vanished when we saw how dense the vegetation and downed trees were.

We did however return to the Round Lake Trail by bearing NE. It took a little over 21 minutes to find the trail just over a half mile from the lake.

This is one of the areas that we could see getting pretty muddy/wet.

Rainbow

The Round Lake Trail just on the other side of the downed tree.

Long Lake is back down that way somewhere.

We turned right and continued east on the Round Lake Trail.
Back on the Round Lake Trail.

Black Butte shedding the morning clouds.

The top of Three Fingered Jack behind some thin clouds.

Green Ridge (post) in the distance with a little smoke rising from the Metolious Basin where the Forest Service had ignited a prescribed burn over the preceding two days.

A better look at Three Fingered Jack.

First glimpse of Round Lake.

The trail descended to a small parking area at the trailhead next to the Wilderness Lakes Retreat.

We’d seen some maps showing a trail around the north side of the lake through the retreat to some camp sites on the eastern end but we weren’t sure if the retreat was private property or if it was okay to hike through so we opted to follow Forest Road 600 from the trailhead around the south side of the lake.

When we spotted a path heading down off the road we took it and made our way down to the lake shore.

The partial rainbow returned as we took a break at the lake.
IMG_5923_stitch

We eventually pulled ourselves away from Round Lake and headed back toward Square Lake. We were feeling a little moisture in the air and based on the clouds ahead we were expecting to find ourselves in some misty fog at best by the time we made it back to the Old Summit Trail.

Starting to look kind of grey.

A mountain bluebird adding a splash of blue to the green backdrop.

Clouds over Square Lake.

A few scarlet gilia blossoms.

Instead of heading straight back onto the Old Summit Trail we turned right in order to revisit Booth Lake. From Square Lake the Old Summit Trail switchbacked uphill gaining 400′ in the next mile to a gap between a rock outcrop and a rocky hill. We remembered seeing a small lake amid the rocks over on the opposite hill and as we climbed this time we began thinking that it might be possible to get to the unnamed lake.
The unnamed lake is about halfway up the far hillside.

Black Butte and Long Lake from the trail.

Heading toward Three Fingered Jack we got back under blue skies.

Square Lake still under a clouds,

The unnamed lake that drew our attention.

Unnamed small lake in the Mt. Jefferson Wilderness Similar view from 2012.

We stopped momentarily at the gap discussing what route we would take if we did try and reach the lake. I was pretty certain I wanted to give it a shot but I decided to wait until we were headed back in case I changed my mind after reaching Booth Lake.
The trail at the gap. It was grey and cloudy to the west.

Still at the gap, it was blue skies to the east.

Beyond the gap the trail climbed just a bit arriving at its high point above Booth Lake in 0.3 miles.
There is Three Fingered Jack.

A good look at Green Ridge.

A lupine that was late to the party.

Booth Lake

Heather opted to stay at the high point instead of visiting the lake which was roughly 0.4 miles away and 150′ below. I shuffled down the trail and made my way to the familiar sandy lake shore.

It didn’t look that much different than it had in 2012.
Three Fingered Jack from Booth Lake

I returned to Heather and we started back toward the gap. I was still planning on trying to reach the off trail lake but Heather was not. She had decided that she would only attempt it if the Three Sisters had been uncovered from the clouds. I went ahead of her and left the trail at the gap working my way up around rocks and over downed trees while climbing up a semi-steep slope. I trusted the deer tracks that I was trying to follow and sure enough made it to the little lake.

The trail cut on the far hillside.

The rock cliffs holding the water on the eastern side made for some easy walking and great views down to Square Lake.
Black Butte, Long Lake, and part of Square Lake.

Square Lake along with Broken Top and the Three Sisters (Mt. Washington was hiding in the clouds still).

Part of the rock ledge.

Three Fingered Jack had once again disappeared.

As I was admiring the view I thought was hearing things but as I was making my way back along the ledge I spotted Heather on a small hill on the opposite side of the lake. The Three Sisters had been visible so she stuck to her word and had followed me up.
Where’s Heather.

After satisfying our desire for adventure we returned to the trail and headed back to Square Lake where we made a quick stop at the campsite.

20211009_130751

We spent the return hike watching the clouds almost clear from Mt. Washington just to reform over around its top.
20211009_132540 View climbing away from Square Lake.

Three Fingered Jack and Square Lake Similar view in 2012.

Square Lake 2012

Finally clear!

Hayrick Butte and Hoodo as we neared the trailhead.

This hike was a lot of fun with some new sights and some familiar but different sights. I wound up doing 14.8 miles according to the GPS and although no climbs were particularly long the up and down nature of the hike provided approximately 2000′ of cumulative elevation gain.

Tags Booth Lake, hiking, long lake, Mt. Jefferson Wilderness, Old Summit Trail, Oregon, Pacific Crest Trail, PCT, round lake, Round Lake Trail, Round Lake Trailhead, Santiam Pass Trailhead, Square Lake, Three Fingered Jack

Bend/Redmond Central Oregon High Cascades Hiking Oregon Three Sisters Area Trip report

Tumalo Mountain Sunrise Hike – 09/26/2021

Post author By derwoodynck
Post date September 30, 2021
2 Comments on Tumalo Mountain Sunrise Hike – 09/26/2021

After missing a week of hiking due to heavy rains arriving for the one weekend we’d obtained a Central Cascade Wilderness Overnight Permit we were heading to Bend to celebrate Heather’s parents 50th wedding anniversary (congratulations again). That was possibly the first time we were excited to have to cancel our hiking plans as the rain (and snow on the mountains) continues to be greatly needed. Saturday was set aside for the anniversary party but we planned on getting a quick hike in Sunday morning before driving home.

In 2014 we attempted a to catch the sunrise from Tumalo Mountain (post) but were thwarted by low clouds which provided almost zero viability. Nearly seven years later (9/26/21 vs 9/27/14) we returned for another attempt and this time were rewarded with a colorful show. We arrived at the Dutchman Sno-park/Trailhead just after 5am and got ready to head out using our headlamps. Things already looked more promising than on our previous trip as the Moon was visible over Mt. Bachelor.

The Tumalo Mountain Trail gains 1425′ in two miles to the site of a former lookout tower. I hustled up to the lookout site as fast as my legs would allow and arrived a little after 6am to catch the first strip of color to the east beyond Bend.

After Heather joined me we continued further along the broad summit to the northern end where the view included Mt. Bachelor to the south and the Three Sisters and Broken Top immediately to the NW.
20210926_062629 Mt. Bachelor

20210926_062918 The Three Sisters and Broken Top

We spent the next half an hour watching the changing light and colors as we waited for the Sun to rise. We had brought an extra camera which I had been using the day before to photograph the anniversary. This proved interesting as each of the cameras we were using captured the sights in their own ways. As I’ve mentioned before I basically have no idea what I’m doing as far as photography and mostly I just rely on getting lucky once in awhile if I take enough photos. My usual camera is a Canon SX740HS, a small point and shoot with 40x optical zoom. Heather was using her phone, an LGE LM-G820, and the other camera, a Nikon Coolpix P900, belongs to my parents.
DSCN1128 Mt. Bachelor via the Nikon.

Heather watching the show taken with the Canon.

The Three Sisters with the Canon.

Canon

DSCN1129 Nikon

Mt. Bachelor (post) with the Canon.

Canon shortly before the Sun became visible.

DSCN1140 The Three Sister just before sunrise with the Nikon.

20210926_064832 The Three Sister just before sunrise with Heather’s phone.

Canon moments before sunrise. A line of wildfire smoke on the horizon gave it a red tint.

Canon

Canon catching the Sun.

Canon

DSCN1155 The Three Sisters and Broken Top (Nikon)

DSCN1157 South Sister (post) (Nikon)

DSCN1156 Middle and North Sister (Nikon)

DSCN1158 Broken Top (post) (Nikon)

Aline glow hitting the mountains. (Canon)

South Sister (Canon)

Middle and North Sister (Canon)

Broken Top (Canon)

Mt. Bachelor (Canon)

We started back down as soon as the sun was up.

There were lots of views of Mt. Bachelor on the way down and we could also make out Mt. Thielsen (post) and Mt. Scott (post) further south.

Mt. Scott to the left and Mt. Thielsen to the right.

Grouse

Chipmunk

Mt. Bachelor as we arrived back at the snow-park.

We finished our hike just after 7:45am and headed back to Salem. The hike had been everything we could have hoped for. There were just enough clouds in the sky to create some beautiful colors (the lingering smoke even added a bit although we would rather it wasn’t in the air) and the mountains were all clearly visible. My GPS showed a total of 4.7 miles which made sense given it was too cold to simply sit while we waited for the sunrise, spending over half an hour wandering around at the summit.

There were two other groups of hikers watching the sunrise with us and we passed many more as we descended. Tumalo Mountain is a great choice for a short hike with spectacular views. It is also just outside the Three Sisters Wilderness meaning that a Cascade Wilderness Permit is not needed. Happy Trails!

Flickr: Tumalo Mountain

Tags Bend, Broken Top, cascade mountains, Central cascades Wilderness Permit, Dutchman Flat Sno-Park, grouse, hiking, Mt. Bachelor, Oregon, South Sister, sunrise, Three Sisters, Tumalo Mountain

Columbia River Gorge South Hiking Oregon Trip report

Heritage Landing – 09/13/2021

Post author By derwoodynck
Post date September 16, 2021
No Comments on Heritage Landing – 09/13/2021

After spending two days hiking in the Blue Mountains NE of Pendleton it was time to head home. We typically look for a short hike that can act as a leg stretcher when we are facing long drives to or from a vacation spot. Driving from Pendleton to Salem meant looking for something along I-84 preferably closer to Pendleton than Salem. Looking through our hiking books gave us the perfect answer, Heritage Landing. The hike along the Deschutes River from Heritage Landing is included in Matt Reeder’s “PDX Hiking 365” guidebook (Hike #9). There is also an entry for the hike on Oregonhikers.com as well. Heritage Landing is primarily used by rafters and fishermen but the fishermen and other users have created a series of trails up river at least as far as Rattlesnake Bend.

We parked in a gravel lot on the left side of the road just uphill from the boat ramp and hiked down past a gate.

We followed an old road bed upstream past Moody Rapids. We had hiked the Deschutes River Trail on the other side of the river in 2018 (post)

Sunlight on Haystack Butte in Washington.

Part of Moody Rapids.

Gum weed

The last petals on a blanket flower.

We saw several of these large beetles, all prepared to defend themselves.

Snow buckwheat

Chicory

Seagull

Mergansers

The trail passed by a spring where thick blackberry bushes and other green vegetation hosted a number of small birds (and a few fishermen).

Sparrow

Shortly after passing the spring both Heather and I noticed something that looked out of place down by the water but we both decided it was another fisherman. After a few more steps we realized it was a river otter grooming itself on a small rock or patch of grass. I tried to grab my camera but it somehow knew I wanted a photo and disappeared into the water. The next thing we knew there were three otters swimming with the current and heading downstream but they were close enough to the bank that my camera kept focusing on the grass or limbs between them and us so I still don’t have a decent picutre of an otter. 😦
One blurry otter head and another partial otter on the right.

A bunch of tree branches, oh and an otter in the water.

After the exciting and yet disappointing otter encounter we continued up river. We planned on hiking until either the tread petered out or we reached Rattlesnake Rapids. The tread petered out a little before the rapids but we had a nice view of them from Rattlesnake Bend.

At times there were multiple trails to choose from.

Rattlesnake Bend is up ahead but we stopped here for a bit to watch a heron getting breakfast.

DSCN0861

DSCN0863

A sparrow, possibly a Savannah sparrow.

The trail climbed higher on the hillside for a bit to avoid some thick vegetation below.

Rattlesnake Bend

Railroad tracks above the trail.

Looking back from Rattlesnake Bend near where we turned around.

Rattlesnake Rapids

On our way back we tried to choose the fishing trails closer to the river.

Killdeer

An older channel?

Had to go back up to avoid the vegetation here.

Ground squirrel

Heron flying up river.

Old rock wall along the way.

Typical use trail.

Merganser

Aster

Osprey showing up the fishermen.

Finch

More birds near the spring.

Little yellow birds, maybe warblers?

One of the yellow birds on a blackberry plant.

Moody Rapids

Haystack Butte

A line of mergansers.

This turned out to be an excellent hike with great scenery and plenty of wildlife (and no rattlesnakes). We got in a little over 4 miles round trip. Reeder listed it as a 3.2 mile out and back while Oregonhikers has it at 3.8 miles but a lot depends on where you turn around and how much back and forth you do down to the river.

It hadn’t been the vacation that we’d originally planned but our three days of hiking were beautiful and we were thankful to have been able to enjoy them so much. Happy Trails!

Flickr: Heritage Landing

Tags Deschutes River, great blue heron, Heritage Landing, hiking, Merganser, Oregon, Osprey, Rattlesnake Bend, Rattlesnake Rapids, River Otter

Blue Mountains - North Hiking Oregon Trip report

Jubilee Lake and the South Fork Walla Walla River – 09/12/2021

Post author By derwoodynck
Post date September 15, 2021
1 Comment on Jubilee Lake and the South Fork Walla Walla River – 09/12/2021

After spending the night in Pendleton we headed back to the same area in the Blue Mountains where we had hiked the day before on the Wenaha River Trail (post). We started our day at the Jubilee Lake Campground. (We had passed the entrance road the day before on our way to the Timothy Springs Trailhead.) An earlier version of this trip had us staying at the campground given the hike here and it’s proximity to the other two trails that made up the trip but sleeping in a comfy bed won out over a tent in a busy campground. After paying the $3 day use fee we parked near the boat ramp where the morning sunlight was just hitting the lake.

The Jubilee Lake Trail loops around the the lake and is one of two hikes Sullivan lists for hike #42 in his “100 Hikes/Travel Guide Eastern Oregon” 3rd edition guidebook. He recommended hiking the loop counter-clockwise so we headed right from the boat ramp past a picnic area and onto a paved trail.

From the boat ramp the trail winds around the lake for three quarters of a mile to the lake’s dam which was built in 1968. We passed several picnic tables and viewpoints along this stretch.

The trail passed over the dam and continued on the far side switching from paved to dirt tread.

This squirrel was making an impressive amount of noise with its mouth full.

Passing around one of the lake’s arms.

One of several bridges over creeks.

IMG_5086_stitch

DSCN0852 Mergansers

There were several benches positioned along the trail. We got a kick out of this one which was right next to a nice view of the lake but it was facing directly into some trees.

The view next to the bench.

20210912_080313_HDR The view from the bench.

Going around another arm.

20210912_080713 A checker-mallow

20210912_080717 Aster

Forest as we neared the campground again.

Arriving back at the ramp.

The loop around the lake came in at just about three miles which we thought was a perfect distance for a hike around a lake. Longer loops around lakes often begin to feel repetitive but this one didn’t. We were also glad we stopped here first as there wasn’t anyone out on the lake while we hiked nor did we pass any other users on the trail (there were a couple of fishermen/hunters behind us at one point). From Jubilee Lake we then drove to our second stop at the Rough Fork Trailhead near Mottet Campground. The final 1.5 miles to this trailhead on FR 6043 were rough and probably only passable with a high clearance vehicle.

From the trailhead we followed a sign for the Rough Fork Trail.

The Rough Fork Trail descends nearly 1900′ in 3.3 miles. Twelve switchbacks allow the grade to never be too steep and there were nice views nearly all the way down to the South Fork Walla Walla River Trail.
The first part of the trail passed through a stand of trees.

View to the west along the South Fork Walla Walla River canyon.

Loved the top of this tree.

Another view, there was just a hint of smoke in the air giving the hillsides a blue tint which is where the name “Blue Mountains” comes from. Apparently smoke has been a common occurrence here for a long time.

20210912_091153 There was a lot more Fall color along this trail.

Paintbrush

Cone flower

Aster amid some thimbleberry leaves.

Vine maple

Looking down toward the Sheep Creek.

Finally found the river.

There was a 6 to 8′ waterfall along Sheep Creek but no way to get a clear view of it through the thick vegetation on a steep hillside.

As we neared the river the trail leveled out in a lusher forest.

Two types of clover.

Footbridge over the South Fork Walla Walla River.

There was a small campsite near the bridge where we took a break and watched an ouzel dip up and down on rocks in the river.

DSCN0858

Reser Creek on the left joining the South Fork Walla Walla River just upstream from the bridge.

There was another small cascade on Sheep Creek near the river which I was able to reach with a little effort.
There were just enough exposed rocks for me to work my way downstream from the bridge to Sheep Creek.

After enjoying the river we headed back up having completed Sullivan’s suggested hike here. We could have continued two more miles downstream to Box Canyon but adding another four miles to our day didn’t seem necessary. The climb up wasn’t as bad as we’d feared. The grade along with a cooling breeze that would come and go helped immensely.

A couple of the larch trees were just starting to turn color for the fall.

A scarlet gilia blossom waiting to fall off.

A final view back over the canyon with the crooked tree.

The hike came in at the expected 6.6 miles giving us a total of 9.6 for the day.

We were done early enough to spend a relaxing afternoon in Pendleton where we discovered that a lot of the downtown restaurants were closed on Sundays. We wound up eating at Thai Crystal which turned out to be a good choice. These two hikes finished off Sullivan’s featured hikes in the northern Blue Mountains but that doesn’t mean we wont be back. There are more trails in the area and all our hikes there so far have been enjoyable. Happy Trails!

Flickr: Jubliee Lake and the South Fork Walla Walla River

Tags hiking, Jubilee Lake, Jubliee Lake Campground, Mottet Campground, Oregon, Pendelton, Rough Fork Trail, Rough Fork Trailhead, South Fork Walla Walla River, Thai Crystal, Umatilla National Forest

Blue Mountains - North Hiking Oregon Trip report

Upper Wenaha River – 09/11/2021

Post author By derwoodynck
Post date September 14, 2021
2 Comments on Upper Wenaha River – 09/11/2021

For the second year in a row our September vacation plans were disrupted by wildfires. The reality we are facing is that this may well be the norm now and maybe September isn’t the best time to try and take a hiking trip. We’d been avoiding October due to the erratic weather that time of year but it might be time to rethink that. Unlike last September when we scrapped our plans and just stayed home staying inside to avoid the smoke this year we had a viable back up plan. Our original plan was for a long weekend in Union Creek near Crater Lake National Park but that area seemed to be ground zero for unhealthy air quality so we canceled our reservations there and watched the weather and smoke forecast waiting until Friday to make our final decision. A favorable forecast put Pendleton as our first choice but according to the Forest Service website two of the three trails we planned on hiking were showing as closed. The entire Umatilla National Forest had been closed earlier this year due to wildfires but those were either out or mostly contained and the closure area had been greatly reduced. I reached out to the Forest Service and they confirmed that despite what the website said the trails we were planning on hiking were open.

It was a 5 to 5 1/2 hour drive from Salem to the Timothy Springs Trailhead for our first hike of the weekend on the Wenaha River Trail. We had hiked on this trail in 2019 but from the other end near Troy, OR (post). The trail is just under 31.5 miles long but for this hike we planned on following the trail downhill for 4.5 miles to Milk Creek which is Sullivan’s longer option for his featured hike #43 in the 3rd edition “100 Hikes/Travel Guide Eastern Oregon”. We arrived to find the campground at the trailhead full of bow hunters which we had expected this time of year. We parked in a dirt area not far from the historic Timothy Springs Guard Station because the only spot open at the actual trailhead would have meant parking over grass which we didn’t want to do given the fire danger.
The guard station.

The only “parking spot” open near the actual trailhead.

The trail immediately entered the Wenaha-Tucannon Wilderness.

The trail descended gradually through a the forest crossing a couple of small streams before reaching the South Fork Wenaha River at the 2.3 mile mark.
There was a lot of cone flower along the trail.

It had rained the night before but most of the moisture had already dried up or evaporated.

There were just a few flowers hanging on.

There was also a nice variety of mushrooms.

Paintbrush

One of the small streams.

Self-heal

There weren’t many views along the trail but this one was nice.

Pearly everlasting

Ghost pipe

This was one of the smallest frogs we’ve seen. When I first saw it jump I mistook it for a grasshopper.

A short distance before reaching the river we passed what Sullivan described as 6′ waterfall. There wasn’t much water flowing this time of year so we had to picture it mostly.

South Fork Wenaha River

The river was just wide enough and the logs wet enough that crossing dry wasn’t an option so we forded the river, it was maybe mid-calf at its deepest. A brief climb on the far side quickly put us above the river as the trail traversed a rock hillside.

The views were better along this section as it gradually descended to Milk Creek 2.2 miles beyond the South Fork Wenaha ford.

One of two snakes we came across, both the harmless types.

South Fork Wenaha River

Fall colors along the trail.

Milk Creek with the Wenaha River Trail continuing on the far side.

Milk Creek joining the South Fork Wenaha River.

DSCN0844 Elderberry near Milk Creek

DSCN0845 Snowberry

After a nice break at Milk Creek we began the 1300′ climb back to the trailhead. It was a fairly uneventful return trip but we managed to spot a few flowers and mushrooms along the way that we’d missed on our first pass.

Might be an aven?

Coral fungus

Aster

20210911_142859

A lone arnica still blooming.

This was a pleasant 9.1 mile hike and despite it being bow hunting season most of the hunters were already back in camp when we arrived so we only saw one group of three people the entire hike.

It was interesting to see the difference in the forest and terrain between the upper and lower ends of the Wenaha River Trail too. We then drove to Pendleton and after a little hiccup in our plans checked into a motel and then went to OMG! Burgers & Brew for dinner. Happy Trails!

Flickr: Upper Wenaha River

Tags Blue Mountains, hiking, Milk Creek, Oregon, Pendleton, South Fork Wenaha River, Timothy Springs Campground, Timothy Springs Guard Station, Timothy Springs Trailhead, Wenaha River Trail, Wenaha-Tucannon Wilderness

Hiking Indian Heaven Trip report Washington Washington Cascades

Indian Racetrack via Falls Creek – 09/05/2021

Post author By derwoodynck
Post date September 8, 2021
2 Comments on Indian Racetrack via Falls Creek – 09/05/2021

The horrible wildfire season finally thwarted one of our planned trips when California announced that all National Forests would be closed over Labor Day Weekend (and at least through September 17th). This was at least the third year in a row we had a backpacking trip in the Siskiyou Wilderness planned but either fire or weather has kept those plans from happening each time. Much like last September many of the areas that aren’t on fire are suffering from unhealthy air quality due to the smoke so our options were limited. (How I miss the days of rain being the driving factor on where we were going to hike.) One of the areas that has been less impacted by the smoke has been SW Washington and so we turned to that area once again for a pair of hikes over the holiday weekend. We skipped Saturday as smoke was an issue pretty much everywhere save for the Coast and Coast Range and waited for the next system to push the smoke east (sorry Central Oregon).

For our hike on Sunday we turned to Matt Reeder’s “Off the Beaten Trail” 2nd edition. In his Indian Racetrack and Red Mountain description (hike #15) Reeder describes an alternate loop using the unmaintained Basin Lakes Trail and the Pacific Crest Trail as an alternate to the 7.4 mile out and back that he suggests. We’d been to Indian Racetrack and Red Mountain as part of a diffent loop (post) so this other loop sounded more interesting than the out and back. We figured if the old Basin Lakes Trail was too hard to follow we could simply turn back and still do the out and back as described since it was only 2 miles to the basin then an additional mile up to the Pacific Crest Trail. We started our hike at the Falls Creek Horse Camp. The Falls Creek Trail heads southwest from the horse camp descending to Falls Creek Falls.

The trail we wanted, the Indian Racetrack Trail, began on the opposite side of Forest Road 65.
There were no signs for the obvious trail.

Once we were on the trail we ignored an unsigned side trail on the right which presumably led down to Falls Creek.

Approximately 0.2 miles from FR 65 a second trail joined from the left at a wilderness signboard.

Approximately 120 yards beyond the signboard we arrived at an unsigned fork.

The Indian Racetrack Trail continued to the right while the abandoned Basin Lake Trail veered left. While the Forest Service no longer maintains the trail (or even lists it on their website) the tread was obvious and based on the number of road apples on the ground it is used fairly regularly by equestrians.

Entering the Indian Heaven Wilderness

A half a mile up this trail we came to a small meadow where a couple of hikers were camped.

They warned us that where were quite a few trees down the closer you got to the Basin Lakes but that didn’t dissuade us and we continued on. The trees weren’t much of an issue and in most cases clear paths simply went around them.

We crossed a branch of Falls Creek just under a mile along the trail.

The tread continued to be fairly easy to follow for another half mile and then it vanished, at least from our sight, near a gully.

After a few minutes of hunting for it (which included crossing and recrossing the gully) we decided to simply follow the tallest ridge in the direction of the lakes using our GPS and Reeder’s map. A quarter mile later we were looking down at Peggy Lake on our left.

We stayed on the ridge above Peggy Lake and turned on the far end made a hard right toward Janet Lake.
Typical vegetation and trees on the ridge.

We rediscovered tread as we dropped to a saddle near Janet Lake.

Sign at the saddle between Peggy and Janet Lakes.

We did walk down to the bank of Janet Lake to admire its reflection.

From Janet Lake it was another 0.1 miles to an unnamed (at least officially) Basin Lake, sometimes on tread and sometimes not.

Sleepy ducks

I believe Oregon Hikers calls this one “Cindy Lake”.

We passed another lake on our left a quarter mile later.

That was followed by what appeared to be a mostly dry lake bed on the right, now filled with green grass.

We were now at the eastern end of the basin facing a steep climb up to the Pacific Crest Trail. We needed to gain almost 500′ to reach that trail and at the moment we weren’t sure if there was any tread to follow up.

We scanned the hillside but couldn’t pick anything out so we put our route finding hats on and identified a small saddle where it looked like a trail would go and headed for it. As we approached we stumbled on tread.

The small saddle we’d been aiming for.

From there we were able to follow a faint path up and out of the basin.

Heather down to the right between a couple of trees.

20210905_090147 Me getting close to the top.

The top of the ridge.

The Pacific Crest Trail runs right along the ridge (despite where it’s shown on Google Maps) and passes over the top of Berry Mountain to the south. After catching our breath we turned right and headed toward Berry Mountain and yet more climbing.

Fortunately it was the PCT so the climb was relatively gradual as it switchbacked up 170′ in 0.4 miles.

Mt. Adams in some clouds.

Mt. St. Helens behind a line of clouds.

Gifford Peak (post) behind us.

Chipmunk

At a switchback a bit below the summit we were treated to a spectacular view of Mt. Hood.

Mt. Jefferson was also visible to the right of Mt. Hood. Unfortunately so was the smoke being produced by the Bull Complex Fire which destroyed the historic Bull of the Woods Lookout (post) on Labor Day 😦 .

"IMG_4572 Autumn is on the way, bring on the rain please.

The PCT stuck to the long summit which would have also provided good views of Mt. Adams and Mt. St. Helens on a clearer day.
Mt. Adams

Looking toward Mt. St. Helens

The peaks in the Trapper Creek Wilderness (post) to the west.

We finally began to descend from Berry Mountain and after 3 miles on the PCT arrived at a signed junction for the Indian Racetrack Shortcut Trail.
Cliffs on Berry Mountain

Mt. Hood as we headed downhill.

Red Mountain and its lookout tower.

This beargrass is way off schedule.

On our previous hike we’d arrived at this junction from the other direction so when we turned right we one a somewhat familiar trail. After a brief stint in the forest the trail entered larger and larger meadows.

After a half mile we arrived at the Indian Racetrack Trail arriving on our right.

This would be the route back to our car but first we wanted to revisit the lookout on Red Mountain so we continued straight for approximately 50 yards and turned left at a pointer for the Indian Racetrack Trail.

We followed the trail 0.8 miles to a road and then followed the road another quarter mile to the lookout gaining a total of 700′ along the way.

Mt. Adams from a viewpoint along the way.

We passed two sets of hikers on their way down, the second of which mentioned having accidentally driven to the lookout. Apparently someone had vandalized the gate which allowed vehicles to drive up the road. Hopefully the Forest Service can get that remedied quickly as Google still shows the Indian Racetrack Trailhead on Red Mountain.

Not sure if someone forced the door open too or not.

View of Mt. Adams beyond Indian Heaven.

Photo taken from the doorway, it looked like nothing had been vandalized.

Mt. St. Helens still hiding behind that line of clouds.

We took a long enough break at the summit to get to a brief glimpse of Mt. St. Helens summit.

Mt. Adams with a few clouds passing by.

Mt. Hood with smoke from the Bull Complex behind.

We headed back down the Indian Racetrack Trail to Indian Racetrack and then continued on it past Race Track Lake. We passed quite a few hikers on our way down and saw more at Indian Racetrack.
Indian Heaven Wilderness sign on Red Mountain with Mt. Adams in the background.

Race Track Lake on the left.

It was 2.3 miles total from the junction back to the Falls Creek Horse Camp. We continued to see more and more hikers and were once again glad we’d gotten an early start allowing us to have the lookout to ourselves.
Hardhack

Footbridge over Falls Creek.

Falls Creek

Butterfly near Falls Creek.

Sign at the final trail junction near FR 65.

Reeder called this a 12 mile loop but our GPS came in at 11.2 miles which was a nice surprise. Total elevation gained was approximately 2850′. For this loop route finding, map, and navigation skills are highly recommended, otherwise the out and back option still provides a nice hike. Happy Trails!

Orange represents the old Basin Lakes Trail which is not shown on most maps.

Flickr: Indian Racetrack via Falls Creek

Tags Basin Lakes, Basin Lakes Trail, Berry Mountain, falls creek, Falls Creek Horse Camp, hiking, Indian Heaven Wildernss, Indian Racetrack, Indian Racetrack Trail, Janet Lake, Pacific Crest Trail, PCT, Peggy Lake, Red Mountain, Red Mountain Lookout, Washington

Hiking Mt. St. Helens Trip report Washington Washington Cascades

Norway Pass – 08/29/2021

After spending the night in our tent at Badger Lake (post) Heather’s foot was feeling better enough to give the Norway Pass hike a go. We were up nice and early thanks in part to an owl who visited the lake just before 4am. After a breakfast of Mountain House’s Spicy Southwest Skillet (our current favorite) we packed up and started our hike back to Elk Pass.
The view from the trees surrounding our campsite as we prepared to leave.

We had decided not to follow the Boundary Trail all the way back to Elk Pass opting to cut over to a forest road after the first two miles near the Mosquito Meadows Trail junction. Sullivan mentions doing this stating that it is “slightly quicker, but a bit tedious”. Our hope was there would be less elevation gain because we’d done a fair amount of up and down on the trail the day before.

Mt. St. Helens catching some morning light.

Mt. Rainier without a whole bunch of smoke.

There were a couple of paths near the trail junction where people had cut over to the old forest service road which was only about 10 yards away (but hidden by trees from the trail). We turned left at the first of the paths and quickly popped out onto the road.

We turned right on the roadbed and followed it downhill just under half a mile to FR 2551 which is still in use.

We snagged a few black caps along the road to as a post breakfast snack.

FR 2551

We turned right onto FR 2551 and were pleasantly surprised to find that there was very little elevation change (just a slight gain) over the 1.7 miles back to FR 25.
The very top of Mt. St. Helens from FR 2551.

Sullivan had labeled this stretch with the word slide which had caused a little apprehension in deciding to try this return route but despite the obvious slide(s) that had occurred here the road was in decent shape.

Not sure what kinds of birds were in this tree but there were a lot of them.

FR 25 at the end of a long straight away.

We turned right again at FR 25 walking along the shoulder for 150 yards to the Boundary Trailhead.

The Boundary Trail crosses FR 25 near the road sign ahead. The picture was taken from FR 2551 at FR 25.

We pulled our day packs out, refilled our water with some extra we had left in the car and drove north on FR 25 to FR 99 where we turned left heading for the Norway Pass Trailhead. A short connector from the trailhead leads to the Boundary Trail.

We turned left at the Boundary Trail and climbed for just over a mile to a signed junction with the Independence Ridge Trail. A couple was taking a break at the junction and another hiker, from the Mt. St. Helens Institute, coming down hill stopped to ask them if they were debating on which way to go. They weren’t and she said good because the Independence Ridge Trail is “dicey”.

Paintbrush

Buckwheat

We could hear a waterfall in the valley below.

The top of the waterfall.

Penstemon and pearly everlasting.

Looking back over our shoulders to Meta Lake.

Mt. Adams also from over our shoulders.

Aster

Switchback at the Independence Ridge Trail junction.

The Boundary Trail climbed less steeply beyond the junction with the exception of an up and down to cross a dry stream bed.

Heading down to the stream bed.

Penstemon

Monkeyflower

As the trail made it’s final climb to Norway Pass Mt. Rainier was visible beyond the ridges to the north.

Norway Pass (the low saddle to the right) from the trail.

Orange agoseris

Approaching the pass.

To get a good view of Mt. St. Helens we had to descend on the trail a short distance beyond the pass.
IMG_4431_stitch

After admiring the view we headed back stopping along the way to debate what these flowers were and whether or not they were non-natives (we believe they probably are).

With much of the 2.2 mile return hike being downhill we made good time back to the trailhead where we changed and then started the long drive home.
Mt. Adams and Meta Lake from the trail.

This hike was just 4.4 miles but gained nearly 900′ of elevation making it a good workout with great views.

The hike out of Badger Lake had been 4.2 miles so combined it was an 8.6 mile day. Knowing that we had now hiked at least portions of all 100 featured hikes in another of Sullivan’s books was the icing on the cake of a fun but tiring visit to Mt. St. Helens. Happy Trails!

Flickr: Norway Pass

Tags Badger lake, Boundary Trail, Boundary Trailhead, Cascades, Elk Pass, hiking, Meta Lake, Mt. St. Helens, Norway Pass, Norway Pass Tralhead, Spirit Lake, Washington

Hiking Mt. St. Helens Trip report Washington Washington Cascades

Harmony Falls, Loowit Falls, and Badger Lake – 08/28/2021

Post author By derwoodynck
Post date September 2, 2021
6 Comments on Harmony Falls, Loowit Falls, and Badger Lake – 08/28/2021

After having spent a week in SE Oregon checking off a few of Sullivan’s featured hikes in that region we turned our focus back to the Northwest Oregon/Southwest Washington guidebook where just 3 featured hikes remained. All three hikes were located on the NW side of Mt. St. Helens, a three and a half hour drive from Salem. These last three hikes were a good example of some of the things we’ve had to work out on what counts toward being able to check off a hike. Due to their distance day hikes were out and a limited number of nearby rooms meant we needed to get creative. Our plan was to do portions of all three hikes on Saturday starting at Mt. St. Helens and ending with us backpacking in to Badger Lake and the finishing up on Sunday by driving back to Mt. St. Helens to complete one of the three options Sullivan has for his Spirit Lake hike (4th edition hike #29).

One of the quirks with Sullivan is that while he has the 100 featured hikes he often gives multiple options. Typically the second option is an extension of the shorter option but sometimes the options go in different directions or are even completely different hikes starting at different trailheads. Two of these last three hikes had three options. For Spirit Lake the shortest option, Harmony Falls, started at the Harmony Trailhead while the other two, Norway Pass and Mt. Margaret, began at the Norway Pass Trailhead. We had hiked up Mt. Margaret on a previous trip coming from the other direction (post) so we didn’t feel we needed to do that option but the other two options would be new to us so we planned on doing them both starting with Harmony Falls and saving Norway Pass for Sunday.

From the Harmony Viewpoint a 1.2 mile trail leads 700′ downhill to Spirit Lake.

Mt. St. Helens from the viewpoint.

As has been the case this Summer there was a good deal of haze surrounding us but we had blue(ish) sky overhead. There were also a fair amount of wildflowers blooming, at least compared to what we had seen in SE the previous week.

Pearly everlasting

Penstemon

Paintbrush

Mt. St. Helens

IMG_3805_stitch

Prior to the 1980 eruption of the mountain Harmony Falls was a 50′ waterfall but most of the falls were buried as was the lodge that sat near the base of the falls. Now there is only a small cascade along the trail.
20210828_084401

20210828_085006 Mt. St. Helens and Spirit Lake from the end of the trail.

As we were making our way back we were doing our best to try and identify the various rock formations and peaks across the lake.
Coldwater Peak (post) is easy with the white equipment on top.

The Dome

Mt. Margaret

Mount Teragram

After finishing this 2.4 mile hike we continued driving toward Mt. St. Helens on FR 99 and parked at the Windy Ridge Interpretive Site where the road is gated and only open to research vehicles.

We were now working on featured hike #28 – Windy Ridge. Again Sullivan had three options, this time all starting from this parking lot. The shortest option was a .2 mile round trip up a steep set of stairs to the Windy Ridge Viewpoint at the northern end of the parking lot (see photo above). We set off across the lot to tackle this one first.
<img src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51413600517_e0b437d3fb_c.jpg" width="800" height="600" alt="IMG_3847">The interpretive site and Spirit Lake.

Mt. St. Helens.

Aside from a little section near the top the stairs were nicely spaced making the climb better than it looked from the bottom.

In addition to Mt. St. Helens both Mt. Adams and Mt. Rainier were visible from the viewpoint although on this day the haze was an issue.
Mt. Adams

Mt. Rainier

The interpretive signs at the viewpoint did a good job of identifying different features that were visible which we appreciated.

The Johnston Ridge Observatory was visible across Spirit Lake on a far hillside.

It’s often hard to tell if you’re seeing dust from rockfall or steam from one of the vents.

After reading the signs and taking in the views we headed down the stairs and to the other end of the parking area where we walked past the gate and followed FR 99 for 1.8 miles to a sign for the Abraham Trail, the return route for the longer option.

Butterfly on ragwort

Butterfly on pearly everlasting

Lupine in the pearly everlasting

Golden-mantled ground squirrel

Might be Oregon sunshine

Penstemon

The longer option would add approximately 2.2 miles and 500′ to our hike and visit the Plains of Abraham. As with Mt. Margaret we had visited the Plains of Abraham (post) previously so we were going to stick to the shorter option. Beyond the junction with the Abraham Trail FR 99 dropped to a small parking area for research vehicles where two trails began.

To the left was the Windy Trail and to the right was the Truman Trail. Our plan was to take the Windy Trail and hike a clockwise loop returning on the Truman Trail.

We followed the Windy Trail just over a mile to the Loowit Trail where we turned right.

Paintbrush and dwarf lupine

Pearly everlasting

The Loowit Trail junction.

The Loowit Trail immediately dropped into a gully to cross a small stream.
Spirit Lake from the junction.

In the gully.

We continued another 0.4 miles before arriving at Big Spring which was a big surprise.

Another gully to cross.

Big Spring is in the willow thicket.

We knew that there was a spring but more often than not the springs wind up being small trickles or big mud puddles but not Big Spring. This was a good sized stream beginning almost right next to the Loowit Trail.

The stream flowing over the Loowit Trail.

A pink monkeyflower at the spring.

Looking back at the willows and Big Spring.

Another half mile of big views and a couple of gully crossings followed Big Spring. We were excited to spot mountain goats lounging on a ridge between the mountain and the trail along this stretch.
Coldwater Peak to the right.

The Sugar Bowl lava dome.

IMG_3996_stitch Spirit Lake from the trail.

The first goats we spotted are on this ridge above the lone tree.

The Loowit Trail crossing two gullies in a short stretch, one red one black.

Dropping into the second gully.

From the second gully we could see quite a few more goats on the ridge.

A half mile from Big Spring we arrived at another trail junction.
Approaching the junction with the side trail to Loowit Falls.

Sign for Loowit Falls.

We stayed straight here following the pointer for Loowit Falls for another half mile.
Loowit Falls (right side of the photo) was visible for much of the half mile.

Looking back at Coldwater Peak and Spirit Lake. (The top of Mt. Rainier is barely visible peaking over the top of the ridges.)

As we neared the falls we noticed another small herd of mountain goats on the hillside.

We could also see the hummocks (post) off in the distance to the NE, pieces of the mountain that slid off during the 1980 eruption and settled in the debris flow creating odd mounds.

Loowit Falls looked bigger than I had expected. We took a good break at the viewpoint with a couple of other hikers and a pair of young Forest Service workers.

Spirit Lake from the viewpoint.

After our break we returned to the Loowit Trail to continue the loop.

Paintbrush

Dwarf lupine

Just under three quarters of a mile from the Loowit Falls Trail junction we arrived at the Willow Springs Trail junction.

Here we left the Loowit Trail by turning right on the 0.8 mile long Willow Springs Trail.

Mt. St. Helens from the Willow Springs Trail.

Heading toward Spirit Lake.

The Willow Springs Trail ended at the Truman Trail where we again turned right.

We followed the Truman Trail for a mile and a half back to the research vehicle parking area, re-crossing the gullies and streams we had crossed on the Loowit Trail.

The Dome above Spirit Lake

Vehicles ahead in the research parking area.

From the parking area we followed FR 99 (mostly uphill until the very end) 1.8 miles back to the Windy Ridge Interpretive Site. The haze was improving as the day wore on and we could now at least make out some snow on Mt. Adams.

Mt. Adams to the left.

Mt. Adams

Look out for snakes, not the poisonous kind just don’t want to step on them.

Some sort of sulphur butterfly on pearly everalsting.

Our 10.7 mile track from the Windy Ridge Interpretive Site

We hopped in the car and drove back to FR 25 where we turned south to reach the Boundary Trailhead at Elk Pass.

The 53.7 mile long Boundary Trail’s western end is near Norway Pass where we planned on hiking the next day while the eastern end is located at Council Lake near Mt. Adams. The section of the trail that we planned on hiking was a 4.3 mile segment from Elk Pass to Badger Lake. From the signboard at the trailhead a short spur led away from FR 25 into the trees before joining the Boundary Trail.

We turned left on the Boundary Trail and promptly arrived at FR 25 which we then crossed.

This trail is open to both mountain bikes and motorcycles which probably explains why it was only briefly one of Sullivan’s featured hikes (#30 in his 4th edition). The forest was pretty and quiet (no motorcycles during our visit) but the trail showed a lot of wear from tires.

One plus was a good variety of berries along the way and there were a few flowers as well.
Salmonberries

Blueberries

Huckleberries

Mushrooms (the flowers of Fall)

I was really surprised to still be able to make out the remains of the petals on these trillium.

These bunchberries with a few petals left were near the trillium above.

Candyflower

At the 2.3 mile mark we passed the Mosquito Meadows Trail on the left.

At this junction Heather told me to go on ahead and find a campsite then hike up Badger Peak without her if I wanted. Her plantar fasciitis had flared up on the way back from Loowit Falls and was struggling a bit. We had planned on hiking up to the summit after setting up camp and I didn’t want to wait for morning because the rising Sun would have been directly behind Mt. Adams. (Sullivan’s short option for this hike was to the lake and back while the longer option was to the summit.)

The trail gained a little over 600′ over the next two miles which doesn’t sound like a lot but nearly all the elevation was packed into two short sections of the leg.

These thimbleberries weren’t ripe but a short distance further were a lot of ripe ones. I thought I might have to hike back and retrieve Heather from them.

A brief glimpse of Mt. Rainier from the ridge the trail was following, it looked like a lot of the smoke had blown away.

Two miles from the Mosquito Meadows Trail I arrived at a junction with the Badger Peak Trail.

Before I headed up that trail though I needed to hike on to Badger Lake to find a campsite (and get rid of my full backpack). Beyond this junction the trail passed through a meadow crossing Elk Creek and arriving at the lake on the far side.

Aster

Elk Creek

Pink monkeyflower along Elk Creek

Lupine

The trail near Badger Lake was particularly torn up and there were several signs posted admonishing motorcyclists to stop driving off trail.

Torn up hillside near the lake, it only takes one or two idiots to cause a lot of damage (the same goes for hikers/mountain bikers).

The little puddle in the foreground is not the lake, it is further back.

I found a tent site back in the trees near the meadow and dropped my pack off and hung my hunter orange shirt so Heather couldn’t miss it. Then I grabbed my day pack and hiked back to the Badger Peak Trail and headed uphill.

This mushrooms was at least as wide as a salad plate.

It was 0.8 miles to the summit with 700′ of elevation to gain which meant the trail was pretty steep. In addition the motorcycles had gouged a deep trough in the center of much of the trail which was uncomfortably narrow to walk in. It turned out to be for the best that Heather had decided to skip the summit.

A columbine

The view was nice though and the sky around Mt. Adams had also cleared up greatly from earlier in the day.

A hiker from Boise was at the summit when I arrived. She said she had been planning on staying up there until sunset but was having second thoughts due to the chilly breeze and not wanting to have to hike down the trail in the dark. I helped her identify the different mountains as this was her first time to the area. She was on a driving expedition as was thinking of heading to the Olympic Mountains next.
Mt. St. Helens was hard to make out with the combination of haze and Sun position.

Looking south toward Mt. Hood (I could make it out with the naked eye.)

Mt. Hood in the haze.

Mt. Rainier

Mt. Adams

The Goat Rocks were also hard to make out due to the smoke.

Western pasque flowers, aka hippies on a stick, below the summit.

I headed down after a short break and found Heather finishing setting up our tent.

We took our dinner over near Badger Lake and then turned in for the night. It had been a long day with a lot of hiking. For me it was a 19.4 mile day with approximately 3800′ of elevation gain and Heather was in the 18 mile range with over 3000′, no wonder her plantar acted up.

The last of the sunlight hitting Badger Peak.

We hoped her foot would be feel better in the morning so the hike out wasn’t too miserable and so she might be able to do the Norway Pass hike. For now though we just needed to get our sore bodies to let us fall asleep. Happy Trails!

Flickr: Harmony Falls, Windy Ridge, and Badger Lake

Tags Abraham Trail, Badger lake, Badger Peak, Big Spring, Boundary Trail, Dark Divide, Elk Pass, Harmony falls, hiking, Mt. St. Helens, Spirit Lake, Truman Trail, Washington, Windy Ridge, Windy Ridge Interpretive Site

Hiking Oregon SE Oregon Trip report

Pueblo Mountains – 08/20/2021

Post author By derwoodynck
Post date August 27, 2021
3 Comments on Pueblo Mountains – 08/20/2021

We had a long day planned for the final day of our trip to SE Oregon. We were starting off by doing Sullivan’s Pueblo Mountains hike (#96 in his “100 Hikes/Travel Guide Eastern Oregon” guidebook and we were going to attempt the long drive back to Salem (a 6 1/2 to 7 hour drive). We were a little nervous about getting to Sullivan’s starting point for his described 7.2 mile hike which follows a portion of the Oregon Desert Trail. He describes the final 2.2 miles of road as a “rocky, bumpy road”..”passable only by high-clearance vehicles”. Given where we were and the tire scare we’d had earlier in the week we decided that adding 4.4 miles of road walk round trip was okay with us so after turning right off of Highway 205 exactly three miles south of Fields we followed a decent gravel road 4.7 miles to a fork where we took the left most track a hundred yards or so to the first decent spot we could pull off and park at.

The Oregon Desert Trail is a 750 mile route doesn’t always follow a trail (or road or other discernible track).
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The section we would be hiking was guided by rock cairns with a couple of sections of what appeared to be actual tread but may also simply have been game/cattle trails that were going the same way. First we had to get to the start of the hike though so after a moment appreciating the desert sunrise we started up the rocky road.

The view back along the road to the fork.

Road walk

Rabbit

There was a bit more smoke/haze on the horizon this morning than there had been for a few days and a red Sun rose in the east.

After just under a mile the road made a 90 degree turn at a fence corner then crossed Sesena Creek, which was still flowing.

A hawk in a dead tree above the springs feeding Sesena Creek.

This was the only water we’d see all day.

We arrived at the grassy flat Sullivan described as the start of the hike. Sullivan listed 14 cairns along his hike starting with one here at the starting point but the rocks it had been comprised of were spread on the ground. We hoped that wasn’t a sign of things to come.

The first cairn from later in the day.

Luckily Sullivan had supplied GPS coordinates both along the drive and for cairns 1, 5, 10, and 14 which I had entered into both our GPS units. From the road at cairn one we followed an old road bed through the sage brush toward the mountains.

A little over half a mile along the road brought us to another grassy area, an old cow lick, where we veered left on a trail (cattle?) through the sagebrush.

We could see the second cairn on a little rise ahead to our right and made our way towards it.

Sullivan’s instructions beyond the cow lick were to “head cross-country up the leftmost branch of the valley and scramble up past a grove of shrub-sized mountain mahogany trees to find cairn #3”. We could see the mahogany trees and using binoculars and the zoom feature on the camera were able to spot what we assume to be cairn #3.

From there the climb got steep fast and neither of us are sure we we ever saw cairn #4. Luckily we had the GPS coordinates for #5, which was 0.3 miles from #3, to keep us relatively on track.
View from cairn #3.

Looking back over the mahogany trees, the rise with cairn #2 and the cow lick.

Looking up the steep hillside.

On the climb up to #5.

Cairn #5 was said to be atop a 12′ rock in a saddle. There appeared to be more than one possible saddle though as we climbed and at the angle we were at we couldn’t see any 12′ rocks.

I picked a saddle to aim for and arrived first but there was no cairn here.

The view from the saddle.

I climbed up on a the rocks to the west of the saddle to see if I could see cairn #5 which, based on the GPS coordinates would have been a little to the SE and downhill from where I was.

When Heather arrived we discussed the next stage our hike. Even though we couldn’t see #5 from where we were we could see another cairn atop a cliff on the hillside ahead of us.

We decided to contour up along the hillside heading for that cairn and as we came over a rise we spotted what must have been cairn #5.

A kestral on a cairn.

The GPS coordinates were a little off but it fit the description of the fifth cairn pretty well.

We continued heading uphill toward the cliff with what we believe was cairn #6.

You can see Heather following me up on this “less” steep section.

As we neared the cliffs we spotted another cairn which was a lot easier to reach.

Looking down into the haze in the east.

From the cairn with no number we could see another cairn perched atop a rock outcrop which we determined to be #7 since #8 was shown to be at a pass.

Cairn #7 was being guarded by magpies.

Cairn #7 was uphill more than was necessary to reach the ridge beyond it so instead of heading directly for it we traversed the hillside below it.
View south over the Pueblo Mountains.

Passing below cairn #7 (upper right corner).

We found cairn #8 at the pass.

View to the NW from the pass.

Pueblo Mountain (the large rounded peak) from the pass.

Heather was delayed reaching the pass due to spotting a sheep moth.
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Sullivan’s map was a little confusing from cairn #8 to cairn #9. The sketch appeared to show the route passing behind (on the west side of) a rise to cairns #9 & #10 and then arriving at cairn #11 at another pass. What we found was that it was easier to hike south on the ridge for two tenths of a mile where a much larger rock outcrop forced us off the ridge to the west.
We climbed this rise on the ridge and continued on the top for a bit.

Heather near cairn #8 in the saddle and cairn #7 on the hillside behind.

We didn’t cross over to the west side until we reached a much larger rock formation along the ridge.
Looking at the rocky cliffs that would force us to the west.

We were starting to notice actual tread along the ridge and when we reached the rocks a clear, albeit thin, trail could be seen traversing the hillside.

It’s not a desert trail without bones.

As we approached the other end of the rock outcrop we spied cairn #9 on a hillside.

Looking back

The tread disappeared in a small draw filled with sagebrush, but a little bushwhacking and a short steep climb got us to the cairn.
The sagebrush draw below (Heather is traversing the hillside.)

Cairn #9 and the view west.

For some reason cairn #10 was ahead and further DOWN the hillside. From cairn #9 we could see our goal for the day ahead, a high point on a ridge above the Oregon Desert Trail before it began a descent that would eventually lead to Denio, Nevada.
The next ridge is where the high point we were planning to turn around at was.

We made our way to the saddle where cairn #11 sat.
Cairn #11 in the saddle along the ridge.

Heather dropping down to the saddle, cairn #10 was out of frame to the left here.

View to the west from the saddle.

From cairn #11 we could see cairn #12 sitting atop an outcrop at the start of the next rocky section.

Sculpted rock along the ridge.

The small section of hike near cairn #12 was one of the toughest on the day. Large boulders were surrounded by taller and thicker sagebrush than any we’d encountered since the mahogany trees. The easiest route was to boulder hop as directly as possible to the cairn which meant extra climbing but the vegetation was too thick to pass through safely due to hidden holes amid the boulders.
Heather making her way up to #12.

We then followed the rocky ridge until the sagebrush thinned out.

Thought this might be an arrowhead or at least something that was used for a tool of some sort.

Heather resting by cairn #12 while I scouted the route.

After a false summit we realized that the high point was at the far end of the ridge.

A hazy Pueblo Mountain (and more of the Pueblo Mts.) from the high point.

Cairn #15 is on a small rock outcrop near the saddle at center.

DSCN0821 Cairn #15 (at least we think).

We had a nice break at the summit, and for some reason I felt compelled to trot down and tag cairn #14 only to realize too late that I had to hike back up to the high point.
Cairn #15 below from the cairn #14 coordinates, it appears that cairn #14 may have been at least partially dismantled.

Oh great, more uphill.

It would have been nice to have had a less hazy view but at least we could make a few things out.
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DSCN0819 Peaks in the Pueblo Mts. near the Nevada border.

DSCN0829 Cairn #12 and the saddle zoomed in.

DSCN0838 Van Horn Creek is down there somewhere as is Ten Cent Meadows.

After resting up we headed back attempting to follow the same route but judging by our track we may have been drinking something other than water up at the high point.
A lupine with a few blossoms left.

Lots of colored lichen on the rocks along the way.

Vertical rocks.

Rounded rocks.

Back to the mahogany trees.

Cairn #2 dead ahead.

Found the cow lick again.

Looking back at the Pueblo Mountains from the road walk.

Trees marking the spring and Sesena Creek.

The southern end of Steens Mountain from the road walk.

Sage grouse hen

The last half mile or so of the road walk provided us with a couple of close encounters with common nighthawks that were resting along the barbed wire fence.

We got back to our car just before 1pm and after changing started the long drive to Salem. We got home just before 8pm making for a long but fun day. It had been a really nice vacation despite the hazy conditions for several of the hikes. The temperatures had ranged from hot the first two days to freezing on Wednesday to just about right Tuesday, Thursday and the hike in the Pueblos wasn’t all that warm either. We already have more ideas for hikes and stops in that part of Oregon so we’ll be heading back at some point even though we have finished with the “featured hikes” in the area. Happy Trails!

My mileage for the day came in at 13.3 including a total of 4.2 along the dirt road. Total elevation gain was approximately 2400′.

Our track for the hike. The orange segment is the road walk which was 2.1 miles each way.

Flickr: Pueblo Mountains

Tags Common Nighthawk, Fields Station, hiking, Oregon, Oregon Desert Trail, Pueblo Mountain, Pueblo Mountains, Sage grouse, Sesena Creek, van horn creek