Category: Trip report

Indian Henry’s Hunting Ground (Mt. Rainier National Park) – 9/21/2019

Post author By derwoodynck
Post date September 27, 2019
3 Comments on Indian Henry’s Hunting Ground (Mt. Rainier National Park) – 9/21/2019

We spent most of the Summer doing day hikes from home so that we could be back in time to give our elderly cats their daily medicines which put a limit on how far away we could go, but we had purchased tickets to the Seattle Seahawks/New Orleans Saints game prior to Buddy getting ill so my parents graciously took over for a day. We took the opportunity to drive up the day before the game and stop for a hike in Mt. Rainier National Park.

This would be our second visit to the park having hiked the Northern Loop on a 4-day backpack in 2015 (post). For this visit we were looking for something on the SW side of the mountain that would be a good late Summer/early Fall hike. A little research led us to Indian Henry’s Hunting Ground from Longmire.

We arrived at Longmire just after 8am and prepared to set off on the Trail of Shadows.

Our trail was located across the park entrance road from the National Park Inn.

Also across the road was the shear cliffs of Rampart Ridge and the snow capped summit of Mt. Rainier.

We were excited to see the mountain as it had been raining for several days and more rain was forecast for the next few, but a partly sunny forecast had at least given us some hope.

The Trail of Shadows is a .7 mile interpretative loop around Longmire Meadow. We followed this trail clockwise for a quarter mile where we arrived at a junction with the Rampart Ridge Trail.

We turned left on the Rampart Ridge Trail which promptly began climbing via a series of switchbacks to the top of the ridge. The trail climbed through an old growth forest with lots of mushrooms this time of year and a bit of fall color showing on the maples.

The trail gained the ridge after a little under 1.5 miles and began to follow it to the NE. One and three quarters of a mile from the junction we forked right to a signed viewpoint overlooking Longmire.

The position of the Sun wasn’t ideal, even with some clouds around, but Eagle Peak was also visible (albeit through some trees) rising above Longmire.

Less then a quarter mile from the viewpoint we came to a turn where the trail began to descend, but before we started down we followed a short path to a rocky viewpoint where we got a better look at Mt. Rainier.

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Mt. Rainier was the main attraction but to the NW behind the clouds was another interesting and colorful peak, Mt. Wow.

We spent quite a while at the viewpoint before starting down on the Rampart Ridge Trail which we found turned back toward the mountain and provided another spectacular view.

We were soon back in the mushroom filled forest grateful for having gotten such a nice view of the mountain already. We figured if the clouds moved in, at least we’d gotten to see that .

After 2.9 miles on the Rampart Ridge Trail we came to a signed junction with the Wonderland Trail.

Here we turned left following the pointer for Indian Henry’s (Hunting Ground)

We had gained over 1400′ climbing up to Rampart Ridge and now we began to lose 400 of those feet as the Wonderland Trail dropped to Kautz Creek in 3/4 of a mile. Mushrooms remained a main theme of the hike as we descended through more green forest.

As we neared Kautz Creek the mountain once again came into view.

We dropped into the washed out canyon of Kautz Creek where, you guessed it, there were some more interesting mushrooms amid the rubble.

Satuick Mountain

The crossing of Kautz Creek was fairly easy as far as glacier fed streams go. The creek was split into three channels which were small enough to rock hop across dry footed.
First crossing

Second crossing

The third channel was the largest but still relatively small.

Mt. Rainier from the far side of Kautz Creek.

The trail then reentered the forest and shortly arrived at Pyramid Camp.

Yet another big mushroom.

After a brief stint in the trees we emerged at another washed out creek bed. According to the map this was Pearl Creek (which later becomes Pyramid Creek after merging with a couple of other streams).

This creek would have been a little trickier to cross had it not been for the presence of a pair of footbridges.

After crossing the creek we popped back into the forest and almost immediately came to a clear spring.

Beyond the spring the trail began to climb steeply gaining over 400′ in a half mile before becoming a bit more gradual as it traversed up the hillside crossing a few creek beds along the way.

There were quite a few coral fungi present as well.

Fishers Hornpipe Creek

The mushrooms in the back had exploded.

A few red huckleberries left to eat.

Approximately one and three quarters of a mile from the Pearl Creek crossing we arrived at Devil’s Dream Creek.

This creek flowed through a narrow slot canyon that looked (and sounded) really interesting.

Although the trail briefly climbed uphill along side the canyon there were no views to speak of save one look down to the water below. From that spot it sounded like there was some sort of waterfall just upstream but there was no angle available to see anything so we settled for more colorful mushrooms.

A half mile after crossing Devil’s Dream Creek we did spot a waterfall downhill to the right of the trail just before arriving at Devil’s Dream Camp. A path led down to the creek here. There wasn’t a lot of water flowing but it looked like it might be a pretty good waterfall when there was more flow.

After the side trip we passed through the 8-site Devil’s Dream Camp.

Bear pole

It was uphill through the camp but not longer after passing the group site the trail leveled out a bit and entered the first meadow as we neared Indian Henry’s Hunting Ground.

A larger meadow followed with a view of Mt. Rainier hiding behind Iron Mountain.

Gentians

Mushrooms in the meadow.

Gray jay in the huckleberries.

A quarter mile from the camp we arrived at Squaw Lake.
Iron Mountain from the lake.

We crossed Devil’s Dream Creek again as we passed around the lake.

I don’t know where the actual boundary of the hunting ground is but beyond Squaw Lake the meadows kept opening up more as we neared a backcountry patrol cabin.

Western pasque flower

Finally Mt. Rainier came back into view.
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We spotted the patrol cabin approximately 8 miles (according to my GPS) into the hike. The cabin was set back in some trees overlooking the meadow with Mt. Rainier in the background. It couldn’t have been a more picturesque setting.

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We had been playing leap frog with another pair of day hikers who had planned on turning back at the cabin. We had also considered that given the distance and elevation gain to get there, but the mountain was so visible we decided to push on to Mirror Lakes which was just under a mile away. From a junction with the Kautz Creek Trail near the cabin we followed a pointer for the Mirror Lakes Trail .3 miles down the Wonderland Trail.

The Wonderland Trail lost a little elevation before arriving at the Mirror Lakes Trail junction. Views of Mt. Rainier were plentiful along the .3 mile stretch.

We turned onto the Mirror Lakes Trail which was pretty wet in spots from the recent rains, as were the meadows alongside the trail.

There were a number of frogs in the meadow and they seemed to be enjoying the extra water.

Most of the flowers were long since past but a few stragglers were hanging on.
Paintbrush

Butterfly on the remains of an aster.

Gentians

While the Summer flowers were mostly gone the nearby hillsides were heralding the arrival of Fall.

We were glad that we’d decided to go on even before reaching the Mirror Lakes as the trail just kept getting us closer views of Mt. Rainier.

Pyramid Peak to the right.

The best was yet to come though. The largest (and first) of the little lakes that make up the Mirror Lakes had a perfect reflection of the still mostly cloud free mountain.

We lingered for awhile studying the mountains various features.

We would have loved to have stuck around longer but we still had a long hike back to Longmire and a 2 hour drive to our motel so we pulled ourselves away and started back. In the time it took to reach the patrol cabin the clouds had increased noticably.

The shift in the clouds did reveal more of Emerald Ridge to the north which had some interesting features.

We returned the way we’d come until arriving at the Wonderland Trail/Rampart Ridge Trail junction. This portion of the hike saw us spotting additional mushrooms that we hadn’t noticed earlier and a few more frogs, including one at the spring near Pearl Creek.

This guy was tiny.

Frog on a rock at the spring.

The clouds had really moved in by the time we were crossing Kautz Creek and Mt. Rainier was gone.

From the Wonderland/Rampart Ridge junction we stayed straight on the Wonderland Trail which, in addtion to being new trail, was at least a mile shorter route back to Longmire.

The trail lost elevation pretty quickly and was fairly steep in places. The mushroom theme continued here as well.

The trail did level out some as it passed below Rampart Ridges cliffs and over a swale on a boardwalk.

We crossed the Paradise Road and soon after turned at a pointer for Longmire.
Looking back across the road.

Our feet were sore and our knees tired but the 16.4 miles had been more than worth it. As we were loading up the car a gentleman asked if we would give him a ride out of the park. He had been on the Wonderland Trail but after 5 days of rain everything was wet and he hadn’t been able to cook some of his food so he was living to fight another day. His car was at Mowhich Lake though so we gave him a lift to Ashford and dropped him off at a motel/restaurant there before heading toward Seattle.

It was a great start to the weekend, if only Seattle’s play had been half as impressive as Mt. Rainier was maybe they could have pulled out a win. Ah well, we will take a beautiful hike over a single W any time. Happy Trails! (and GO Hawks!)

Flickr: Indian Henry’s Hunting Ground

High Cascades Hiking Oregon Trip report Waldo Lake Area

The Twins and Bobby Lake – 9/14/2019

Post author By derwoodynck
Post date September 19, 2019
5 Comments on The Twins and Bobby Lake – 9/14/2019

The weather was once again looking promising for the last hike of our mini-vacation so we headed up to Waldo Lake to visit a viewpoint atop The Twins with a side trip to Bobby Lake thrown in. This wasn’t the first time that we had planned on doing the hike The Twins, but the elements hadn’t played nice and we’d changed plans every time before.

We took Highway 58 from Eugene to the Waldo Lake (Forest Road 5897) and followed it for just over 6 miles to the Twin Peaks Trailhead

We set off on the trail which gradually climbed through a fairly open forest of lodgepole pine and mountain hemlock.

We quickly (less than a tenth of a mile from the trailhead) passed our return route, a connector trail with a pointer for Gold Lake.

We stuck to The Twins Trail and in another mile and a half reached a four way junction with the Pacific Crest Trail. A variety of mushrooms could be seen along the trail.

PCT junction.

We continued straight across the PCT climbing steeply at first before becoming more gradual. Here the trail passed through an open forest of mountain hemlock with a couple of ponds and many rock outcrops. It was the type of forest that called for exploration and we both felt like we could have set up camp in the area and stayed relaxed for days.

More cool mushrooms.

First pond

Looking down on the first pond.

Liked the pattern on this shroom.

A smaller pond.

Found a few blooming bleeding heart.

We reached another junction 1.2 miles from the PCT at a sign for Charlton Lake.

This would also be a return trail for us as part of a short loop including the summits of The Twins.

The trail steepened beyond the junction and eventually headed straight up the cinder covered rim around The Twins crater.

Over our shoulder a nice view to the south was unfolding including Maiden and Diamond Peaks, Mt. Thielsen and Mt. Bailey and even Mt. Scott in Crater Lake National Park.

Diamond Peak on the right and Mt. Bailey (post) on the left.

Mt. Scott (post) on the left and Mt. Thielsen (post) behind Howlock Mountain.

Maiden Peak (post) in the center.

Close up of Diamond Peak

As we followed the rim north Waldo Lake could be seen below to the west.

Waldo Mountain Lookout (post) on the far side of Waldo Lake.

At the north summit the view north was spectacular stretching all the way to Mt. Jefferson.
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Rigdon Butte (post) along Waldo Lake

Mt. Jefferson (with Three Fingered Jack in front), Mt. Washington, and The Husband

The Three Sisters

Broken Top

Mt. Bachelor

The Sun was still to the east making that view a little bright and there seemed to be some smoke over the LaPine area but Newberry Crater and Paulina Peak were visible above the smoke with a low water Wickiup Reservoir in the foreground.

To the SE Davis Lake was visible in front of Davis Mountain and Hammer Butte

To the south the taller southern summit blocked some of the view.

As we started down the trail a saddle between the two summits we spotted a marmot.

The marmot on a rock ledge with Crane Prairie Reservoir in the background.

The saddle was forested complete with green grass.

The trail forked on the far side of the saddle where a faint path traversed the hillside below the south summit.

The other fork headed 200′ up to second summit.

The view north was still great from this summit and Waldo Lake was still visible by looking west across the cinder cones crater.

Here though the view to the south was back.
IMG_9413_stitch That’s Bobby Lake below Maiden Peak.

Mt. Yoran near Diamond Peak

Gold Lake

Fuji Mountain (post)

Llao Rock was visible over the right shoulder of Mt. Thielsen from this angle.
The closest rocky peak to the right of the photo is Cowhorn Mountain (post)

We had planned on going back down the way we’d come up and taking the trail around the summit, but from the summit we noticed another user path heading down the back side and meeting up with the loop trail at another saddle.

It didn’t look too steep so we decided to try it out. As we started down we quickly realized that it was quite a bitter steeper than it had seemed but we were able to get down without too much trouble. Lower on the hillside we came across a number of elk tracks.

We turned right onto the trail when we reached the saddle where there was a bit of a view of the Three Sisters and Broken Top.

We completed the 2 mile loop and arrived back at The Twins Trail at the Charlton Lake sign and turned left to head back down to the PCT where we turned left again following the point for Bobby Lake.

We followed the PCT south for 2.5 miles, losing a little elevation along the way and passing a pair of small lakes/ponds just before arriving at a 4-way junction.

Tiny PCT frog.

One of the unnamed lakes.

Trail sign at the 4-way junction.

We turned left and dropped down to Bobby Lake which we reached in just over a quarter mile, but not before being looked over by some grey jays.

A short distance along the lake shore to the right was a large rock feature.
Maiden Peak above the lake.

We made our way over to the rocks and took a nice break where we had some company.
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The Twins

One of several butterflies.

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After the break we returned to the PCT junction and continued straight on the Bobby Lake Trail toward Waldo Lake Road.

Of particular interest to us was a post located about 100 feet from the junction marking the end of the Eugene to Crest Trail. We had done some of that route earlier in the year during our Bunchgrass Ridge hike (post)

We followed the Bobby Lake Trail for a little over one and three quarters of a mile before turning right at a point for The Twins Trail.

Nordic trail sign high on the tree.

A fairly level but not at all straight mile walk back to The Twins Trail followed as did a chance encounter with a toad.

We didn’t see too many people during the hike but we found the trailhead parking area full, counting at least 10 cars plus ours (we had been the only car when we started). The hike came in at 12.1 miles and gained upwards of 2100′ of elevation gain making it a good workout but well worth the effort. Happy Trails!

Flickr: The Twins and Bobby Lake

Tags Bobby Lake, Bobby Lake Trail, Frog, hiking, Maiden Peak, Moore Creek Trail, Oregon, Pacific Crest Trail, The Twins, Toad, Twin Peaks Trailhead, Waldo Lake, Waldo Mountain Lookout

Coastal Range Hiking Oregon Trip report

Henry Haag Lake – 9/13/2019

Post author By derwoodynck
Post date September 18, 2019
1 Comment on Henry Haag Lake – 9/13/2019

A cloudy forecast with a chance for showers and a weekday off during the school year provided the perfect combination to visit Henry Haag Lake. The man made lake is located in the eastern foothills of the Coastal Range near Forest Grove and would be our 92nd featured hike from Sullivan’s Oregon Coast & Coast Range guidebook. The lake tends to be crowded during the summer and on weekends from Spring to Fall. Additionally the trail around the lake reportedly gets very slick and muddy during the wet seasons so a mid-September visit seemed like a good time to minimize encountering those conditions.

After paying the $7 day use fee for Scoggins Valley Park we drove across Scoggins Dam and parked at the Elks Picnic Area Trailhead.

There are several trailheads around the lake but we chose this one due to it being close to the park entrance and giving us an opportunity to start with the walk across the dam which we preferred to get out of the way early.

It was an overcast morning but it was free of precipitation as we began our dam walk.

It turned out to be a fairly entertaining half mile as we were treated to several bird sightings including at least one osprey diving for fish, a kingfisher noisily flying around, and a great blue heron standing on the rocks.

The osprey flying over the water (All my zoomed in tries were super blurry.)

The kingfisher (also fairly blurry)

The heron

We had been following a path on the opposite side of the guardrail from the road but had to step over it to go around a fence at the end of the dam to reach a trail marked by a post.

The trail around Haag Lake is broken up by several road walks and parking lot crossings, but when it was trail it was often surrounded by nice forest. For example beyond the dam the trail spent just over a tenth of a mile in the forest before popping out on a road to a boat ramp and the Dam Overlook.

The trail resumed at another post (the signage was very good all the way around the lake as long you ignore all the unmarked side trails down to the lake shore.

For the next 1.2 miles the trail stayed in the forest before arriving at the Eagle Point Recreation Area.

One of the side trails heading down to the left to the lake.

The cloud cover was breaking already breaking up as we arrived at Eagle Point.

After passing by an alien snag we once again entered the forest.

The trail bowed out and around an arm of the lake. It took a little over two miles to hike around this arm.

In the middle of the stretch was a brief stint on Scoggins Valley Road where a sign for Cedar Grove marked an abandoned section of trail.

The current trail was a few hundred feet further along the road.

Scrub jay

This pattern was repeated four more times over the next 7 miles around arms at Tanner, Wall, Scoggins, and Sain Creeks. The scenery changed consistently with signs of former farmland amid the creeks and stretches of forest.

Spider in the forest.

Starting around the Tanner Creek arm.

An egret and a heron.

Apples

Deer across Scoggins Valley Road

Canada geese

Herons and geese at Wall Creek.

Road walk over Scoggins Creek.

Scoggins Creek

Coming up to the fishing pier and Recreation Area C.

Pacific University building.

Sain Creek Recreation Area

Sain Creek

After rounding the Sain Creek arm we entered the “dangerous” disc golf course.

One of the disc golf holes.

Poison oak

After passing a grassy hillside the trail entered the nicest section of forest of the day.

About a quarter mile from the Elks Picnic Area and our car we passed the Rainbow View parking area where we had one more good look at Henry Haag Lake before finishing with a road walk back to our car.

Geese and seagulls on an island.

Road walks are always hard on the feet so when we were finally done with what our GPS said was a 14 mile loop ours were really sore. The hard pavement hadn’t been the only hard surface as the trail was often also very hard. The clay that can be so slick and muddy when wet also gets very hard and packed when it’s dry. Despite the sore feet (and what seemed like unending uphill climbs, although it was only about 500′ of total elevation gain) it did turn out to be a great time for the hike. We didn’t run into anyone else using the trail all day. There were a number of folks fishing, boating and hanging out at the parking areas but that was it. With the numerous parking areas it would be easy to break this up into shorter hikes over several trips.

Happy Trails!

Tags Henry haag Lake, hiking, Oregon, Sain Creek, Scoggins Creek, Scoggins Valley park, Turner Creek, Wall Creek, Wildlife

High Cascades Hiking Mt. Jefferson Area Oregon Trip report

Monon Lake-Ruddy Hill Loop – 9/12/2019

Post author By derwoodynck
Post date September 15, 2019
4 Comments on Monon Lake-Ruddy Hill Loop – 9/12/2019

**Note the 2020 Lionshead Fire burned the area covered by this hike.**

A series of wet storms passed through Oregon just in time for an extended weekend of hiking. With a sunny forecast for Thursday we headed back up to the Olallie Lake Scenic Area to check off another one of Sullivan’s featured hikes (Monon Lake) and to revisit Ruddy Hill since our first time up this peak was viewless (post). With the addition of Ruddy Hill to the Monon Lake hike we used Matt Reeder’s “101 Hikes in the Majestic Mt. Jefferson Region” for additional inspiration and came up with our own hike mashup.

In addition to Monon Lake and the view from Ruddy Hill we also wanted to see Timber and Horseshoe Lakes for the first time. Our plan was to start our hike at Monon Lake and do a clockwise loop with side trips up Ruddy Hill and to Timber Lake. This meant driving past the Olallie Lake Resort on the infamous Skyline Road to the northern Monon Lake Trailhead. The road was passable in our Outback and the recent rains helped clearly identify the numerous potholes along the way.

There was a nearly immediate view across part of the lake to Olallie Butte which we had recently climbed (post).

The trail began to curve around the northern end of the lake passing through a section of forest before reaching some boardwalks and bridges in a meadow between Monon Lake and a smaller unnamed lake to the north.

Fading gentians

A few gentians still holding their blue color.

Olallie Butte and the unnamed lake.

There were plenty of views across Monon Lake as the trail entered a fire scar. More and more of Mt. Jefferson was revealed as we continued east.
The tip of Mt. Jefferson sticking up above the high point on the ridge.

More of the mountain (Ruddy Hill is the round butte to the right.)

Dusting of new snow on Mt. Jefferson

Duck on the lake.

A little more of Mt. Jefferson showing.

The trail climbed atop a small rocky hill above the lake which happened to be where a trial junction was hidden.
View from atop the rocks.

The Monon Lake Trail continues to the right around the lake while the Mon-Olallie Trail forked left for .3 miles to the Olallie Lake Trail. We completely missed the Monon Trail and the small rock cairn marking the junction.
The small rock cairn coming from the opposite direction on the Monon Lake Trail later in the day.

Having missed the junction where we had planned to go right we wound up on the Mon-Olallie Trail which passed Mangriff Lake on the left.

Just beyond Mangriff Lake was Nep-te-pa Lake on the right.

Nep-te-pa Lake

By the time we realized that we had missed our junction we were nearing Olallie Lake so we decided that we would just do our loop in the opposite direction of what we had planned. The Mon-Olallie Trail ended at an obvious and signed junction near Olallie Lake.

We turned right and after a nice view of the lake entered a stand of green trees.

Approximately .4 miles from the Mon-Olallie Trail junction we arrived at another junction with the Long Lake Trail at the border of the Warm Springs Reservation. Unlike the trail up Olallie Butte this trail was clearly marked as closed to the public.

We continued around Olallie Lake passing numerous spectacular views of Mt. Jefferson.
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Mergansers

Three quarters of a mile from the Long Lake Trail junction we came Paul Dennis Campground.

A brief road walk brought us to the Olallie Lake Resort where we followed a trail between the lake and some cabins.

The views of Mt. Jefferson from the resort were great and we stopped at the dock and the picnic area for photos.

We passed through the picnic area and popped onto Skyline Road where we turned left for three tenths of a mile to the Red Lake Trail.

We had come down this trail to visit Olallie Lake during our previous Ruddy Hill hike. That had been a 17.9 mile day so we had skipped the side trail to Timber Lake. After a .7 mile gradual climb past several small ponds we arrived at the junction with the Timber Lake Trail.

We turned down this trail and followed it .6 mostly level miles (there were two short but steep climbs over ridges) to Timber Lake.

We followed a path along the northern shore of the lake until we had a decent view of the top section of Mt. Jefferson.

After getting our view of the mountain we returned to the Red Lake Trail. We turned left and continued the gradual climb to the Pacific Crest Trail. In a little over a quarter mile we arrived at Top Lake.

At the NW end of the lake the Red Lake Trail forked right but we turned left passing a nice view of Olallie Butte.

This connector trail climbed steeply via a series of switchbacks to an unsigned junction with the Pacific Crest Trail near Cigar Lake where we turned left (south).
Rock cairn along the PCT marking the connector trail.

PCT lookout.

Golden-mantled ground squirrels at Cigar Lake.

The southern end of Cigar Lake is the location of the Double Peaks Trail. We had taken this trail twice hoping for nice views to no avail. (One was the 17.9mi hike including Ruddy Hill, the other was in 2013.) It would have likely been a great view now, but the .7 mile trail is frustratingly steep and we just didn’t feel like tackling it again. On the other hand the PCT remained fairly level over the next mile as it passed Upper Lake then a meadow with a view of Mt. Jefferson.

Double Peaks from Upper Lake

At the meadow the PCT turned left and began a brief climb up a butte. A third of a mile into the climb we passed the Many Lake Viewpoint. Here we had a nice view of Mt. Hood (and many lakes).

Company at the viewpoint.

We continued south from the viewpoint and were soon descending along a forested hillside when we heard an elk bugle. We guessed that it was a bow hunter but hoped it was an actual elk. Our guess was right though and we stopped to briefly talk to the hunter before continuing on.
Approximate location when we heard the “elk” bugle.

Just over a mile from the Many Lakes Viewpoint we arrived at the Ruddy Hill Trail where we turned right leaving the PCT.

The nearly half mile trail was quite a bit steeper than we’d remembered but we soon found ourselves on the red topped summit looking at the view of Mt. Jefferson that we had missed on our previous visit.

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Although there was no view north, the view to the west was good with the peaks of the Bull of the Woods Wilderness.
Flat topped Battle Ax Mountain to the left to the fire scarred summit of Schreiner Peak to the right.

Battle Ax (post)

Bull of the Woods (post)

After resting at the summit we headed back down the PCT and continued south another .2 miles where we turned left on the “Rondy Trail”.

This trail descended a drainage before leveling out and arriving at Horseshoe Lake in three quarters of a mile. There was a nice variety of mushrooms along the way.

We followed the trail along the lake shore to the Horseshoe Lake Campground located right on Skyline Road.

For second time on this hike we went the wrong way and turned right on Skyline Road thinking it was an entrance road to the campground. We had only gone a tenth of a mile before realizing our mistake and turning around. We followed Skyline Road north for a mile. We were eager to get a firsthand look at what many consider one of the worst trailhead roads in NW Oregon. It was certainly a bad looking road but the section we hiked wasn’t quite as bad as some we’d seen in eastern and southeastern Oregon. It may well be worse beyond Horseshoe Lake though.

When we arrived at the southern end of Monon Lake we were just .3 miles from our car, but we turned onto the Monon Lake Trail to finish that trail. The views of Olallie Butte from this end of the lake were spectacular.

More boardwalks were present as we passed through the forest along this end of the lake.

We soon found ourselves back in the fire scar which just provided more views of the lake and Olallie Butte.

A little over a mile from the road the trail began to curve around to the west where we once again had views of Mt. Jefferson across the lake.

One and a quarter miles from the road we were back on top the rocks above the lake and heading for the junction we’d missed that morning.

We then followed our route from the morning back to our car. We had hopped that the Sun would have coaxed some of the gentians to open, but it appeared to be too late in their life cycle for that to happen.

Our loop with side trips came in at 13.6 miles with approximately 1500′ of elevation gain. It was a beautiful day and so nice to have been able to get that view from Ruddy Hill. Happy Trails!

Flickr: Monon Lake- Ruddy Hill Loop

Hiking McKenzie River Old Cascades Oregon Trip report

Olallie and Lowder Mountains – 09/01/2019

Post author By derwoodynck
Post date September 6, 2019
No Comments on Olallie and Lowder Mountains – 09/01/2019

For our final outing of Labor Day Weekend we set our sights on a pair of peaks in the Three Sisters Wilderness. Both the Lowder Mountain Upper Trailhead and Pat’s Saddle Trailhead (for Olallie Mountain) are located just 2 miles apart along Forest Road 1993. These were two more featured hikes from Sullivan’s 4th edition Central Cascades guidebook that we had yet to do. (Olallie Mountain was removed from the featured hikes in the 5th edition due to a 2017 fire that burned much of the route.) On their own the hike to driving time ratios didn’t pan out, but doing them both on the same day would, and as it turns out FR 1993 was in excellent shape allowing for a driving time closer to 2 1/2 hours versus the nearly 3 hours that Google predicted.

We drove south to Eugene and took Highway 126 four miles east of Blue River where we turned right on FR 19 to Cougar Dam. After turning left on FR 1993 and crossing the dam we followed the road 11.2 miles to the Pat’s Saddle Trailhead.
We chose to start with Olallie Mountain for a couple of reasons, first we thought that the lack of tree cover due to the fire might make this a warmer hike later in the day and second it was the longer of the two hikes. There are a couple of trails that leave from this trailhead. The French Pete Creek Trail is the first trail on the right. The upper section of this trail is not maintained (according the Forest Service webpage) and the forest around the lower section was impacted by fires in both 2017 and 2018. We hiked the first 5 miles of the trail from the lower trailhead prior to the fires in 2015 (post)

The trail we were taking on this trip was the second one on the right, the Olallie Trail.

This trail promptly enters the Three Sisters Wilderness amid old growth that escaped the fire.

The signs of the fire could be seen after about a third of a mile.

At the half mile mark we arrived at a small stream flowing from Wolverine Lake which was about a quarter mile uphill on our right. The forest on the right hand side of the trail had burned pretty good while the left hand side had fared much better. There was already plenty of green vegetation growing amid the snags on the hillside though.

20190901_073350 Cone flower

Sullivan had mentioned visiting Wolverine Lake by heading uphill cross country after crossing over the stream but the vegetation here looked pretty thick so we waited until we had climbed a bit beyond the stream and angled back toward the lake.
Cross country to Wolverine Lake.

There were a fair number of trees down from the fire so it wasn’t too difficult to reach the lake, but it was tricky trying to get a good look at it due to the brushy shore.

It looked like there might have been a better vantage point around the lake to our right, but it wasn’t worth fighting through the brush and fallen trees to try and reach it so we settled for the view we had and headed back to the Olallie Trail. From above, the route down along the creek looked much more appealing and we wound up taking a track much closer to what Sullivan had shown on his map to arrive back on trail. Once we were back on trail we turned right and passed through a patch of thimbleberry bushes encroaching on the trail.

We emerged from the thimbleberries and rounded a ridge end where the forest became a bit more open and many of the trees had survived the fire.

A sooty grouse caught our attention as it crossed the trail ahead of us.

The trail climbed gradually along the hillside and we marveled at the varying effects of the fire and how the forest was in different stages of recovery already.

Baneberry

Monkshood

There were also some views that might not have been there if some of the trees hadn’t burned.

South Sister

Middle and North Sister

Mt. Washington

Mt. Jefferson and Three Fingered Jack

The line of clouds obstructing the view of the mountains wasn’t exactly a welcome sight, but we could at least see some of them and it was early so maybe they would eventually burn off.

A little over 2 miles from the trailhead we arrived at a junction in a grassy saddle.

The Olallie Trail continued straight passing an old guard station site at Olallie Meadows in .9 miles then continuing deeper (and fainter) into the Three Sisters Wilderness eventually ending at Horse Lake (post). We turned right though, onto the Olallie Mountain Trail.

This trail began with a reasonably gradual climb past a series of meadows where a few late blooming flowers remained.

Aster and pearly everlasting

Columbine

The trail briefly leveled out on top of ridge where the fire had burned intensely in some areas while sparing trees in others.

After the brief respite from climbing the trail steepened below the summit of Olallie Mountain and began to wrap up and around its rocky western face.

The tread along the steep hillside here was a little sketchy in part due to the fire but we made our way up to the summit. The remains of the Olallie Mountain lookout tower still stand on the summit having been covered by firefighters to protect it from the blaze.

The three hundred and sixty degree view was impressive and would have been more so if not for the presence of clouds to the north and in front of many of the cascade peaks. On top of that our early ascent left the Sun in a less than ideal overhead position for lighting.
IMG_8306_stitch Parts of the Cascades from Mt. Jefferson to the NE to Mt. Bachelor to the SE.

Mt. Jefferson was still tangled up in the clouds.

Just a peak at Mt. Washington (which was more than we could see of Three Fingered Jack)

Middle and North Sister behind The Husband

South Sister

Broken Top

Things were a little less cloudy to the south where Cowhorn Mountain (post) and Mt. Thielsen (post) seemed to be cloud free while Diamond Peak wasn’t so lucky.

Cowhorn Mountain and Mt. Thielsen

Diamond Peak

We were able to identify the cliffs of flat topped Lowder Mountain, our next stop, to the NW.
Lowder Mountain to the left of the tree in the foreground.

Lowder Mountain

After watching the clouds pass by (but not leave) for awhile we headed back down. We had passed a single backpacker on the way up and on the way down we encountered a trio of hikers making their way up. When we got back to the stream below Wolverine Lake we spotted a frog (no wolverines though).

We completed our 8 mile hike here and drove back the two miles to the Lowder Mountain Upper Trailhead and parked at a pullout near the trailhead signboard. The signboard announced three trails: the Quaking Aspen, Lowder Mountain, and Walker Creek Trails.

We weren’t paying close attention as we set off on a trail heading for a wilderness to the left of the signboard.

Our first clue that we were on the wrong trail should have been the location of the trail signs on the signboard but away we went following the Quaking Aspen Trail downhill parallel to FR 1993. We had a feeling something might be off but a quick glance at the GPS showed that we were almost to some switchbacks which matched up with Sullivan’s map but we were surprised that they were headed downhill and not up (the one complaint we have about Sullivan’s maps are that they are not topographic so we can’t always tell when a trail is climbing or dropping). We were zoomed in too far to see the other trail behind us that switchbacked uphill. Just after turning on the first of the switchbacks Heather figured it out and got us turned in the right direction but not until we’d covered a third of a mile.

We hiked back uphill to the trailhead and looked at the signboard and area more closely. Sure enough there was another trail and wilderness to the right of the signboard (the side listing the Lowder Mountain and Walker Creek Trails).

We now set off on the Lowder Trail and began switchbacking uphill through an old growth forest.

After a quarter mile of serious climbing the trail leveled out a bit (and straightened out) as it traversed along a hillside. We soon got a quick glimpse of Olallie Mountain across the valley.

For the next 1 3/4 miles the trail alternated between meadows and forest before arriving at a junction in one of the meadows.

Skipper

This reminded us of a torture device.

This meadow had a lot of buckwheat.

Olallie Mountain again.

The lookout tower on Olallie Mountain

Diamond Peak had shed its cloud cover momentarily.

Diamond Peak

Pollinators got to pollinate.

This junction marked the start of the Walker Creek Trail which climbed up through the meadow to the right. This was actually the trail to take in order to reach the viewpoint atop Lowder Mountain.

The Lowder Mountain Trail continued on straight but beyond the junction is no longer maintained due to “lack of use”.

A series of 12 switchbacks led steeply up through the meadow and forest to a large meadow atop Lowder Mountain.
The trail heading up through some thimbleberry.

Butterfly

Another skipper

This guy was the size of my pinky.

A few scarlet gilia still in bloom.

Pearly everlasting at the edge of the large meadow.

We followed a well worn path across the broad summit to the edge of the large meadow where it turned right passing along the tree line.

Like the Lowder Mountain Trail the Walker Creek Trail is no longer maintained beyond the meadow. The clear path along the impressively large meadow is a user trail to the viewpoint above Karl and Ruth Lakes.

Karl & Ruth Lakes

The clouds were still a bit of an issue but it was now late enough in the day for the lighting to be much better.
Mt. Jefferson and Three Fingered Jack with Horsepasture Mountain (post) in the foreground.

Mt. Washington

North and Middle Sister

South Sister and Broken Top

We made our way south along the cliffs to reach a view of Mt. Bachelor.

Mt. Bachelor

In addition to the great views there was an interesting little rock feature that looked a lot like a head of some kind.

We took a good break here before heading back. On the return trip we discovered that we had actually spent a decent amount of time losing elevation traversing along the hillside on the way to the Walker Creek Trail junction. It had been so gradual that we hadn’t noticed but it was evident that we were going uphill a lot more than we’d expected once we were back on the Lowder Mountain Trail. There were quite a few butterflies out searching for the remaining flowers which gave us something to focus on (in addition to eating quite a few ripe thimbleberries).
Butterfly with a small crab spider on the next flower head to the right.

Between taking the wrong trail from the trailhead and wandering around at the viewpoint we managed to turn a 5.6 mile hike into 6.8 miles making our total for the day 14.8 miles. The elevation gains were roughly 1400′ for Olallie Mountain and 900′ for Lowder Mountain. The views were great from both peaks and we were already talking about a return trip earlier in the Summer to see what all the meadows might look like earlier in the year. Happy Trails!

Flickr: Olallie and Lowder Mountains

Tags Butterfly, hiking, Horsepasture Mountain, Karl and Ruth Lakes, Lowder Mountain, Lowder Mountain Trail, Lowder Mountain Upper Trailhead, Olallie Mountain, Olallie Mountain Lookout, Oregon, Pat's Saddle Trailhead, Quaking Aspen Trail, Thimbleberry, Three Sisters Wilderness, Walker Creek Trail, Wolverine Lake

High Cascades Hiking Oregon Trip report Waldo Lake Area

Lillian Falls and Joe Goddard’s Old Growth Trail – 8/31/2019

Post author By derwoodynck
Post date September 5, 2019
1 Comment on Lillian Falls and Joe Goddard’s Old Growth Trail – 8/31/2019

**Note a portions of these hikes burned in the 2022 Cedar Creek Fire.**

As we continue to move closer to our goal of completing all of the featured hikes in William L. Sullivan’s 100 Hikes series of guidebooks (post) we have begun narrowing down the specific editions to base our progress off of. (For various reasons the featured hikes are a little different with each edition.) For the central cascades region we have decided to focus on the 4th edition from 2012. A few of the remaining featured hikes from that book are not part of the 100 hikes in the 5th edition as was the case with Lillian Falls.

It’s not always evident why Sullivan removes a hike from featured status and moves it to the back of his book (or removes it all together), but we thought it might have something to do with what he describes as “dangerous” potholes on the road to the trailhead. I checked with the Middle Fork Ranger District on the status of the road and the ranger there indicated that the road was fine for a high clearance vehicle but needed to be driven carefully. That sounded reasonable enough to us so we headed for the Black Creek Trailhead for the second hike of our long Labor Day Weekend.

We had planned on stopping at the short Joe Goodards Grove Trail first as it is located 1.6 miles before the Black Creek Trailhead on FR 2421 but we missed the unsigned turn (we saw the road but didn’t realize it was the one we wanted) and by the time we realized it we decided it was just going to be easier to do the longer hike first then end the day with the nature trail. We parked at the end of FR 2421 and took the unsigned Black Creek Trail into a second growth forest.

Less than a quarter mile from the trailhead we arrived at a signboard where we filled out a wilderness permit.

Just beyond the signboard we crossed a small stream and entered the Waldo Lake Wilderness
Looking back at the stream.

A few old footbridges remained as we passed through old growth above Black Creek.

20190831_074449 Not many flowers left but this one reminded us of fireworks.

The trail climbed gradually for just over a mile to a switchback along Nettie Creek where we could hear the roar of Lillian Falls just upstream.
Nettie Creek at the switchback.

We honestly weren’t expecting much from the falls which was described as a 150′ series of cascades. The drops visible from the switchback were nice enough and about what we had expected to see.

Working our way up alongside the cascades though revealed a much more impressive sight than we were prepared for.

20190831_081149_HDR

Lillian Falls was a worthy goal on its own, but at just over 2.5 miles round trip it was too short of a hike to justify the nearly 5 1/2 hours of driving to get to the trailhead and back so after thoroughly enjoying the falls we continued up the Black Creek Trail.

The trail veered away from Black Creek as it began a relatively steep climb up a a ridge along Nettie Creek. We leveled out a bit .7 miles from Lillian Falls passing through a section of forest with rhododendrons.

We crossed Nettie Creek on stones .4 miles later.

The trail continued its fairly level grade as it passed through more forest before arriving at a rocky hillside where it turned north and began to climb again.

The open hillside provided a view west and to a lesser extant south to Fuji Mountain (post).
SW view

Looking south

Fuji Mountain

Just before reentering the forest there was a short section of narrow tread where the hillside appeared to be slide prone.

There had been a dry creek bed below the trail but as we reached the trees we began to hear running water, faintly at first, but then suddenly there was a full creek in front of us flowing through the forest.
Klovdahl Creek

After briefly leaving the creek to pass around a small hill the trail crossed Klovdahl Creek.

A fairly steep quarter mile climb followed as the trail gained 275′ via a series of switchbacks. The trail then leveled out a bit again. Instead of rhododendron this section was full of huckleberry bushes and a sooty grouse.
Grouse on the Black Creek Trail.

Huckleberry bushes along the trail.

We kept waiting to reach a purported downhill to Waldo Lake which finally arrived about a hundred yards before arriving at a junction with the Jim Weaver Trail which loops around the lake.
Heading down to the Waldo Lake Trail (Jim Weaver Trail)

Across the lake we could see the distinct summit of Maiden Peak (post).

To the right along the shore of Klovdahl Bay the remains of an attempted diversion tunnel for hydroelectric power and irrigation.

We considered hiking the half mile to visit see the tunnel up close but opted instead to turn left and head north along the lake to visit Green Lake. Green Lake is part of a 5th edition featured hike that also includes Elbow Lake. We had visited Elbow Lake in 2013 as part of our Waldo Mountain hike. (post)

The trail climbed a bit in this direction as it veered away from Waldo Lake to pass several much smaller, unnamed lakes.

First lake on the left.

Second lake on the left.

A third lake on the left that was set back in the trees.

First lake on the right.

Ducks at the lake on the right.

Dry pond on the right.

After 1.9 miles on the Waldo Lake Trail we came to a junction with the Koch Mountain Trail where we turned right at a pointer for Green and Waldo Lakes.
Wide trail junction.

We passed by Green Lake opting to visit the shore of Waldo Lake first and followed this trail downhill a third of a mile to it’s end at the lake.
Dry creek bed along the way.

We sat on the rocky shoreline here for a bit enjoying the view of Broken Top and Mt. Bachelor.

Across the lake to the east were The Twins, a peak that we hope to hike later this year.

After the break we headed back up to the Waldo Lake Trail but first detoured to visit Green Lake which was a few hundred feet off the main trail to the north.
It was a nice little lake, enough so that it warranted a second short break.

It was close to 11am when we left Green Lake and headed back along the Waldo Lake Trail. There was a marked increase in traffic on the trail now, but after turning onto the Black Creek Trail again we didn’t see another person, but we did get a chance to watch a pileated woodpecker for a bit.

We stopped again at Lillian Falls which was now receiving more light.

20190831_130930

We then returned to our car and drove back along FR 2421 the 1.6 miles to the unsigned road (now on the left). We parked at its end after a tenth of a mile and took an unsigned path to a nice footbridge over Black Creek.
Unsigned start of the nature trail.

Black Creek

Once across the creek the trail passes briefly through a former clearcut before arriving at a sign announcing the Joe Goddard’s Nature Trail.

Just beyond the sign the trail split marking the start of the loop.

We went left here but in hindsight it might have been a little better to go right based on the direction the signs along the trail were facing. In any case after taking the left fork we quickly came to another fork where a footbridge crossed Louisie Creek near a picnic table.

We crossed the bridge and followed a path past an impressive old growth cedar.

The path appeared to end back at Black Creek although there were some faint trails in the area. This was a bit confusing because the trail that was shown on our Garmin maps appeared to be in this same area, but we knew that the location of trails on maps isn’t always correct so we crossed back over Louise Creek and continued on the clearer trail which crossed a dry creek bed.

The creek bed was followed by a large old growth Douglas Fir that a sign put at 217′ tall and over 118 inches in diameter.

Even though our GPS track was not matching up at all with the trail shown on the device the signage along the route we were following told us we were on the right path. We continued on the loop and came to a log that had been cut for the trail and subsequently marked with Joe Goddard’s birthday and the year “1776”. A little online research revealed that this tree dated back to the year 1340.

It was an interesting little loop (.5 miles total from the parking area) and well worth the stop.
Another picnic table.

Another big Doug fir.

We ended the day having covered 13 miles, 12.5 for Lillian Falls and Waldo Lake and the half mile at Joe Goddard’s Grove. We were a bit surprised that the only people we saw were along Waldo Lake given how nice the falls were, but perhaps their out of the way location and potholed road keeps them a bit less visited. The only negative on the day was Heather getting stung by a yellow jacket at Lillian Falls. Those things are just mean. Happy Trails!

Flickr: Lillian Falls and Joe Goddard’s Nature Trail

Tags Black Creek Trail, Black Creek Trailhead, Green Lake, hiking, Jim Weaver Trail, Joe Goddard's Grove, Joe Goddard's Nature Trail, Klovdahl Bay, Klovdahl Creek, Lillian falls, Nettie Creek, old growth, Oregon, Waldo Lake, Waldo Lake Trail, waldo lake wilderness

High Cascades Hiking Mt. Jefferson Area Oregon Trip report

Olallie Butte – 8/30/2019

Post author By derwoodynck
Post date September 2, 2019
11 Comments on Olallie Butte – 8/30/2019

**Note the 2020 Lionshead Fire burned the area covered by this hike.**

At the beginning of the year we had requested the Friday before Labor Day Weekend off in hopes of backpacking around Diamond Peak (With a side trip up to the summit) but with our backpacking plans on hold while we care for our elderly cats we switched our plans to day hikes instead. For our first hike we chose Olallie Butte.

Before getting into the trip report we wanted to point out that this hike is in part located on the Warm Springs Reservation. It wasn’t entirely clear whether or not non-tribal members are allowed on the trail. We did some research before heading out and discovered that this uncertainty has existed for some time. We decided to go ahead and start the hike but were prepared to turn around if there were any signs posted letting us know that the trail was off-limits. There were several other nearby hikes that are still on our to do list so we had plenty of alternate options if that did happen.

The hike starts at a nondescript pullout under some power lines. We were a little apprehensive upon arriving at the trailhead, not because we were worried the trail would be closed, but rather due to the clouds that were overhead. The forecast had called for sunny skies on the butte so we hoped that either the clouds would be burning off or we would be climbing above them. We had tried for a similar view two other times by climbing nearby Double Peaks (post) and Ruddy Hill (post), but had been foiled by clouds on both of the trips.

The actual trail was marked by some pink flagging off a dirt road across from the parking area.

After just a tenth of a mile we arrived at the Pacific Crest Trail where there was what appeared to be a newer sign for the Olallie Butte Trail.

Trail sign with the PCT heading north behind it.

We crossed the PCT and headed uphill through the forest which was very typical for the Olallie Lake Scenic Area.

After approximately a mile and a half of gradual climbing we came to a sign announcing the start of the Warm Springs Reservation.

There were no signs of restricted access so we continued on making sure that we remained on the trail and respected the area.

We did indeed emerge from the clouds not long after entering the reservation which allowed for occasional views of nearby Sisi Butte and Mt. Hood.
Sisi Butte

Lookout tower on Sisi Butte

Mt. Hood

It was too late in the year for most of the flowers but there was a little color left on a few of them.

Just beyond the three mile mark the trail leaves the forest and traverses a cinder slope beneath the summit.

The view south to Mt. Hood is unobstructed here.

Shortly before starting a series of swtichbacks we got our first look at Mt. Jefferson through some trees.

The view of Mt. Jefferson improved as we climbed and soon Olallie and Monon Lakes joined the scenery along with several more Cascade peaks further to the south.

Olallie Lake

IMG_7770_stitch Monon Lake just beyond Olallie Lake (Timber Lake is the smaller lake in the trees to the west.

Broken Top and The Three Sisters

There were also some familiar features from earlier this year.
Dinah-mo Peak and Bear Point (post)

Bear Point

After completing the switchbacks the trail arrived at a saddle atop the broad summit of Olallie Butte. To the north were the remains of a former lookout tower while a close up view of Mt. Jefferson awaited to the south.
Lookout tower remains

We started by visiting the southern end of the summit to get that close up view of Mt. Jefferson and the many lakes between that mountain and the butte.
IMG_7792_stitch Starting from the left – Trout Lake with Boulder Lake beyond, Island Lake, Dark Lake, Long Lake. The three smaller lakes are Lake Mary (closest), Lake Marie (middle), and Lake Alice (furthest). Lake Hazel is the small lake up and to the right of those three. All of these lakes are part of the Warm Springs Reservation and off-limits unless a permit to visit has been obtained.

Monon, Olallie, and Timber Lakes in the Mt. Hood National Forest to the west.

Mt. Jefferson

An interesting feature on this end of the butte is a natural rock arch.

We eventually pulled ourselves away from this view to head over to the former lookout.

We found a pair of Clark’s nutcrackers enjoying breakfast.

The clouds were receding to the north which revealed Mt. Adams behind the right shoulder of Mt. Hood and further to the west we could just make out Mt. St. Helens above the clouds.

Mt. St. Helens as a dark spot on the horizon.

Mt. Adams beyond Mt. Hood

Mt. Jefferson from the lookout site.

There were more rock fins on the NE side of the butte but no rock arches.

We visited the south end of the summit once more before heading back down the trail. The view was a little different on the return trip as the clouds had departed creating several additional views of Mt. Hood along the lower portions.

We had planned to pack out any litter we found on the reservation as one of the things that could easily lead to the explicit closure of the trail would be damage to the area but we didn’t see any other than the remains of the old lookout while on the reservation. On the other hand closer to the trailhead we removed a shoe sole, a couple of crushed cans, and a pile of apparently discarded clothing and a tent fly.

Other than the trash this was a spectacular hike. The views were great and we didn’t see any other hikers. For us this was roughly an 8 mile hike gaining 2700′ of elevation. Despite that number the climb was never particularly steep making it feel a little easier than might be expected. Happy Trails!

Flickr: Olallie Butte

Tags hiking, Mt. Jefferson, Olallie Butte, Olallie Butte Trail, Olallie Lake, Olallie Lake scenic area, Oregon

High Cascades Hiking Mt. Jefferson Area Oregon Trip report

Bingham Ridge (Mt. Jefferson Wilderness) – 8/24/2019

Post author By derwoodynck
Post date August 26, 2019
2 Comments on Bingham Ridge (Mt. Jefferson Wilderness) – 8/24/2019

**Note the 2024 Bingham Fire burned a portion of this hike.**

After a week back at work it was time to hit the trails again. We once again turned to Matt Reeder’s “101 Hikes in the Majestic Mount Jefferson Region” for inspiration choosing the Bingham Ridge Trail as our destination.

The Bingham Ridge Trailhead is located 5 miles up Forest Road 2253 aka Minto Road. That road is just 17 miles east of Detroit, OR and was in great shape except for some water damage in the first quarter of a mile. Beyond that short stretch it was a good gravel road all the way to the parking area just before the road was gated.

The trail began opposite the little parking area where we had parked along side two other vehicles.

The trail climbed through a green forest along the dry bed of Willis Creek before briefly passing through the edge of a clear-cut.

Huckleberry bushes and beargrass in the clear-cut.

20190824_065018 Sleeping bees on some thistle.

The trail soon reentered the trees and then passed into the Mt. Jefferson Wilderness.

The bees on the thistle may have been asleep but a western toad was out and about.

After entering the wilderness the trail continued to climb very gradually as it passed through alternating sections of green trees and forest scarred by the 2006 Puzzle Creek Fire.

Mt. Jefferson through the burned trees.

Back in the green.

Three Fingered Jack through the burned trees.

Aster

Pearly everlasting

Fireweed

The longest stretch through burned forest occurred as the trail passed to the right of a rocky rise along the ridge.
Three Fingered Jack

The rock covered rise.

South Cinder Peak (post) to the left and Three Fingered Jack to the right.

Still passing the rocks.

We heard a couple of “meeps” from pikas in the rocks but we only managed to spot a golden-mantled ground squirrel.

As the trail passed around the rocky rise we reentered green forest and quickly came to the end of the Bingham Ridge Trail at a junction with the Lake of the Woods Trail 3.7 miles from the trailhead.

The Lake of the Woods Trail runs north-south between the Pamelia Limited Entry Area and Marion Lake (post). We turned left (north) onto this trail which promptly crossed over the ridge at a low saddle and began to traverse a forested hillside.
The low saddle.

The trail wound around the basin arriving at a ridge end viewpoint where we had hoped to get a view of Mt. Jefferson but soon realized that we hadn’t come far enough around yet and we were looking west not north.
Coffin and Bachelor Mountains (post).

We continued along the hillside finally coming far enough around to get a look at Mt. Jefferson.

Just a little further along we arrived at Reeder’s turn around point for the 8.8 mile hike described in his book. A cinder viewpoint of Mt. Jefferson across the Bingham Basin.

There was a strange group of clouds hanging out on the top of the mountain. We could see them moving in what appeared to be a SE direction but despite seeing the movement it never really appeared that they were going anywhere.

As we stood at this rocky viewpoint we could hear more pikas and then Heather spotted one sitting on top of some rocks, maybe enjoying the same view we were.

Even though Reeder calls this viewpoint “the most logical stopping point for dayhikers” he does provide information for those wishing to continue. Since logic sometimes goes out the window with regards to hiking we continued on. The trail dropped just a bit to a fairly level bench where it passed through a couple of meadows before arriving at an unnamed lake with a view of Mt. Jefferson on the left.

Spirea with a beetle.

Unnamed lake with Mt. Jefferson (and those pesky clouds).

From the opposite side of the lake.

A half mile later (or just under 2 miles from the Bingham Ridge Trail junction) we arrived a Papoose Lake.

The mountain was mostly hidden by trees from this lake but there were several frogs to watch and a short scramble up a rockpile on the east side of the lake did provide another look at Mt. Jefferson.
20190824_092141

It was actually a really impressive amount of boulders here and although we didn’t spot any, we could hear a number of resident pikas.
Looking south over the rock field.

Turning back here would have put the hike in the 11.5 mile range, but we had our sights set on a further goal – the Pacific Crest Trail. Beyond Papoose Lake the Lake of the Woods Trail passed several seasonal ponds which were now meadows where we had to watch out for tiny frogs.

One of the frogs.

Frog in the trail.

Just under three quarters of a mile from Papoose Lake (6.3ish from the trailhead) we arrived at the northern end of the Lake of the Woods Trail where it met the Hunts Creek Trail (post).

A left on this trail would lead us into the Pamelia Limited Entry Area for which we did not have a permit, but to the right the trail remained out of the limited area as it headed to the Pacific Crest Trail.

In his book Reeder describes this section of trail as “spectacular” which is what prompted us to abandon logic in the first place. We turned right and continued the theme of gradual climbs as the trail passed a hillside dotted with a few asters.

After little over a quarter of a mile we found ourselves beneath a large talus slope (by the sound of it filled with a pika army).

Here we embarked on possibly the most significant climb of the day as the trail switchbacked up through the rocks to a saddle.
Apparently the trail was rerouted at some point because we could see tread that we never used.

The Three Pyramids beyond Bingham Ridge.

As we neared the saddle we spotted what must have been the pika lookout.

There was more talus on the opposite side of the saddle, and more pikas too!

We spotted at least 4 pikas (it’s hard to keep track when they are running in and out of the rocks) and heard many more. The only thing that could tear us away from our favorite wildlife critters was the view of Mt. Jefferson looming over Hunts Cove.
(the clouds had finally vanished)

Continuing away from the saddle just a bit provided an excellent view of the mountain and Hanks Lake with a bit of Hunts Lake visible as well.
IMG_7648_stitch

Hanks Lake

Hunts Lake

Rock fin above Hunts Cove.

Reeder hadn’t exaggerated by using spectacular to describe this section of trail. The views of Mt. Jefferson were amazing and a variety of wildflowers (past peak) lined the trail.
Penstemon and a western pasque flower.

Western pasque flower seed heads.

20190824_101714 Hippie-on-a-stick

Paintbrush and lupine

20190824_102625 Patridge foot

Mt. Jefferson, Goat Peak (behind the tree) and the Cathedral Rocks.

As the trail crossed a cinder field glimpses to the south between trees reveled the Three Sisters (among others).

South Cinder Peak

The Three Sisters

Three Fingered Jack

The trail briefly lost sight of Mt. Jefferson as it passed around a butte, losing a little elevation as it did so.

Paintbrush in a meadow behind the butte.

Although the view of Mt. Jefferson was temporarily gone the view was still good. There was a large basin full of meadows just below the trail and occasional views of South Cinder Peak and Three Fingered Jack.
South Cinder Peak

Three Fingered Jack

The trail gained a little of the elevation back as it came around the butte regaining a view of Mt. Jefferson in the process.

After passing another sign for the Pamelia Limited Entry Area at a now abandoned (but still used) portion of the Hunts Creek Trail we arrived at the Pacific Crest Trail.

IMG_7620_stitch

We sat on some rocks here and rested. We were now at least 8 miles (that is the mileage Reeder assigns but with some extra exploring we’d done a bit more) from the Bingham Ridge Trailhead and needed a good break. Up until this point we’d only run into one other person, a bow hunter along the Bingham Ridge Trail. As we rested in the shade a pair of backpackers heading south on the PCT stopped briefly to talk. After they continued on we did little bit of exploring in the immediate area since there were a few flowers about and at least one tree frog.
Mostly past lupine

20190824_110312 Paintbrush

20190824_110411

We returned the way we’d come enjoying the views just as much on the way back as we had the first time by. We didn’t see anyone else the rest of the day and we didn’t see anymore pikas, but as always there were a few things we spotted on the way back that we hadn’t seen or noticed earlier.
Butterfly on an aster.

Never seen one of these looks so clean and smooth, it almost looked fake.

We don’t know if this was just a stunted wallflower or something we’d never seen before.

We ended the day nearly out of water (luckily for us the temperatures stayed below 70 so it wasn’t too warm) and with some sore feet. Our GPS devices both showed us having traveled nearly 17 miles which was further than we’d planned but all the little side trips and exploring can really add up. Depsite the distance this was a great hike with varied scenery, good wildlife, and a reasonable elevation gain made better by the trails having such gradual grades. Of course any trail where we see multiple pikas is going to be aces in our minds. Happy Trails!

Flickr: Bingham Ridge

Tags Bingham Basin, Bingham Ridge Trail, Bingham Ridge Trailhead, Cathedral Rocks, Frog, Hanks Lake, hiking, Hunts Cove, Hunts Creek Trail, Hunts Lake, Lake of th Woods Trail, Matt Reeder, Mt. Jefferson, Mt. Jefferson Wilderness, Oregon, Pacific Crest Trail, Papoose Lake, Pika, Western Toad

High Cascades Hiking Mt. Hood Area Oregon Trip report

Cloud Cap to Elk Cove – 8/17/2019

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Mt. Hood

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

Penstemon

Monkeyflower

Jacob’s ladder

Western Pasque flower

A second stream followed shortly after.

20190817_082231 Paintbrush

20190817_082250 Lupine with a beetle.

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

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

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

Just over a mile from the Eliot crossing we arrived at the first of Compass Creeks three branches.
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Compass Creek is fed by the Langille Glacier and each branch sports a waterfall above the Timberline Trail.

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

Mt. Adams from Compass Creek.

Wildflowers along Compass Creek.

Monkeyflower and paintbrush

Hummingbird near Compass Creek.

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

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

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

Lupine, paintbrush and monkeyflower.

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

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

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

Waterfall on Compass Creek below the Timberline Trail.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Coe Glacier

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

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

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

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

Flickr: Cloud Cap to Elk Cove

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

Bull of the Woods/Opal Creek Hiking Old Cascades Oregon Trip report

Bull of the Woods Lookout & Pansy Lake – 8/16/2019

Post author By derwoodynck
Post date August 20, 2019
6 Comments on Bull of the Woods Lookout & Pansy Lake – 8/16/2019

**Note a portion of this hike burned in the 2021 Bull Complex.**

For the 5th hike of our vacation we finally got around to one of Sullivan’s featured hikes that we hadn’t done yet, Pansy Lake. Pansy Lake is located in the Bull of the Woods Wilderness in a basin below the Bull of the Woods Lookout. In his guidebook Sullivan has you start the hike from the Pansy Lake Trailhead which is just over a mile from the lake. He gives two options, a 2.4 mile out-and-back to Pansy Lake or a 7.1 mile loop past the lake up to the lookout and then back down passing Dickey Lake along the way. Either of these options would have caused us to break our self-imposed rule against driving for more time than we spend hiking due to the driving time to the Pansy Lake Trailhead being roughly 2:45 for us. Fortunately Sullivan also mentions the option of starting at the Bull of the Woods Trailhead for an easier hike to the lookout. The Bull of the Woods Trailhead was about a 15 minute closer drive and it added almost 3 miles to the round trip which provided an acceptable drive/hike ratio.

With our plan in place we set off on the drive which proved to be a bit of an anomaly. The trailhead is located at the end of Forest Road 6340. Where the road was good it was an excellent gravel road but there were a couple of ugly obstacles along the way. The first was a slide that covered the road, half of which was impassable while the spot that could be driven over required a very slow, bumpy crossing (high clearance is probably necessary until it gets cleaned up). This was prior to a fork where the right hand fork (FR 6341) continued to the Pansy Lake Trailhead. After this fork sections of FR 6340 were deeply rutted by channels created by runoff again requiring careful placement of tires. We arrived at the trailhead no worse for wear though and set off on the signed trail.

The first few hundred yards were a little brushy but soon the vegetation gave way to a huckleberry filled forest.

There were ripe berries everywhere and they were big juicy berries too. In fact for most of the day there were ripe berries available and we ate quite a few. We weren’t the only ones feasting on berries though as we counted no less than 13 piles of berry filled bear scat along the trails.

Although we kept our eyes open for a bear all we ran into on the trail was a rough skinned newt.

The Bull of the Woods Trail climbed gradually as it passed below North and South Dickey Peaks.

A little over 2.25 miles from the trailhead we arrived at a junction with the Dickey Lake Trail. We would be coming back up that trail later after visiting Pansy and Dickey Lakes.

As the trail continued to climb we were treated to a couple of different views. First was to the west across the Pansy Lake Basin.

A little further along, when the trail crested the ridge, we got a look a Mt. Hood which was rising above some clouds.

The trail left the ridge for a bit and then regained it where the view also included Mt. Jefferson to the SE.
Mt. Hood

Mt. Jefferson

The trail then followed a narrow rocky ridge passing below the lookout and coming up to it from the other side, 3.5 miles from the trailhead.

A lizard scurried into the rocks beneath the lookout as we approached. Aside from a bit of morning haze the view was great. The clouds to the north hid the Washington volcanoes from sight but Mt. Hood stood out just fine.

To the south Mt. Jefferson was cloud free and so was Three Fingered Jack for a bit. Mt. Washington and the Three Sisters played peek-a-boo through the clouds though.

Three Fingered Jack

Mt. Washington and the Three Sisters

In the basin to the NE Big Slide Lake (post) was visible.

To the SW the flat topped Battle Ax Mountain (post) rose up above the surrounding peaks.

We sat below the lookout for awhile enjoying the cool morning air as we watched the procession of clouds around us. After our break we headed steeply downhill via switchbacks for just over half a mile to the Mother Lode Trail.

Bull of the Woods Trail ending at the Mother Lode Trail.

We turned right onto the Mother Lode Trail.

We continued to descend as we followed this trail for approximately 1.25 miles, passing a viewpoint of Mt. Jefferson shortly before arriving at another junction.

We turned right again, this time onto the Pansy Lake Trail.

More downhill hiking ensued as we dropped into the basin. The trail was a bit rockier than the others and passed over a couple of talus fields.

We’re always on the lookout for pikas and have had quite a bit of luck in spotting them this year, enough so that we have started calling it “the year of the pika”. As we came to the second section of talus Heather spotted one of the little “rock rabbits” scurrying along the hillside.

After talking to the pika (I don’t know why but we tend to have a lot of one sided conversations with the wildlife) we continued on. Shortly before reaching the lake we found a couple of ripe thimbleberries, they were delicious.

First look at Pansy Lake.

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We passed by the lake and reached a junction .8 miles from the Mother Lode Trail. We turned left and quickly arrived at the lake where we were a bit surprised that we were the only people there.

We wandered around the lake passing through numerous empty campsites before finding a little log to sit on by the lake where we could watch the dragonflies and ducks.

After a short break we returned to the trail junction and turned left continuing on the Pansy Lake Trail for another .2 miles to the Dickey Lake Trail junction.

It was time to climb now and we headed up the Dickey Lake Trail which climbed relatively steeply at times. After .6 miles we came to a spur trail on the right which led down to Dickey Lake.

The lake was quite a bit smaller than Pansy Lake and a lot brushier. After getting a look we returned to the Dickey Lake Trail and continued the climb back up to the Bull of the Woods Trail. A bit beyond the lake the trail passed through a little meadow with some remaining wildflowers and a few more thimbleberries.

We gained approximately 800′ over the next .8 miles before reaching the junction. There was a few more downed trees along this trail than we had encountered on any of the others but none of them were too troublesome.

We turned left onto the Bull of the Woods Trail and followed back to the car getting one last look at Mt. Hood along the way.

With the extra exploring around the lakes we wound up doing 10.6 miles (for the third time in the week). We both thought that the elevation gain doing the loop from the Pansy Lake Trailhead would have been quite a bit worse so the extra miles were worth it in our minds, plus it gave us that much more time to eat berries. Happy Trails!

Flickr: Pansy Lake and Bull of the Woods Lookout

Tags Bull of the Woods Lookout, Bull of the Woods Trail, Bull of the Woods Trailhead, Bull of the Woods Wilderness, Dickey Lake, Dickey Lake Trail, hiking, Huckleberry, Mother Lode Trail, Mt. Hood, Oregon, Pansy Lake Trail, Pansy Lake Trailhead, Pika