Tag: grouse

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Herman Creek

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

Beardtongue

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

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

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

The Moon above cliffs.

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

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

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

First good viewpoint across the Columbia River.

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

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

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

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

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

View along the trail.

A little more of Mt. Adams showing.

Heading into the sunlight.

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

Grouse in a tree.

The tree I climbed over.

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

Up, up, up through the forest.

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

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

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

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

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

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

Explorer’s gentian

After another switchback the trail arrived at an open viewpoint.

The PCT continuing uphill.

Mt. Adams

Closer look at Mt. Adams

Mt. Hood partially hidden by trees.

Mt. Hood

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

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

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

Beargrass along the trail is much better than poison oak.

Sections of the ridge burned intensely in 2017.

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

The Benson Way Trail on the right.

The final climb to the Benson Plateau.

The trail eventually leveled out on the plateau.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Approaching the best viewpoint.

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

Mt. Rainier behind Red Mountain (post).

Huckleberry leaves.

Vine maple

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Flickr: Benson Plateau

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

Hiking Mt. Rainier Trip report Washington Cascades

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

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

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

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

Double Peak

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

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

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

Tipsoo Lake

Spirea, lupine, western pasque flower, and bistort.

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

Western pasque flower seedheads and aster.

Valerian and bistort

Larkspur

Arnica, fleabane, lupine, bistort, and valerian.

Partridgefoot

Highway 410 at Chinook Pass.

Trail sign for the PCT.

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

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

Looking back at Yakima Peak.

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

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

Saxifrage

Bird’s beak lousewort

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

Doe and two fawns.

White mountain heather

Wilderness information for the William O. Dougals Wilderness.

Paintbrush

Grass-of-parnassus and an arnica.

Allumroot

Columbine with several other types of flowers.

Cusick’s speedwell

Pink monkeyflower

Wilderness sign

Bird with a snack.

Naches Peak

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

Sickle-top lousewort

Penstemon

Aster

Pink monkeyflower and arnica

Pussytoes

Dewey Peak

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

Mt. Adams

Golden-mantled ground squirrel enjoying the view.

Dewey Lake below Dewey Peak.

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

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

Double Peak with the snowy Tatoosh Range behind.

Stevens, Boundary, and Unicorn Peaks

Yarrow

Rainiera

No fires reminder.

Dewey Lake

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

The largest of the smaller bodies of water.

Reflections in a pond.

PCT along Dewey Lake.

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

Elephants head at Dewey Lake.

Sandpiper

Junco

Great blue heron

Lousewort

Mushrooms

Grouse

The signs at the Naches Peak Loop junction ahead.

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

The Tatoosh Range.

Mt. Rainier and Naches Peak

Unnamed lake along the Naches Peak Loop.

There were some good flowers near the unnamed lake.

Robin

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

Harebells

Cedar waxwings

Mt. Adams

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

Sourdough Ridge

Yakima Peak and Highway 410.

Tipsoo Lake from the southern trailhead.

Yakima Peak from Tipsoo Lake.

Mt. Rainier from Tipsoo Lake.

Butterfly

Pine siskin

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

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

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

Flickr: Naches Peak Loop

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

Hiking Year-end wrap up

2022 Wildlife Gallery Part 1 – Feathered Friends

Post author By derwoodynck
Post date January 23, 2023
1 Comment on 2022 Wildlife Gallery Part 1 – Feathered Friends

We thought we’d do something different this year and split our 2022 wildlife gallery into two posts to keep them a little shorter. It made the most sense to us to do a post with the different birds we saw during 2022 and then one of the other wildlife. As with our wildflower post any corrections or additions to our attempts at identifying what we’ve photographed is greatly appreciated. One last note, while we really enjoy taking pictures as a way to record what we see on our hikes, we are by no means photographers. We use our phones and a point and shoot camera on the auto setting, so the pictures are far from professional, but we hope you enjoy them.

We’ll start small which, aside from some of the raptors, is where we have the most difficulty identifying the various species (ducks and sea birds can be tricky too).
Hummingbird at Memaloose Hills in May.

Hummingbird at Upper Table Rock in May.

Black capped chickadee at Ankeny Wildlife Refuge in April.

Yellow-rumped warbler (Audubon’s) at Ankeny Wildlife Refuge in April.

Wren (marsh?) at Ankeny Wildlife Refuge in April.

White-crowned sparrow at Ankeny Wildlife Refuge in April.

Sparrow? at Ankeny Wildlife Refuge in April.

Common yellow throat at Ankeny Wildlife Refuge in April.

Yellow-rumped warbler (Myrtle) at Ankeny Wildlife Refuge in April.

Tree swallows at Ankeny Wildlife Refuge in April.

White-crowned sparrow and a wren at Miller Woods in May.

American goldfinch pair at Miller Woods in May.

Another sparrow at Miller Woods in May.

Hermit warbler? near Kings Mountain in May.

House finch? at Upper Table Rock in May.

Rock wren? at Upper Table Rock in May.

Ash-throated flycatcher at Denman Wildlife Area in May.

Unknown at Denman Wildlife Area in May.

Swallow at Julia Hansen Butler Wildlife Refuge in June.

Some sort of warbler? at Julia Hansen Butler Wildlife Refuge in June.

Purple martins at Julia Hansen Butler Wildlife Refuge in June.

Another wren at Julia Hansen Butler Wildlife Refuge in June.

Unknown at Julia Hansen Butler Wildlife Refuge in June.

Sparrow? at Julia Hansen Butler Wildlife Refuge in June.

Warbler? at Julia Hansen Butler Wildlife Refuge in June.

Black phoebe? at Julia Hansen Butler Wildlife Refuge in June.

Mountain bluebird near Union Peak in September.

Red-breasted nuthatch (best I could get) at Crater Lake in September.

Red crossbilss at Crater Lake in September.

Wren on the Eagle Creek Trail in November.

Dark eyed junco at Waverly Lake in December.

Going up a bit in size now (and a little easier to identify).
Canada jay (grey jay) along the Crown Zellerbach Trail in March.

California scrub jay along the Balfour-Klickitat Trail in April.

Stellar’s jay along the Hood River Pipeline Trail in May.

Female red-winged blackbird at Ankeny Wildlife Refuge in April.

Red-winged blackbird at Ankeny Wildlife Refuge in April.

Spotted towhee at Ankeny Wildlife Refuge in April.

Starlings along the Hood River Pipeline Trail in May.

Brownheaded cowbird at Upper Table Rock in May.

American robin at Ankeny Wildlife Refuge in April.

Tropical kingbird? at Denman Wildlife Area in May.

Black-headed grosbeak (also all I could get) at Applegate Lake in May.

Lazuli bunting at Roxy Ann Peak in May.

Cedar waxwing at Julia Hansen Butler Wildlife Refuge in June.

Western tanagers, Siskiyou Wilderness in July.

American dipper (Ouzel) near South Umpqua Falls in September.

Townsends solitaire at Crater Lake National Park in September.

Clark’s nutcracker at Crater Lake National Park in September.

Varied thrush along the Eagle Creek Trail in November.

Unknown at Cascade Head in October.

We also struggle with a few of the woodpeckers.
Forest Park in January.

Northern flicker at Ankeny Wildlife Refuge in April. We seem to see flickers on nearly every hike, but they don’t often sit still long enough for us to get a decent picture.

Pileated woodpecker at Chehalem Ridge Nature Park in May. We rarely see these but like the flickers, when we do they are very difficult to get a photo of.

Acorn woodpecker at Denman Wildlife Area in May.

Hairy? woodpecker near Twin Lakes in the Umpqua National Forst in June.

Red breasted sapsucker at E.E. Wilson Wildlife Area in July.

Either a hairy or downy woodpecker along the Eagle Creek Trail in November.

Unknown, Sky Lakes Wilderness in late September.

Next up are scavengers and birds of prey including those pesky hawks.
Crow along the Crown Zellerbach Trail in March.

Raven at Upper Table Rock in May.

Turkey Vulture at Julia Hansen Butler Wildlife Refuge in June.

American kestral along the Crown Zellerbach Trail in March.

Osprey along the Hood River Pipeline Trail in May.

Another osprey at Julia Hansen Butler Wildlife Refuge in June.

Bald eagle at Julia Hansen Butler Wildlife Refuge in June.

Eagle in the Sky Lakes Wilderness in September. Not sure if it is a bald or golden.

A bald eagle and hawk at Ankeny Wildlife Refuge in April.

Pair of hawks at Denman Wildlife Area in May.

Hawk at Denman Wildlife Area in May.

Hawk at Julia Hansen Butler Wildlife Refuge in June.

Hawk along the Pacific Crest Trail near Carter Meadows Summit in August.

Hawk at Crater Lake National Park in September.

Barred owl at Noble Woods in May.

Great horned owl at Denman Wildlife Area in May.

Young great horned owl at Roxy Ann Peak in May.

Moving on to game birds, a few of the species we saw this year were at the E.E. Wilson Wildlife Area at their breeding facility in June.

Ring-necked pheasant

Silver pheasant

Near the breeding facility at E.E. Wilson Wildlife Area.

Mourning dove at Roxy Ann Peak a in May.

Grouse? in the Siskiyou Wilderness in July.

Grouse in the Mt. Adams Wilderness in August.

Grouse in the Sky Lakes Wilderness in September.

Bodies of water attract a lot of birds and provide us with a less obstructed view vs the forest.
Long billed dowitchers? at Ankeny Wildlife Refuge in April.

Killdeer at Ankeny Wildlife Refuge in April.

Sandpiper? at Ankeny Wildlife Refuge in April.

Great blue heron at Ankeny Wildlife Refuge in April.

Kingfisher at Julia Butler Hansen Wildlife Refuge in June.

American bittern at Julia Butler Hansen Wildlife Refuge in June.

White pelicans at Julia Butler Hansen Wildlife Refuge in June.

Hooded mergansers at Yakona Nature Preserve in February.

Common mergansers along the Klickitat Trail in April.

American coot at Ankeny Wildlife Refuge in April.

Cinnamon teal at Ankeny Wildlife Refuge in April.

Ring-necked ducks (and an American coot) at Ankeny Wildlife Refuge in April.

Northern shoveler at Ankeny Wildlife Refuge in April.

White-fronted geese at Ankeny Wildlife Refuge in April.

Mallard along the Hood River Pipeline Trail in May.

Wood duck at Denman Wildlife Area in May.

Not sure if this is a ruddy duck at Waverly Lake in December.

Mostly American widgeons with a green winged teal and a female bufflehead or two mixed in at Talking Water Gardens in December.

Bufflehead at Talking Water Gardens in December.

Canada geese at Applegate Lake in May.

Domestic geese near the Klickitat Trail in April.

Domestic or hybrid? ducks at Waverly Lake in December.

High Cascades Hiking Oregon Sky Lakes/Mountain Lakes Area Trip report

Blue Lake Basin – 09/18/2022

Post author By derwoodynck
Post date September 23, 2022
2 Comments on Blue Lake Basin – 09/18/2022

The second day of our Southern Oregon trip was forecast to be the wettest so we headed for the Sky Lakes Wilderness where the cloudy conditions wouldn’t hinder our views too much. Our goal for the day was to hike to Island Lake via Blue Lake Basin then possibly return via Cat Hill Way. The out-and-back to Island Lake is featured hike #40 in Sullivan’s “100 Hikes/Travel Guide Southern Oregon & Northern California” guidebook (edition 4.2). We had visited Island Lake in 2016 (post) but from the other direction. Since that visit only covered 0.1 miles of the featured hike and the hike is titled “Blue Lake Basin” not Island Lake we had not considered it done.

We began at the Blue Canyon Trailhead.

A crisp wind blew through the small meadow near the trailhead encouraging us to hustle downhill on the trail into the trees which provided some relief.
An old fence in the meadow.

Entering the Sky Lakes Wilderness.

Into the trees we go.

It had been a while since we’d actually been cold starting out on a hike and it was kind of nice. We hoped that the wet weather was also present over the Cedar Creek Fire to the north near Waldo Lake. Here there was no sign of smoke as we hiked through the damp forest.

Just over a mile from the trailhead we arrived at our first lake of the day, Round Lake.

We continued on the Blue Canyon Trail another 1.2 miles to Blue Lake where a bald eagle startled me when it took off from a tree directly over my head.
The cliff face above Blue Lake ahead from the trail.

Hiking along Blue Lake.

Blue Lake

The bald eagle across the lake after startling me.

The combination of cool temperatures, wet ground and light rain kept us from lingering too long at the lake and we were soon on our way to the next one. Just beyond Blue Lake we veered right at a trail junction to stay on the Blue Canyon Trail.
The South Fork Trail went to the left past Meadow Lake and the Mud Lake before following the South Fork Rogue River to Road 720.

The Blue Canyon Trail passed to the right of Meadow Lake before arriving at a junction with the Meadow Lake Trail in a quarter mile.
Meadow Lake

Meadow Lake Trail junction.

For now we stuck to the Blue Canyon Trail which brought us to Horseshoe Lake in another half mile.

Just beyond this small pond south of the trail we turned right on a use trail which led out onto Horseshoe Lake’s peninsula.

Camping is prohibited on the peninsula which is signed in multiple places.

After exploring the peninsula we returned to the Blue Canyon Trail and followed it to the next lake, Pear Lake, which was just over a half mile away. We took another use trail down to the shore of this lake which is not at all shaped like a pear. (Unless it’s named after the core then maybe but it would still be a stretch.)

Ducks flying further down the lake.

From Pear Lake it was just over 1.75 miles to Island Lake. The trail climbed up and over a ridge passing above Dee Lake before dropping into Island Lake’s basin.

Grouse

The only flowing water we’d encounter on this day after not crossing any streams the day before at Union Peak (post) either.

Dee Lake barely visible through the trees.

Bigelow’s sneezeweed

Meadow near Island Lake.

A Horse Camp sign.

Island Lake through the trees.

We couldn’t remember exactly where we’d gone down to the lake on our previous visit, just that it had been a short trail to the Judge Waldo Tree. We turned left on a clear use trail which brought us down to the lake but not to the tree we were looking for.

There were a lot of mushrooms down by the water though.

We returned to the Blue Canyon Trail and continued around the lake to another use trail and again turned left. This one looked familiar and indeed brought us to the Judge Waldo Tree.

For those interested the 1888 inscription reads:

Judge J.B. Waldo
William Taylor
H.P. Minto
E. J. Humason
F. W. Isherwood
September 13, 1888

Judge Waldo was an early voice for conservation of the Cascade forests (today he most likely would not have carved his name into the tree like that).

Now that we’d linked the two hikes together we were content to head back. When we’d made it back to the Meadow Lake Trail junction we turned uphill onto that trail.
Pear Lake from the Blue Canyon Trail.

Back at the Meadow Lake junction.

Heading up the Meadow Lake Trail.

This trail was much steeper than the Blue Canyon Trail had been and if we were to do the hike again we most likely would opt to come down this way.

The huckleberries don’t lie, Autumn was right around the corner.

Approaching the ridge top.

Not sure what we missed here but imagine it was some of the peaks in the Sky Lakes Wilderness.

Just over a mile from the junction the Meadow Lake Trail ended at Cat Hill Way.

This trail ran between the Pacific Crest Trail (1.5 miles to the left) and The Blue Canyon Trailhead (2.25 miles to the right). We turned right following a very old roadbed that climbed gradually just below the summit of Cat Hill before descending to the meadow at the trailhead. While the other trails had been well maintained this one had a number of downed trees that were fairly easily navigated. This trail did provide a view of Mt. McLoughlin (post) albeit limited on this day due to the cloud cover.

Colorful fungus

Mt. McLoughlin

A little fresh snow, a welcome sight.

A nice little viewpoint just off the trail.

Passing below Cat Hill.

Back to the trailhead.

Our hike came in at 12.2 miles with approximately 1700′ of elevation gain.

We only saw a few other people which was surprising even with the wet weather given how popular this area is in the Summer. It had sprinkled off and on for most of the morning but we didn’t ever feel the need to put our rain gear on. We drove back to Shady Cove and after changing headed to 62’s Burgers and Brews for a late lunch/early dinner. The clouds were once again breaking up which was encouraging as we were heading back to Crater Lake the following day where we would be hoping for some good views. Happy Trails!

Flickr: Blue Lake Basin

Tags 62's Burgers and Brews, Blue Canyon Trailhead, blue lake, Cat Hill, Cat Hill Way, grouse, hiking, horseshoe lake, island lake, Judge J. B. Waldo, judge waldo tree, Meadow Lake, Meadow Lake Trail, Oregon, Pear Lake, round lake, Shady Cove, sky lakes wilderness

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

High Cascades Hiking Oregon Three Sisters Area Trip report

Mount Bachelor – 08/15/2021

Post author By derwoodynck
Post date August 24, 2021
9 Comments on Mount Bachelor – 08/15/2021

For our August vacation this year we finally returned to the Steens Mountain area for five days of hiking but along the way we made a stop in the Cascade Mountains to hike up to the summit of Mt. Bachelor. As the 6th largest ski resort in the US, Mt. Bachelor is known more for that winter sport than hiking. Hiking also takes a back seat to mountain biking and even a zip line tour but as part of an agreement between the resort and the Forest Service a trail is maintained to the summit for hiking to the 9068′ summit. Growing up in the Bend area I spent a lot of time skiing the mountain but other than riding the Summit lift to the top one Summer (when that lift still operated in the Summer months) neither of us had spent time on the mountain without snow. It was going to be another warm, hazy day as that seems to be the new norm here in the West but the air quality wasn’t in the danger zone so we left early on Sunday morning and arrived at the West Village Parking lot a little before 8am to find a somewhat blue sky overhead.

There are currently three routes shown on the resorts web page with the easiest being from the top of the Pine Marten Lift which operates from 10am thru 5 or 7pm depending on the date. The other two routes start at the West Village Lodge near the Pine Marten Lift which allows for a reverse lollipop hike which is what we did. We took the more scenic trail up which was marked by blue signboards for the West Village to Summit Connect Trail.

A hazy look at the South Sister and Broken Top.

After a short distance on cat roads we came to an actual trail which led into the trees.

The trail traversed along the mountain crossing several ski runs before turning uphill near the “Marshmallow” run and the Sunrise lift.

Passing under the Skyliner Express

The ski runs gave us a good look at the top of the mountain.

Turning uphill

Spotted a grouse hen and her chicks in this little meadow.

Two of the chicks.

Passing under the Sunrise lift.

The first 1.4 miles had gained under 350′ but after turning uphill the trail steepened gaining almost 2400′ over the next 2.5 miles.

Nearing the top of the Sunrise lift.

Another hazy look at the nearby mountains.

South and Middle Sister through the haze.

The top of Sunrise and the bottom of the Summit lifts.

Looking up from the top of Sunrise.

Above the Sunrise lift the trees thinned out leaving a few scattered trees including white bark pines.

A few saxifrage blossoms still left.

Alpine buckwheat and paintbrush

The first patch of snow we passed.

Golden mantled ground squirrel

Tumalo Mountain (post) in the haze.

Signs gave way to white arrows painted on rocks at the higher elevations.

Looking down from beneath the Summit Express.

We could really feel the elevation affecting our breathing and by this point we were both sucking wind.

Dwarf alpinegold

I arrived at the summit first and followed the path the the mountain’s high point.
Looking back at the Summit Express.

Heading for the high point.

A mountain bluebird near the summit.

South Sister and Broken Top with Sparks Lake (post) the brown patch below.

I took my pack off and had a seat and was soon joined by a curious golden mantle.

It’s our rule not to feed the wildlife but it was obvious that many don’t adhere to that LNT principle. I had to put my pack back on to avoid having a hole chewed through my pocket.

View of the summit.

The surrounding smoke made it impossible to see anything to the east, very little to the south or west and just the closest features to the north, but a cool breeze made it a comfortable spot for a rest while I waited for Heather to join me.
Broken Top, the Pine Marten Lodge halfway up the mountain, the West Village Lodge and parking area below and Tumalo Mountain across the Cascade Lakes Highway.

After Heather had a chance to relax at the summit as well we headed back down taking a short detour to a viewpoint above the Cirque.

We then hiked back down just above the Sunrise Lift where we turned left on the West Village Getback road which I could picture skiing on all those years ago.
A little better view of Broken Top and Tumalo Mountain on the way down.

Clark’s nutcracker

Left leads up to the Pine Marten Lodge atop the Pine Marten Express, right to the West Village Lodge.

The road walk is not only not as scenic as the trail route we took up it also passes through the mountain bike trails so we had to keep our eyes open at the crossings.

A decent look at Tumalo Mountain

Warning sign for a bike crossing.

A look at some of the mountain bike trails and some haze moving in overhead.

A tortoiseshell butterfly on the road.

The trail map showed this route passing under the Pine Marten Express and turning 90 degrees downhill alongside the lift.

There was a disc golf hole here but no sign of any trail except for a faint line continuing straight ahead through some grass. We followed it briefly before realizing it wasn’t going to get us to the parking lot.
At least we could see the mountains a little better from here.

We turned back to the lift and headed cross country downhill alongside it. We eventually did find some tread which took us to the base of the lift and back to the parking lot. We were glad we’d gotten there as early as we had because it was now quite a bit hazier overhead and a lot warmer.

We left the mountain and drove to Heather’s parents house where we spent the night before once again heading out early for another adventure. Happy Trails!

Our track for Mt. Bachelor. The GPS said 8.8 miles and 2800′ of elevation but the resort lists the hike as 6.5 miles and 2742′ of elevation gain.

Flickr: Mt. Bachelor

Tags Bend, Cirque, grouse, hiking, Mt. Bachelor, Oregon, Pine Marten Express, Summit, Summit Express, sunrise, West Village Getback, West Village Lodge, West Village to Summit Connector

Hiking Oregon Three Sisters Area Trip report Waldo Lake Area

Erma Bell Lakes and the Shale Ridge Trail – 08/29/2020

Post author By derwoodynck
Post date August 30, 2020
5 Comments on Erma Bell Lakes and the Shale Ridge Trail – 08/29/2020

With our recent backpacking trip around Diamond Peak (post) leaving us with just one more featured hike yet to do from William L. Sullivan’s “100 Hikes/Travel Guide Central Oregon Cascades” (4th edition) the only logical thing to do the following weekend was that last remaining hike. That hike was to the Erma Bell Lakes and as luck would have it late August was a pretty good time to visit, the berries were ripening and the mosquitoes weren’t too much of a nuisance. With a drive time of almost three hours the loop around the 8.5-9 mile loop around the lakes wouldn’t take long enough for us not to break our self imposed rule of the driving time being longer than our time spent hiking so we added a second stop to the day at the Shale Ridge Trail.

We started the morning by driving to the Skookum Creek Campground where the Erma Bell Trail begins.

The trail crosses Skookum Creek on a footbridge.

Soon after crossing the creek the trail enters the Three Sisters Wilderness.

The trail traverses a forested hillside where we found a few ripe thimbleberries to snack on.

A little over half a mile from the trailhead the Irish Mountain Trail splits off to the left toward Otter Lake allowing for a loop past that and several other lakes.

We stayed right choosing to follow Sullivan’s suggestion to complete the loop counter-clockwise. The trail continued along the forested hillside for another mile before crossing a small stream on a bridge near Lower Erma Bell Lake.

Just beyond the bridge we took a short spur trail to the left to visit the lake.

The lake was a pretty blue color and quite deep.

Despite the beauty of the lake our attention had been diverted by the familiar “meep” of pikas, our favorite trail critters. We quickly spotted one of the little fur balls collecting greens along the rocky lake shore.

We watched the pika go back and forth with its greens several times before resuming our hike. We continued on the trail around the lake taking another detour after crossing the lake’s main outlet creek to check out a small cascade.

20200829_083744

Beyond the outlet the trail began a .4 mile climb up toward the Middle Erma Bell Lake.
Lower Erma Bell Lake from the climb.

A short but steep trail to the left just before the high point of the trail led to a viewpoint of a waterfall between the lower and middle lakes.

Above the falls.

After checking out the waterfall we continued up to Middle Erma Bell Lake.

Ouzel

Ducks

We continued beyond Middle Erma Bell Lake passing a small pond on the right before arriving at Upper Erma Bell Lake .7 miles from the waterfall, also on the right.
Pond along the trail.

Spur trail on the right to Upper Erma Bell Lakes.

Paintbrush and aster along the lake shore.

Upper Erma Bell Lake

Lupine and paintrbush

In addition to a few flowers there were lots of ripe berries near the lake which we sampled before continuing. The trail climbed gradually for half a mile to a junction with the Judy Lake Trail which passes Mud and Edna Lakes (but no Judy Lake) before ending at the Taylor Burn Guard Station.
Judy Lake Trail on the right.

We stayed left passing above Mud Lake which was barely visible through the trees below.

Just under a mile from the Judy Lake Trail junction we arrived at another junction, this time with the Williams Lake Trail.
Williams Lake Trail joining from the right.

Again we stayed left continuing for another .4 miles to Williams Lake. Before reaching the lake we encountered a grouse that was less than pleased with our presence.
Grouse giving us the what for from a tree.

Williams Lake

Dry creek bed near Williams Lake.

The trail began to descend beyond Williams Lake passing through some damper meadows where berries were plentiful and some flowers remained (and so did some mosquitoes).

Pearly everlasting

Fleabane

Prince’s pine

Mushroom

Aster

Coneflower

Paintbrush

A little over two and a quarter miles beyond Williams Lake we arrived at a junction with the Irish Mountain Trail which headed uphill to the right.

A short distance from the junction we came to Otter Lake.

Curious dragonfly

The trail descended for another half mile to the Erma Bell Lakes Trail completing the loop.

We turned right and returned the .6 miles to the now busy trailhead. Sullivan lists the hike at 8.4 miles but we both came up with a little over 9 miles, most likely due to the various side trips tp the waterfalls and along the lake shores. We left the trailhead and headed back toward Oakridge on Forest Road 19 stopping at the Shale Ridge Trailhead on the left (south) near milepost 30.

This trailhead serves as the start of the Shale Ridge Trail and the upper terminus of the North Fork Trail (segment 5). We had spent time on the North Fork Trail earlier in the year hiking segment 1 out of Westfir and another short section to Buffalo Rock in May (post).

We weren’t here for that trail today and instead headed south on the Shale Ridge Trail, which according to a note written on the signboard had been partially logged out in June.

The trail quickly entered the Waldo Lake Wilderness.

We followed the trail through old growth forest. The North Fork Middle Fork Willamette River could be heard at time off to our right but not seen.

Ghost Pipe aka Indian Pipe

We were below the ridge that we had been on during the Erma Bell Lakes hike and at the 1.8 mile mark we came to Skookum Creek which was flowing through multiple channels through the forest. This area was the highlight of the hike along the Shale Ridge Trail.
20200829_125709_HDR

We continued beyond Skookum Creek just over a mile to the North Fork Middle Fork River at Cedar Bog. This was as far as we had planned on going and as far as the trail had been cleared to. In theory the trail continues up to the Blair Lake Trail (post) on the far side of the river but the condition beyond Cedar Bog is mostly likely very rough.
Arriving at Cedar Bog.

One of a couple dry channels.

North Fork Middle Fork

Flagging on a downed tree marking the continuation of the Shale Ridge Trail.

North Fork Middle Fork at Cedar Bog

Orange flagging on the far side of the river.

20200829_132354 Monkeyflower at Cedar Bog

Candy flower

We turned back here and returned to our car completing a 5.8 mile out and back. While this hike was short on views there were some impressively large trees along the way and it was fairly level with only a 400′ cumulative elevation gain. The two hikes combined for nearly 15 miles of hiking which ensured that our hiking time was indeed longer than our driving time. More importantly we’d seen some nice lakes, all of which had their own distinct differences and had been gotten to watch a pika doing its thing. On top of it all we could finally say that we had done at least part of all 100 featured hikes in one of Sullivan’s guidebooks. Happy Trails!

Flickr: Erma Bell Lakes and the Shale Ridge Trail

Tags Cedar Bog, Erma Bell Lakes, grouse, hiking, Irish Mountain Trail, Judy Lake Trail, Lower Erma Bell Lake, Middle Erma Bell Lake, north Fork Trail, Oregon, Otter Lake, Pika, Shale Ridge Trail, Skookum Creek, Three Sisters Wilderness, Upper Erma Bell Lake, waldo lake wilderness, Waterfall, Williams Lake

High Cascades Hiking Mt. Jefferson Area Oregon

Bear Point – 7/22/2019

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

We had passed the Bear Point Trail twice when hiking into Jefferson Park on the South Breitenbush Trail, most recently last August. (post) It was finally time to tackle that trail which gains almost 1700′ in just over one and three quarters of a mile to the site of a former fire lookout.

We set off from the South Breitenbush Trailhead a little after 6am hoping to get the climb over before the day heated up too much.

We followed the familiar South Breitenbush Trail for 2.2 miles to a signed junction.
Lots of spent beargrass along the trail.

At the junction we went left on the Bear Point Trail.

At first this trail continued the gradual climb that we’d been making on the South Breitenbush Trail as we passed around a spring set in a green forest.

Thimbleberry bushes near the spring.

20190722_072357 Washington lily

Spring near the trail.

Shortly after passing the spring the trail began to climb in earnest via a series of swithbacks. The hillside below Bear Point was covered in talus slopes, the perfect spot to see a pika.

Spotted the first pika of the day at this switchback (it’s on one of the red rocks)

The hillside was pretty dry and the trees began to give way to manzanita, chinquapin and snowbush which allowed for some excellent views of Mt. Jefferson and the surrounding area as we trudged up the switchbacks.

The Three Pyramids, Bachelor Mountain, and Coffin Mountain in the distance with Triangulation Peak in a cloud shadow along the near ridge to the right.

Mt. Jefferson with Three Fingered Jack now fully visible.

Three Fingered Jack

Grouse in the brush to the left of the trail.

Grouse

As we neared the top the trees began to reappear in larger numbers and the beargrass was still blooming.

We spotted the second pika of the day in a talus slope just below the summit.

Despite the 3000′ of elevation gain to reach the summit the climb wasn’t particularly steep until the final 100 yards or so.

Almost to the top.

Bear Point summit.

The views from the summit were amazing and there were a few wildflowers scattered about. We would have loved to have spent quite a bit of time relaxing there but the mosquitoes were a nuisance and there was no breeze to keep them at bay.
IMG_4143_stitch

The Three Sisters and Three Fingered Jack

Mt.Jefferson

Park Ridge (post)

Bear Lake, Dinah-Mo Peak, and Park Ridge

Triangulation Peak and Devils Peak

Boca Cave below Triangulation Peak (post)

Devils Peak (high point to the right of the ridge), which we had just hiked to a couple of weeks earlier (post)

Mt. Hood and Olallie Butte (The Breitenbush Cascades are also out there amid the trees.)

Mt. Hood with Slideout and Mildred Lakes in the forest below.

Fleabane

Columbine and fleabane with Bear Lake in the background.

Snow patch near the summit.

The round trip to Bear Point is just 7.6 miles so we had some energy left and with the early start coupled with not stopping for very long due to the bugs we also had some time so we decided to tackle another challenge and visit an off trail lake. Due to the lake being off-trail I’m not going to go into much detail although it probably wouldn’t take a lot of detective work to figure it out. This was a challenge to reach and required route finding and navigational skills.
Typical terrain, it’s hard to tell here but this was a steep hillside.

There were tons of these butterflies around.

Paintnbrush

Crossing a talus slope.

More typical conditions.

Pond near the lake.

Bird at the pond.

The lake

Spirea and shooting stars

20190722_094856 Crab spider with a bee

The lake

Aster

Lupine and beargrass

There were of course mosquitoes here too, being July and near water, so we didn’t linger and were soon attempting to follow our route back. It was slow going but we managed to get back just fine. It was a fun and challenging day and it felt good to be able to practice our off-trail skills a bit. Happy Trails!

Flickr: Bear Point

Tags bear lake, Bear Point, Boca Cave, Crab spider, Devil's Peak, grouse, hiking, Mildred Lake, Mt. Jefferson, Mt. Jefferson Wilderness, Oregon, Park ridge, Pika, Slideout Lake, South Breitenbush Trail, South Breitenbush Trailhead, Triangulation Peak

Central Oregon Hiking John Day Oregon Trip report

Strawberry Mountain Wilderness Backpack Day 2 – Wildcat Basin to Slide Lake

Post author By derwoodynck
Post date July 29, 2018
6 Comments on Strawberry Mountain Wilderness Backpack Day 2 – Wildcat Basin to Slide Lake

After a long, hot day the day before we were hoping to wake up to some crisp mountain air. Alas it was not to be as the temperature didn’t seem to have dropped all that far overnight. It was cooler than it had been but we could tell it was going to be another hot one.

After applying a little Deet to deter the mosquitoes that had been waiting for us to wake up we had breakfast in a small meadow near our campsite.

After breakfast we packed up and headed out of Wildcat Basin via the Pine Creek Trail.

One of the reasons we were hoping it would have been colder was that the Pine Creek Trail gained nearly 800′ in less than three quarters of a mile as it steeply climbed out of Wildcat Basin.

As it climbed we passed some interesting ash formations.

We had read that above these ash formations the trail would become obscured by brush for a short distance. After the previous days bushwacking around Indian Creek Butte (post) we were fearing the worst but it turned out to not be anywhere near as bad as that had been. It was a much shorter stretch and there were less obstacles to maneuver around. We hadn’t been at it long before Heather spotted the trail veering to the right into burned trees.

The trail leveled out a bit as it crossed a ridge top where we spotted the first of the yellow paintbrush that is plentiful in the area.

The trail bent around to the north as it crossed the ridge and soon Strawberry Mountain came into view.

Our plan was to take a side trip up to the summit once we made it to the saddle below the peak, but for now we were focused on the trail at hand which was passing through some nice wildflowers.

We also flushed out several deer but they escaped before I could get any photos.

A mile and a half from Wildcat Basin we arrived at a junction with the Indian Creek Trail #5001.

Here we turned right crossing a saddle and climbing for .3 miles to another junction, this time with the Onion Creek Trail #368. The view from the old roadbed here was good and we could see Indian Creek Butte as well as Strawberry Mountain.
Indian Creek Butte

Strawberry Mountain

We took a short break in some shade near the junction having already climbed nearly 1200′ on the day. From this spot we had another 450′ to gain over the next 1.4 miles just to reach the saddle below Strawberry Mountain.

A golden-mantled ground squirrel came out to check on us as we recovered.

Fortunately some of this section of trail was still shaded from the Sun and once again there was a nice display of wildflowers to help distract us.

We arrived at the saddle just after 9am. To reach our goal for the day, Slide Lake, we needed to take the right hand Strawberry Basin Trail toward Strawberry Lake.

Before we did that though we wanted to summit the 9038′ Strawberry Mountain which was to the left.

Since we would have to come back by this junction after summiting the mountain we pulled our daypacks out and stashed our backpacks in a group of nearby trees. The lighter packs felt great as we traversed across the rocky terrain below the summit.

The trail climbed gradually across the shaley rocks about a half mile before entering a stand of white bark pines.

Several grouse were present in this area.

Three quarters of a mile from the junction we arrived at the junction with the summit trail marked by rock cairns.

We took another short break in the shade of the white bark pines watching the many butterflies that were flitting about.

After catching our breath we headed up the left hand fork for the final .4 miles and 350′ to the former lookout site atop Strawberry Mountain.

Butterflies were swirling around atop the summit, never sitting still for long. The views were good but not great due to the presence of smoke from wildfires. We weren’t sure which fires the smoke was from but with a number of them burning across the northwest it wasn’t a surprise to have hazy skies. It unfortunately seems to be the new default for the summer months.
Looking north toward the John Day Valley

Looking SW toward Wildcat Basin

View west toward Indian Creek Butte and Canyon Mountain

Looking NE

View east

With all the haze it was tough to make out much in the distance but we were able to make out the Elkhorn Range off to the NE.

It was a little cooler at the summit where we rested once again before starting back down. As we were traversing the rocky hillside on the way back we encountered another group of hikers on their way up to the summit. They mentioned that they had stashed their packs as well after coming up the Strawberry Basin Trail. They let us know that some of the trail to Slide Lake had suffered from a near washout so there might be a little exposure along that stretch. After thanking them for the heads up we returned to the saddle and retrieved our packs.

It was just before 10:45am when we started down the Strawberry Basin Trail. There was a nice view of Strawberry Mountain as we dropped into the basin.

After approximately .4 miles of descending the trail leveled out somewhat and we passed the ruins of a cabin and a minute later Strawberry Spring.

This was followed by a series of meadows, some filled with wildflowers as well as views back to Strawberry Mountain.

We got our first look at Strawberry Lake as the trail began to bend around a ridge.

We were now heading south, continuing our descent into the Strawberry Basin. Across the valley were the rock formations known as the Rabbit Ears over Little Strawberry Lake which was hidden in the trees.

Although this side of the ridge was drier than the north side had been there were still some good displays of color.

The Strawberry Basin Trail wrapped around the basin eventually reaching the side trail to Little Strawberry Lake, two and a half miles from the saddle junction with the Onion Creek Trail.

We turned right onto the Little Strawberry Lake Trail for the .6 mile side trip (1.2mi round trip) to the lake. Heather asked about stashing our packs again but I chose poorly and we kept them on. The trail crossed Strawberry Creek and climbed about 150′ through the forest to the little lake.

That shouldn’t have been too difficult a trek but it was so hot (How hot was it?) that we truly regretted not having left our full packs back near the junction. It was also pretty hazy in the basin here so our views of the cliffs backing Little Strawberry Lake were not clear.

The water however was clear which made it really easy to watch the fish swim about.

After another short break we strapped on our packs again and returned to the Strawberry Basin Trail. It was obvious by the state of the trails and the number of other people we were seeing that this part of the wilderness is significantly busier than the eastern end.

We turned right and promptly crossed Strawberry Creek again.
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We were just a bit above Strawberry Falls here and I suddenly thought we might not get to actually see the waterfall.

My fears were eased when Heather correctly pointed out that the trail switchbacked down to the base of the falls.

The base of Strawberry Falls was by far the most comfortable spot we would be in during the entire trip. We took our packs off again and allowed the mist from the falls to cool us down. Unfortunately we could not take that feeling with us and shortly after leaving that heavenly place we were once again sweating profusely.

After descending a little over half a mile form the falls we came to a fork in the trail near Strawberry Lake.

Both trails led around the lake with the right hand fork being the shorter but the left hand fork reportedly having the better views. We opted for the left hand fork and descended to the southern end of Strawberry Lake.

A series of stream crossings followed as we worked our way around to the western side of the lake.

Eventually the Rabbit Ears came into view across the lake.

It was time for yet another break once we reached the northern end of the lake but here even in the shade it was stupid hot.

Since there was no real relief from the heat we quickly decided to press on. After crossing the lakes outlet we turned left and then followed pointers for Slide Lake.

We climbed gradually for nearly a mile gaining 360′ from Strawberry Lake.

We were struggling with the gradual climb and now the Slide Basin Trail launched more steeply uphill gaining an additional 350′ over the next half mile. After cresting a ridge we arrived a split in the trail where a horse trail went left and a hiker only trail right.

Thankfully the trail leveled out quite a bit on this side of the ridge as it traversed the hillside.

The bad news was we were now out of water, tired, hot, and the trail was indeed semi-washed out in spots. We were almost too miserable to enjoy the scenery which included quite a few wildflowers of which I took almost no pictures.

We had two overriding goals. First was to stay on the trail and second was to find water. There was a spring shown our our map about three quarters of a mile from the fork but it was dry. To make matters worse we could hear and see Slide Falls in the valley below. It was taunting us with all that water.

The trail reentered the trees just after being rejoined by the horse trail.

A short distance later we came to the Slide Lake Trail.

We veered left for a quarter mile to the lake.

We claimed a campsite just across the outlet creek and Heather set about refilling our water supply while I set up the tent.

When we arrived at Wildcat Basin the night before Heather had been done, tonight it was my turn. After setting up the tent I set up my camp chair and just sat there. View from the chair.

It was only 3:30pm but I was done for the day. Heather would later ask if I wanted to do the 1 mile loop around the lake and I said no. That was when she knew I really was wiped out, I rarely pass up a side trip but at that point I had no desire to get up. We had covered 14 miles and climbed over 3700′ that day and that was enough.

As I was getting ready to start dinner I thought I heard voices and assumed that there were other people camped to our left along the lake. After dinner a woman from the group of hikers we’d run into on our way down from Strawberry Mountain showed up. She said that they were equally finished for the day having gone to High Lake after summiting the mountain. She said that they had gotten to High Lake at 1:30pm, took a swim and a nap, then decided to push on to Slide Lake for the night. They set up camp somewhere on the opposite side of the outlet creek and we never did see them again. The next day Heather solved the mystery of the voices I had heard when she suggested that it may have been this group coming down the trail from High Lake which was located in the same direction that I had heard the voices from.

We stayed in our chairs until a little before 7pm. Out of nowhere a host of small insects appeared which we took as are queue to turn in for the night. It was another warm night which told us we were in for more of the same the following day, we just weren’t sure we were ready for it. Happy Trails!

Flickr: Strawberry Mountain Wilderness Day 2

Hiking McKenzie River Old Cascades Oregon Trip report

Horsepasture Mountain

After our last two hikes coming from Matt Reeder’s 101 Hikes in the Majestic Mount Jefferson Region we went back to work on our goal of completing all of the featured hikes in William L. Sullivan’s 100 Hikes guidebooks. We are just over 75% through his 100 Hikes in the Central Oregon Cascades 4th edition and had our eyes set on checking off one more with a visit to the former lookout site atop Horsepasture Mountain.

The hike up Horsepasture Mountain provided a bit of a logistical challenge for a couple of reasons. First is our self imposed guideline of trying not to spend more time in the car than we do on the trail and the 1.4 mile length of the Horsepasture Mountain Trail meant we’d need to come up with some additional trail time. The second issue was the continued closure of a section of Forest Road 1993 which adds nearly 45 minutes to the drive to the Horsepasture Trailhead. Prior to the closure the drive to that trailhead would still have been over two and a half hours but with the detour Google put the time at three hours and fifteen minutes. We also have a rule against driving over three hours to any trailheads for day hikes so I began looking for alternatives. A little online research led me to a solution, the Saddle Trail which is part of the O’Leary Trail Complex.

The trail begins at the East Fork Upper Trailhead which brought the drive time from Salem under two and half hours. We parked at a small pullout on the right side of FR 1993 across from the signed Saddle Trail.

There was a caution sign on the post regarding a burn area but that was referencing portions of the O’Leary Trail Complex burned in 2017 which did not include either the Saddle Trail or the Horsepasture Mountain Trail. We were facing a nearly 1700′ climb over the next two miles to a junction at Horsepasture Saddle. Luckily the trail was well graded and in good shape as it switchbacked up through a green forest.

Wildflowers in the forest included a few washington lilies, penstemon, northern phlox and tiger lilies along with the typical group of white flowers.

As far as markers went on this trail it did cross closed Forest Road 590 after .4 miles and passed a single rocky viewpoint near the 1.75 mile mark.

Near its end the Saddle Trail passed through a small meadow with a few remaining wildflowers.

The trail ended at a signed three way junction with the Olallie Trail.

Here we turned right passing through thimbleberry bushes for a little over 100 yards to a four-way junction.

We turned onto the Horsepasture Mountain Trail which climbed gradually at first.

Flowers here included lupine, lousewort, wallflower, valerian, and fleabane.

After nearly three quarters of a mile of gradual climbing the trail steepened as it climbed through meadows with beargrass. It wasn’t quite the beargrass display we had been hoping for but there were some nice blooms along the way.

Other flowers in these meadows included coneflower, owls clover, and cat’s ear lilies.

After 1.2 miles the Horsepasture Mountain Trail began to climb the mountain’s south side through a drier wildflower meadow.

The Three Sisters and Mt. Bachelor were visible to the east as was snowy Diamond Peak to the south.
Middle Sister

Three Sisters and Mt. Bachelor

Diamond Peak

There was a nice variety of wildflowers on display.

A large cairn and remains of the old lookout marked the summit.

The view from the summit included Cascade peaks from Mt. Hood to the barely visible tip of Mt. Thielsen.
Mt. Hood, Mt. Jefferson, Three Fingered Jack, and Mt. Washington.

The Three Sisters (with the top of Broken Top over South Sister’s southern shoulder) and Mt. Bachelor.

Diamond Peak(Mt. Thielsen is out there too)

Cowhorn Mountain on the left and the tip of Mt. Thielsen to the right.

We took a nice long break at the summit enjoying the views and the flowers. Birds and insects were our only company.

The only negative was seeing the fire scars left in the Three Sisters Wilderness from the awful 2017 fire season. We returned the way we’d come passing two other sets of hikers making their way up the Horsepasture Mountain Trail. We also ran into a family of grouse. A single chick flew across the trail then mama landed in the trail.

Her display of feathers and her posturing let us know that she had other chicks in the area so we stopped and waited until two more flew across the trail.

She then flew up into a tree to let us pass. The remainder of the hike was uneventful as we descended the Saddle Trail back to the trailhead. The seven mile hike and extended stay on the summit kept us within our driving to hiking time ratio but more importantly the hike had been really nice. Good views and wildflowers combined with solitude made for another great day in the Willamette National Forest. Happy Trails!

Flickr: Horsepasture Mountain

Tags Beargrass, East Fork Upper Trailhead, Forest Road 1993, grouse, hiking, Horsepasture Mountain, Horsepasture Trailhead, Horspasture Mountain Trail, O'Leary Trail Complex, Oregon, Saddle Trail, wildflowers, Willamette National Forest

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