Tag: hiking

Panther Creek Falls and Indian Heaven Wilderness

Post author By derwoodynck
Post date September 15, 2015
4 Comments on Panther Creek Falls and Indian Heaven Wilderness

**Note the 2017 East Crater Fire burned a portion of this hike.**

What a difference a week makes. On our previous hike to the Olallie Lake Scenic Area we spent our time in a chilly damp fog and then dealt with the occasional rain shower. Our most recent hike to the Indian Heaven Wilderness was the exact opposite with sunny skies and temperatures in the upper 70s. This was a hike that had been pushed back a couple of weeks first due to smoke and next the weather conditions of the previous week.

The Indian Heaven Wilderness is located in Washington State southeast of Mt. Adams. http://www.wilderness.net/NWPS/wildView?WID=258 This was our first visit to this particular wilderness and we had chosen the Thomas Lake Trailhead as our starting point. The trailhead is located along Road 65 (Panther Creek Road) approximately 21 miles from the city of Carson, Washington. We planned on taking the Thomas Lake Trail to the Pacific Crest Trail (which runs north-south through the entire wilderness) and then following the PCT north to Junction Lake where we could do a 4 mile loop past several lakes before returning to the car. We also had the option of going off-trail and hiking up Gifford Peak before reaching the PCT.

Before we got to any of that though we stopped along Road 65 at the Panther Creek Trailhead to take the short path down to see the falls.
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After checking out the falls we continued on to the Thomas Lake Trailhead.
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The parking area was nearly full at 7:30am which told us we’d be seeing plenty of other people on this hike as we set off on the trail.
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There were occasional views of Mt. St. Helens as we followed the trail up through the huckleberry filled forest toward Thomas Lake.
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We reached the first set of lakes after a half mile.
Thomas Lake
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Dee Lake
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Heather Lake
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Just past the first three lakes was a trail junction with a short path to Eunice Lake.
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After visiting Eunice Lake we returned to the Thomas Lake Trail which climbed steeply up above those lakes before leveling out through meadows ablaze with red huckleberry leaves.
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More lakes and ponds awaited along this stretch of trail.
Brader Lake
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Unnamed lake/pond
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Naha Lake
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About two miles from the trailhead the trail took a sharp right at a trail sign.
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There were a few more trees along this section of trail but also still plenty of berry bushes and lakes/ponds.
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After about a mile when the trail crossed a small creek we needed to decide if we were going to try the 0.8 mile climb of Gifford Peak. We were below a rocky outcropping but it appeared that we could sidehill up steeply to a saddle where we hopped to pick up the ridge and follow it to the top.
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With the help of the topographic map loaded on the GPS unit we gained the ridge and found a path that was fairly easy to follow.
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The first section up to the saddle proved to be the steepest and the rest of the climb was more gradual. Openings near the summit offered views of Mt. Hood, Mt. St. Helens, and Mt. Rainier.
Mt. Hood
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Mt. St. Helens
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Mt. Rainier
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It wasn’t exactly the clearest of skies as there seemed to be a haze in every direction. Whether it was smoke from fires or just due to the heat/humidity in the area we weren’t sure but it was still a nice view. We reached the summit to find a small summit register and a view of Mt. Adams and Goat Rocks.
Mt. Adams
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Goat Rocks
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After making our way back down to the trail we continued on passing Lake Sahalie Tyee before reaching the impressive Blue Lake below Gifford Peak.
Lake Sahalie Tyee
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Blue Lake
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We arrived at the PCT at the far end of Blue Lake.
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We turned left and headed north toward Junction Lake which was 2 miles away. At Junction Lake we took the Lemi Lake Trail to start our loop.
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Some of the best fall colors were in the meadows between Junction Lake and Lemi Lake.
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As we reached Lemi Lake we were discussing the differences in the lakes on this hike verses in the Olallie Lake area and one of the things we’d noticed was that we hadn’t seen any ducks on this hike. Just as we were discussing that we noticed a lone duck floating on Lemi Lake.
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The Lemi Lake Trail ended just over 2 miles from Junction Lake at the Indian Heaven Trail.
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We turned left continuing on our loop and passing above the busy Clear Lake.
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We arrived back at the PCT after just .3 miles and took another left passing Deer Lake and more ducks.
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Not far from Deer Lake was Bear Lake where we decided to rest for a bit and have a snack. Bear Lake rivaled Blue Lake with it’s impressive colors.
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When we had completed our loop and returned to Junction Lake we decided to take a shortcut back by following an old abandoned trail to the Thomas Lake Trail near Rock Lakes.
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This abandoned trail was still easy to follow and passed through even more scenic meadows and past additional ponds.
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After 1.7 miles we arrived at Rock Lakes.
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We picked up the Thomas Lake Trail at the sign where we had taken the sharp right earlier that day. From there it was just over 2 miles back down to the trailhead.
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The total distance of the hike was 14.9 miles in the wilderness plus .3 miles at Panther Creek Falls which made for a nice full day. It was a great first visit to the wilderness and we look forward to going back to check out some of the other trails in the area. Happy Trails!

Flickr: https://www.flickr.com/photos/9319235@N02/albums/72157658130857169

Tags bear lake, blue lake, brader lake, Clear Lake, deer lake, eunice lake, gifford peak, heather lake, hiking, indian heaven wilderness, lake sahalie tyee, lemi lake, naha lake, Pacific Crest Trail, panther creek falls, Rock Lakes, thomas lake, Washington

High Cascades Hiking Mt. Jefferson Area Oregon Trip report

Red Lake Trail – Olallie Lake Scenic Area

Post author By derwoodynck
Post date September 8, 2015
5 Comments on Red Lake Trail – Olallie Lake Scenic Area

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

We hadn’t been out on a single night backpacking trip yet this year so when a somewhat favorable forecast for the Labor Day weekend presented itself we decided to take advantage and make return trip to the Red Lake Trail. Our first visit had been in October 2013 when an early snowfall resulted in a winter wonderland. https://wanderingyuncks.wordpress.com/2013/10/15/red-lake-trail/
On that hike we had not gotten the views of Mt. Hood and especially Mt. Jefferson that we had hoped for. Were hoping that either the partly sunny skies on Saturday or the mostly sunny skies on Sunday that were called for would offer up those views this time around.

The plan this time around was to start at the west end of the Red Lake Trail along Road 380 and hike to the Pacific Crest Trail. We were hoping we would find a suitable camp site near Neknoberts Lake a little off of the PCT then take the rest of our day to explore the area. We planned on doing a small loop using the Red Lake Trail and PCT to visit Olallie Lake then take the PCT south to the Ruddy Hill Trail where we hoped to climb to the former lookout site for a grand view of Mt. Jefferson. We also planned on climbing Double Peaks, which we had done the last trip, on our way back to camp. The second day we would pack up and revisit Potato Butte on the way back to the trailhead.

Our first inkling that the forecast may have been a bit off came when we arrived at the trailhead where a low sheet of clouds hung above the forest.
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We began climbing up toward Red Lake and quickly entered a misty fog which did a wonderful job of soaking our shoes, socks, and pant legs. By the time we had reached the short side trail to Red Lake the fog was so thick the lake wasn’t really visible. We passed by Averll Lake next which was a little less foggy.
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The lakes were proving difficult to see but the fall colors showing along the trail weren’t as we passed Wall Lake.
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We were finally able to get a good look at one of the lakes when we reached Fork Lake. It was a lot lower than it had been in 2013 giving a good indication of the drought conditions we experienced this year.
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Fork Lake October 2013
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We arrived at the Pacific Crest Trail after 4.3 miles at a four way junction.
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Here we turned right (south) on the PCT. We were looking for a low spot where we could turn off the trail and head cross-country to nearby Neknoberts Lake. With the help of our GPS unit we were able to make our way to the lake where we found an old sign.
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There were a few suitable camp sites so we picked one out and set up our tent.
Campsite (after the fog had lifted)
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The fog seemed to be lifting by the time we finished getting situated. We threw on our day packs and headed back to the trail. The original plan had been to take the PCT north from the 4-way junction to Olallie Lake then return to the junction on the Red Lake Trail. When we got back to the 4-way junction though I forgot the plan and we turned right down the Red Lake Trail toward Top Lake. In the end it didn’t matter which way we went but it did manage to confuse me a bit when I realized that we would have to go north briefly instead of south from Olallie Lake to complete the loop. We had taken this portion of trail down to Top Lake on our previous visit and it was interesting to see the differences along the way.
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From Top Lake we continued downhill on the Red Lake Trail passing several ponds lined with color.
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Just over a mile from Top Lake we arrived at the eastern end of the Red Lake Trail on Skyline Rd. A .3 mile road walk brought us to the Olallie Lake Picnic Area.
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There wasn’t much of a view form the lake due to the low clouds but we wandered along the shore for a bit hoping that things would improve before we headed for Ruddy Hill.
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From Olallie Lake we went north on Skyline Rd for about a tenth of a mile where we connected back up with the Pacific Crest Trail at Head Lake. Swimming is banned in Olallie Lake but this lake had a little platform in the water for warmer days.
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It was 1.4 miles from Head Lake back to the junction. Along the way we passed another small lake/pond, more fall colors, and some views back down of Olallie Lake.
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We passed the 4-way junction for the third time that day staying on the PCT and making for Cigar Lake, just a half mile away.
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We passed the trail to Double Peaks here and continued south. We were headed for the Ruddy Hill Trail which was another 2.3 miles down the PCT. The scenery along this section was an interesting mix. There were ponds, meadows, forested sections, and large Upper Lake.
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We also passed the signed “Many Lakes Viewpoint”.
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Most of the lakes were hidden by the clouds but we were able to make out a few.
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We arrived at the Ruddy Hill Trail resigned to the reality that we weren’t likely to have any kind of a view from the top, but we weren’t about to let that stop us so we headed on up.
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The half mile trail to the top was a steep one. As we trudged up the hill we noticed what looked like it might be snow.
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Upon closer inspection though it appeared to be hail that must have recently fallen.
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It must have been a pretty good storm because there was still a fair amount if it left in spots along the way.
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As we neared the top we passed a large group of hikers who were headed down. They confirmed that the summit was socked in and there weren’t any views to be had.
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It was actually pretty nice up on the summit and we took a short break with one of the locals before heading back down.
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As we headed back toward Cigar Lake on the PCT we decided that we would only climb Double Peaks if we could see the summit when we reached that trail. It was hard to tell but things had been improving all day which was evidenced when we passed the Many Lake Viewpoint again.
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When we did reach the Double Peaks Trail we had a tough decision to make. There was just thin bit of cloud hanging on the summit and it appeared to be lifting as we watched.
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It was just under a mile up to the summit via another steep climb. We debated whether or not we should give it a shot and in the end decided that if we didn’t and the clouds did lift then we’d regret it so up we went. Here again the contrast in scenery from our last visit was huge.
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As we climbed we got a good view of Neknoberts Lake where we’d set up camp.
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Once we reached the top of Double Peaks we headed for the western summit first. The clouds were beginning to break up but they just kept coming from that direction.
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We then headed over to the eastern summit where the views were better.
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The view we were really hoping for had eluded us again though as Mt. Jefferson was once again hidden by clouds.
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After watching the clouds go by for quite awhile we returned down to the PCT and headed back to Neknoberts Lake. We stopped briefly at nearby Ring Lake where we had a good view of a cloud free Double Peaks.
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We got a much better look at Neknoberts Lake when we arrived back at camp.
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We fixed ourselves dinner and then turned in for the night having covered 17.9 miles that day. The next morning we woke to much clearer skies.
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We had had the lake to ourselves other than a lone duck that paddled around as we packed up.
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We headed back to the PCT and the 4-way junction and turned left on the Red Lake Trail. We were enjoying some nice sunshine and hoping they were an omen of good views atop Potato Butte. The closer we got to the Potato Butte Trail though the less likely that looked. The blue skies of the morning were already being replaced by another curtain of grey clouds at Fork Lake.
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When we reached Sheep Lake we turned right on the unsigned Potato Butte Trail.
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We stopped briefly to watch a busy Downy Woodpecker searching for breakfast.
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Yet another steep climb awaited us to reach the top of Potato Butte. We took a short side trail near the top to a rocky viewpoint facing Mt. Jefferson. Olallie Butte was cloud free, but alas Mt. Jefferson was not. At least it was a better view than the day before as we could see the lower portion of the mountain including some of the Whitewater and Jefferson Park Glaciers. A dusting of newer snow also showed on the slopes.
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We continued on to the summit even though we knew there was virtually no chance that we’d get a glimpse of Mt. Hood to the north.
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We headed back down to the Red Lake trail stopping at all the lakes to take a final look.
Unnamed lake below Potato Butte
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Double Peaks from Sheep Lake
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Potato Butte from Wall Lake
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Double Peaks from Averill Lake
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Red Lake
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It had started raining off and on while we were on Potato Butte so we didn’t stay long at any of the lakes and we were quickly headed back down the trail from Red Lake for the final 1.6 mile stretch.
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It had been a nice trip and the fall colors were great, but we still hadn’t managed to experience the areas mountain views. I was already thinking of other places we could visit in the area as an excuse to come back and try again for the elusive views. Happy Trails!

Flickr: https://www.flickr.com/photos/9319235@N02/albums/72157657878053358

High Cascades Hiking Mt. Hood Area Oregon Trip report

Salmon River Trail

Rain! We finally got some much needed rain in parts of the Pacific Northwest this past weekend. While it helped out with a few of the many wildfires burning in the area, strong winds associated with the storm fanned the flames of others on Saturday. For us it meant rearranging our hiking plans a bit. We wanted to avoid the strong winds and find a hike where cloudy and rainy conditions wouldn’t interfere with possible views. We typically look for a river or creek hike in similar conditions and chose the Salmon River Trail in the Mt. Hood National Forest. The trail follows the Salmon River into the Salmon-Huckleberry Wilderness and past some nice old growth forests. Our plan was to start at the Old Salmon River Trailhead which is located 2.7 miles along Salmon River Road off of Highway 26 at Zig Zag. From the trailhead we would hike the Old Salmon River Trail up to the Salmon River Trailhead (located 4.9 miles along Salmon River Road) and follow that trail 3.5 miles to a canyon viewpoint.

We arrived at the trailhead about 6:30am under cloudy skies and a light mist.
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The river was sometimes deep and calm and at other times flowed noisily over rocks.
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The trail occasionally joined Salmon River Road for short sections. The trail ended the third time it met the road at the 2.6 mile mark. On the far side was the start of the Salmon River Trail.
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We alternated between passing along the river and through the old growth forests of the Salmon-Huckleberry Wilderness.
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At a fork in the trail, at the 3.5 mile mark, the right hand path led out to a grassy viewpoint.
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The Salmon River flowed through the canyon far below.
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It had been raining a little harder as the morning went on but we had a brief respite at the viewpoint and took a short break before the rains returned and we resumed our hike.
It was a pretty quick return trip being mostly downhill following the same route we’d come up earlier. Even though we’d already hiked the trail in the other direction we’d missed a small waterfall on a side creek across from the Old Salmon River Trail.
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We also stopped to admire a large nursery log that had several decent sized trees growing atop it.
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It had been a great hike for the rainy weather and a beautiful place to visit. Happy Trails!

Flickr: https://www.flickr.com/photos/9319235@N02/albums/72157657952382142

Tags frustration falls, hiking, Mt. Hood National Forest, old salmon river trail, Oregon, salmon river, salmon river trail, slamon-huckleberry wilderness

High Cascades Hiking Oregon Trip report Waldo Lake Area

South Waldo Lake

**Note a portions of this hike burned in the 2022 Cedar Creek Fire.**

South Waldo Lake is a hike that had been bumped for the schedule the past two years for various reasons. Last year it was due to the nearby Deception Creek Fire which caused the area to be rather smokey at times. Smokey conditions were exactly what prompted us to move this hike up two weeks on our schedule and finally do it. We had originally planned on making our first visit to the Indian Heaven Wilderness in Washington but scrapped those plans when the forecast called for a shift in wind direction that would flood that area with smoke from the Cougar Creek Fire near Mt. Adams. The forecast for the Waldo Lake Wilderness looked quite a bit more appealing. It called for hazy skies but it didn’t appear that smoke from any of the numerous fires would be heading directly for that area.

It was a beautiful morning as we began our hike from the Shadow Bay Boat Launch on Waldo Lake.
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There was a little haze on the horizon but the skies were blue overhead. There was a good bit of wind blowing which made for a cold morning as we headed along the Shore Trail.
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Occasional glimpses of Waldo Lake revealed the clear blue waters of the second largest natural lake in Oregon.
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At the 1.7 mile mark we arrived at the South Waldo Shelter. It was one of the nicest and well stocked shelters we’d visited.
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Just beyond the shelter after crossing a footbridge we arrived at a junction with the South Waldo Trail. Here we left the Shore Trail and entered the Waldo Lake Wilderness.
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We followed this trail through the wilderness for 1.6 miles passing small meadows and a pond to a four way trail junction.
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The trail left the wilderness just before reaching the junction. At the junction there were signs and flagging up for a trail run that was happening that morning. We had seen the runners preparing for the race when we were driving to the trailhead and had wondered where their course was. A runner was just passing the junction as we arrived and we cheered him on before continuing. We were a little distracted by the signs and runners and wound up taking the wrong trail. We had meant to take the first trail on the right but had not seen the correct one as the race organizers had laid some branches down across it so the runners wouldn’t take a wrong turn. We were on the race course now heading in the opposite direction of the runners. We moved and offered support as they passed by. We hadn’t gone too far before we both began to get the feeling we had taken the wrong path at the junction. A quick check of the GPS confirmed our suspicions and we hustled back to the junction.
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This time we saw the partly obscured path and headed toward Black Meadows. We reentered the wilderness and climbed up and over a ridge.
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The trail led down to Black Meadows at the base of Fuji Mountain (A hike we did in October of 2013 https://wanderingyuncks.wordpress.com/2013/10/09/fuji-mountain/).
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On the far end of the meadows we arrived at the High Divide Trail. This trail starts at Road 381 and leads to the Shore Trail along Waldo Lake.
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We turned right on the High Divide Trail toward Waldo Lake and began to climb up toward Bingo Lake. The trail had quite a few downed trees across it but none were too difficult to go over or around.
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As we climbed we could see Fuji Mountain behind us.
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In front of us was a forest that showed signs of an old burn and was now filled with berry bushes.
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We stopped at Bingo Lake which was a peaceful little lake and a great place for a break.
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The High Divide Trail headed downhill from Bingo Lake to its junction with the Shore Trail along Waldo Lake.
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We turned right on the Shore Trail passing the shelter in .6 miles and arriving back at the trailhead after another 1.7 miles. Along the way we stopped along the lake shore to take in a view of Twin Peaks and the Middle and South Sister across the lake.
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It had turned out to be a really nice day with only a slight amount of haze on the horizon and we were really glad that we had decided on this hike. We were even happier with our choice when we arrived back in the Willamette Valley to find it inundated with smoke. Eastern winds had funneled smoke from fires as far east as Idaho down the Columbia Gorge and then into the valley. It was a stark contrast to the blue skies above the Waldo Lake Wilderness. Happy Trails!

Flickr: https://www.flickr.com/photos/9319235@N02/albums/72157655297413233

Tags bingo lake, Black Meadows, fuji mountain, High Divide Trail, hiking, Middle Sister, Oregon, Shadow Bay, South Sister, South waldo shelter, Twin Peaks, Waldo Lake, waldo lake wilderness

Hiking Mt. Rainier Trip report Washington Washington Cascades

Mt. Rainier National Park – Northern Loop Trail Day 4

Post author By derwoodynck
Post date August 21, 2015
1 Comment on Mt. Rainier National Park – Northern Loop Trail Day 4

I had another night of poor sleep as my stomach decided to mutiny shortly after 11pm so I was happy to finally see the sky begin to lighten in the morning. After having breakfast and packing up we left Fire Creek Camp and climbed back up to the Northern Loop Trail.

We had over 2000 feet of elevation gain ahead of us again today but we were feeling surprisingly good as we set off. We were tired but at the same time we both felt like we could do this for at least a few more days. It was encouraging since someday we’d like to do a long trip when we have the time.

We had just over a mile and a half climb to reach Grand Park. Along the way we a couple of viewpoints offered great views of Mt. Rainier.

Grand Park lived up to its name. Despite the dry weather it was still an impressive sight and the views of Mt. Rainier were spectacular.

As we were passing through one of the smaller meadows we noticed that there was frost on some of the plants. It was funny how excited we got seeing the frost. It has been such a hot and dry year that the sight of the frost was a welcome sight.

After leaving Grand Park the trail headed down a ridge.

We had been able to see the trail far up the valley climbing out of Berkeley Park and here we were heading downhill.

The trail eventually stopped dropping and began climbing again below Mt. Freemont. Lodi Creek was on the opposite side of the trail between Mt. Freemont and Skyscraper Mountain. We passed through several small meadows with views of Skyscraper Mountain where we spotted a mountain goat.

We spotted a second mountain goat on the cliffs of the mountain a little further along the trail.

As we passed Berkeley Park Camp we found more frost covered plants and even saw a small pool with a thin layer of ice.

The trail continued to climb up the valley along the increasingly scenic Lodi Creek. We popped out of the shadow of Mt. Freemont into sunlight filled meadows and quickly warmed up.

As we neared the top of the valley we spotted a pair of marmots on the hillside. They were hilarious to watch especially when one of them plopped itself down on a rock and spread out its legs.

When we arrived at the Wonderland Trail I realized that I had forgotten that there would still be more climbing to do. I had been thinking we would be heading downhill from that point on and was disappointed when I realized my mistake. The .7 mile climb to Frozen Lake was probably the hardest for me because I had planned on coasting downhill at that point, but once we had reached the lake I was over my mistake and back to enjoying the scenery.

Near the lake I happened to say the word “goat” and two girls nearby freaked out. They thought I had spotted one and they really wanted to see one. They were disappointed to learn that I hadn’t really seen one and even more disappointed to learn that we had seen two on Skyscraper Mountain from Berkeley Park because that was where they had come from. We left them by the lake and turned up the Sourdough Ridge Trial. Shortly after doing so we did spot another goat. Three to be exact, a nannie and two kids.

We looked back to see if they were following but they hadn’t come around the bend yet. Heather considered running back to tell them about the goats but there was no guarantee that she could reach them before the goats disappeared.

We stopped a couple of times along the trail to take in the view to the north. This was the furthest north we’d been while hiking and were seeing Cascade peaks that we had never seen before including the snowy Glacier Peak.

After getting some pictures of the new mountains we began our final descent. The trail was full of hikers huffing uphill from Sunrise. We couldn’t believe how many people there were and we were becoming anxious to reach the car, get cleaned up, and escape the crowds. It was such a stark contrast to the peacefulness of the Northern Loop Trail.

We dropped our packs off at the car and then stepped into the snack bar to get a cold drink and a souvenir. We had discussed chocolate milk on the trail after some muddy water had reminded us of the drink and it had sounded really good. We wound up leaving the snack bar with the most expensive chocolate milk we’ve ever had. Mine was gone before we even got back to the car.

I don’t know when we’ll get back up to Mt. Rainier but I have a feeling we haven’t seen the last of that National Park. Happy Trails!

Flickr: https://www.flickr.com/photos/9319235@N02/albums/72157655104282083

Tags berkeley park, fire creek camp, Frozen Lake, glacier peak, grand park, hiking, lodi creek, marmot, Mount Rainier, Mount Rainier National Park, mountain goat, mt freemont, skyscraper mountain, Washington

Hiking Mt. Rainier Trip report Washington Washington Cascades

Mt. Rainier National Park – Northern Loop Day 2

Post author By derwoodynck
Post date August 20, 2015
No Comments on Mt. Rainier National Park – Northern Loop Day 2

The possible thunderstorms forecast for our first night had never really materialized. We heard a few rumbles in the distance but nothing had seemed close and we didn’t experience any rain overnight. The sky was a little cloudy as we packed up our tent but they seemed to be breaking up. We stopped at Mystic Lake to eat breakfast and enjoy the beautiful morning that was developing around us.

From Mystic Lake the Wonderland Trail climbed through gentian filled meadows to a saddle between the mountain and Old Desolate.

We were hiking with the animals this morning passing birds, frogs, chipmunks, and an owl who silently flew over our heads and down into a lower meadow.

The owl flying low over the meadow just before disappearing down the hillside.

Mt. Rainier was visible beneath the ever shifting clouds as we crested the saddle. The Carbon Glacier filled the valley before us and beyond that was Echo Cliffs and Mother Mountain.

Further down the glacial valley a mass of clouds covered the terrain. We were heading down toward those clouds and we remembered the rain that had been in the forecast for the day.

We followed the trail down to the meadows surrounding Moraine Creek. Along the way we spotted several pikas and had great views of a huge waterfall below Observation and Echo Rocks.

As we continued along Moraine Creek we entered the clouds.

About four and a half miles from Mystic Lake we came to the junction where the Northern Loop Trail split from the Wonderland Trail. The Wonderland Trail crossed the Carbon River on a suspension bridge while the Northern Loop Trail continued to follow the river down the valley. We took a short break here and took a peek at the bridge.

We continued on the Northern Loop Trail for another mile passing through a damp forest to another trail junction.

This junction was located near the lowest elevation point of our whole trip. From the junction the Northern Loop Trail turned uphill for a steep climb to Yellowstone Cliffs. We would be gaining some 2200′ in less than 3 miles to reach the spur trail to Yellowstone Cliffs Camp where we were to camp for the night. The park ranger who had given me our permits said the climb consisted of 38 switchbacks so we began counting them as we climbed. As we trudged up the hillside we were thankful for the clouds since they were keeping the temperature down. We were pleasantly surprised when we ended the switchbacks after about two dozen, well short of the 38 we had expected.

Heather coming up the switchbacks.

The trail became less steep after the swtichbacks before entering the meadows below Yellowstone Cliffs. The cliffs were shrouded in clouds as we started down the spur trail to camp.

By the time we arrived at the tent sites we were soaked due to the moisture on the plants. We quickly picked out our site and set up our tent.

Shortly after getting set up the rain began. It was early afternoon when it started and it wouldn’t let up until sometime during the night. This was our first experience with backpacking in the rain and we were a little concerned about our ability to stay dry. This became more of a concern when I noticed water pooling up outside of the tent near our heads. The ground was so dry and hard that the water wasn’t being absorbed at all. I quickly grabbed our trowel and attempted to drain and steer the water away from the tent. We’d also managed to forget to keep any food out for dinner. When it had started raining I ran the bear bag down to the bear pole and hung it without pulling anything out for dinner. We were left with some peanut m&ms, a small package of green olives, and a meat and cheese stick package apiece.

We stayed in the tent except for a quick trip the bathroom before attempting to sleep. Heather didn’t seem to have any trouble but I had a difficult time. The rain kept coming and I couldn’t stop wondering if we would stay dry and on top of that there was an occasional sound of large rocks falling from the cliffs. The camp was far enough away that I wasn’t worried about them at the time, but I wondered what would happen if they were still falling while we were on the trail in them morning. To top it all off my stomach decided that it really would have enjoyed dinner and that made it just a little harder to get any sleep. I managed to get a couple of hours of broken sleep waiting for morning to arrive. Happy (dry) Trails!

Flickr: https://www.flickr.com/photos/9319235@N02/sets/72157657416432875

Tags carbon glacier, carbon river, echo cliffs, echo rock, hiking, moraine creek, mother mountain, Mount Rainier, Mount Rainier National Park, Mystic Lake, Nothern loop trail, observation rock, old desolate, Pika, Suspension Bridge, Washington, wonderland trail, yellowstone cliffs, yellowstone cliffs camp

Hiking Mt. Rainier Trip report Washington Washington Cascades

Mt. Rainier National Park – Northern Loop Day 1

Post author By derwoodynck
Post date August 20, 2015
3 Comments on Mt. Rainier National Park – Northern Loop Day 1

At the beginning of the year Mt. Rainier National Park was near the top of our list of places we still needed to visit. On our initial hiking schedule I put down four days at Mt. Rainier and began researching possible hikes. The Northern Loop Trail looked to be the perfect choice coming in at close to 40 miles. We decided to submit a request for the necessary wilderness permits in hopes that we would be lucky enough to acquire them. In order to camp in the parks wilderness we needed to have permits and the number of permits are limited due to the limited number of designated camp sites available. The park began accepting permit applications on March 15th and ours was in the mail that day. All requests submitted between 3/15 and 3/31 were collected and on April 1st they began to process them. We found out on May 1st that our application had been accepted and our planned itinerary approved. We had requested Thursday 8/13/15 thru Sunday 8/17/15 with our camp sites being Mystic Camp, Yellowstone Cliffs Camp, and Fire Creek Camp.

We had been excited about the possibility of this trip even before finding out that we got our permits and that excitement only grew when we got the good news. As the date of our trip approached we kept a close eye on wildfire and weather information. Although it has been a bad year for fires none were affecting the park which was good news. The weather news was a little less exciting. The forecast called for a chance of showers or thunderstorms Thursday afternoon and evening and rain on Friday, possibly up to half an inch. There was also a slight chance of showers Saturday morning before becoming sunny for the rest of the weekend. We had our reservations though so we made sure we had plenty of waterproof gear before heading to the park.

The weather was beautiful when we arrived at the Sunrise Visitors Center on Thursday morning. Mt. Rainier was as massive as we’d been led to believe and we couldn’t wait to get started.

We took the Sourdough Ridge Trail up toward the Wonderland Trail (the 93 mile trail that loops the entire mountain) marveling at the views along the way.

In a typical year the flower displays would have been near their peak but just like the rest of the Pacific Northwest they had bloomed at least a month earlier than normal. It didn’t matter though because the scenery and views were spectacular and the few flowers that remained gave us an idea of what it might look like in full bloom.

We met the Wonderland Trail near Frozen Lake. This lake acts as a domestic water supply and was roped off.

Two other trails met at the junction, the Mt. Freemont Trail and the Burroughs Mountain Trail. Both of these looked interesting but would have to wait for another day.

We took the Wonderland Trail which passed below Burroughs Mountain where we spotted over two dozen mountain goats lounging in the shade of the cliffs.

We continued down to another junction, this one with the Northern Loop Trail. This would be our return route to complete the loop on Sunday.

From the Wonderland Trail we had a good view of the climb that awaited us on that final day.

The Wonderland Trail then climbed to a pass on a ridge below Skyscraper Mountain where we took our first snack break where we were joined by a marmot.

From the pass the trail then headed downhill into a forest passing Granite Creek Camp.

We were on our way down to the Winthrop Glacier and to a crossing of Winthrop Creek. The sky had become rather hazy by the time we made it down to the glacier making it difficult to see the mountain. The glacier was much larger than any we’d been around on other mountains in the Cascades.

We passed under Garda Falls which was hidden from the trail, but after crossing Winthrop Creek on a foot bridge and climbing a bit we could look back and see the falls in the forest.

We climbed out of the glacial outwash plain and back into the forest.

Shortly after reentering the forest we arrived at a sign announcing Mystic Camp where we picked out a site and set up camp.

The camp was below Old Desolate and near Mystic Lake. The rocks on Old Desolate were very interesting.

After setting up camp we headed up the trail to Mystic Lake. It was a pretty alpine lake nestled between Mineral Mountain and Old Desolate. The lake shore was dotted with gentians.

We decided to have our dinner at the lake but hadn’t brought it with us so Heather headed back to camp to get our stove and food. When she got back she told me she met a doe and her two fawns along the trail. After dinner we headed back to camp and discovered the deer were still in the small meadow where she had seen them earlier.

Back at camp we found another deer. This one was a buck who was leisurely passing through camp eating as he went.

The showers had never materialized as we turned in for the night. We did hear a couple of rumbles of thunder during the night but never saw any lightning and it never did rain. It had been a great start to the trip and we were looking for to the rest of it. Happy Trails!

Flickr: https://www.flickr.com/photos/9319235@N02/albums/72157657389155121

High Cascades Hiking Mt. Jefferson Area Oregon Trip report

Jefferson Park – 2015

**Note the 2017 Whitewater Fire burned a portion of this hike.**

Since 2011 Jefferson Park has been the one destination that has been on our schedule every year. This year we planned a joint outing with my parents who had not been to Jefferson Park yet. We picked them up bright and early from the Whispering Falls Campground and drove to the Whitewater Trailhead arriving shortly after 6am. We had agreed that we would hike at our own paces and would look for each other in Jefferson Park and if we didn’t meet up there we would do so back at the car. What we failed to do was set a time that we would start back to the car at in case we didn’t run into them. After giving my parents a brief description of what to expect from the trail on the way up we set off.

The forest showed the same signs of the warm and dry year we’ve had. Everything seemed to be at least a month ahead of schedule. Few flowers remained and some of the leaves were already starting to turn color.

The sky to the south was a bit hazy with smoke from fires in Southern Oregon, but Mt. Jefferson was enjoying relatively blue skies.

The Three Pyramids

At the 1.5 mile mark the Triangulation Trail joined from the left at a saddle. This marked the end of the steepest portion of the hike which is never really all that steep to begin with. Approximately a mile from that junction the trail enters a small rock field with a view of the top of Mt. Jefferson.

As I was taking a picture of the mountain I noticed movement in the rocks to my left. I looked over to see a pika dart out onto the rocks.

We love pikas and were excited to be getting such a good look at this one since we typically only hear their “meep” warning of our presence. As we were watching the first pika we began to notice others. In the end we’d spotted 5 different pikas and a chipmunk in the area.

We wound up seeing a sixth pika a little further along the trail making this the highest number of pikas we’d seen on a single hike. Normally seeing a pika, let alone 6, would be the wildlife highlight of a hike, but shortly before reaching the first crossing of the Whitewater Creek around the 4 mile mark the pikas were topped. As we passed a small meadow at the base of a butte we heard some rocks sliding. My first thought was mountain lion because of a recent discussion on how many of the cougar sightings I heard about were the result of hikers hearing rocks moving. When we looked over toward the source of the noise the animal we saw was black so we knew it wasn’t a cougar. It was a bear. This was only the second bear we’d seen while hiking and the first one had run away so quickly that I wasn’t able to get a picture. This time I had my camera ready and the bear was running up an exposed rock slide so I was able to get a few pictures before it disappeared.

We continued on to the Pacific Crest Trail energized from the excitement of seeing the bear. At the PCT we turned left, re-crossed Whitewater Creek, and entered Jefferson Park.

Shortly after entering the park we came to a signed junction and needed to decide where we wanted to go this time.

We settled on heading north on the PCT and trying to find a climbers trail that was shown on one of our maps leading up to the Whitewater Glacier. As we made our way through the park we were struck by just how dry it was and how far past all the flowers already were. The scenery was still amazing though.

We found what appeared to be a decently used trail in what seemed to be the correct area and set off toward the mountain. The trail we were following started bending back to the south though so we were forced to abandon it and take a more direct route toward the ridge where we hoped to pick up the climbers trail. We found another clear path and began following it but then it petered out on a tree covered ridge.

We seemed to be in the correct area according to the map and GPS, but we were unable to spot anything that looked like a trail so we decided to go to plan b and head to Russell Lake where we could pick up the PCT again and decide what to do from there.

We found a few flowers around Russell Lake but again the dry year was evident. The lake was at the lowest level we’d seen and there was no water flowing out of the lake to the South Breitenbush River.

There was still a little water coming down another branch of the river from Park Ridge allowing some monkeyflowers to still be blooming.

We had considered following the PCT part way up Park Ridge and visiting Sprauge Lake which we had not done before, but after looking up at the climb we’d need to do we decided to save that for another trip and instead we headed for the South Breintenbush Trail.

As we reached the South Breitenbush Trail we ran into another couple who recognized my Portlandhikers button. They had stayed overnight near Bays Lake and were on their way up to Park Ridge. After talking for a bit we continued on watching for the side trail to Park Lake which we’d find in a hillside meadow above the river.

The water level at Park Lake was also lower than we’d ever seen, but we realized it was a deeper lake than we’d thought as we looked down into the green water.

Next up along the trail was Rock Lake. Like all the lakes in Jefferson Park this one has colorful water and great views of the mountain. We spotted some trout in the lake as we passed by and got a kick out of watching a happy bird bathing along the shore.

From Rock Lake we made our way to Scout Lake where we thought we might find my parents. It was around 11am and we thought they might have stopped at the lake for a break. We didn’t see them, just more wonderful Jefferson Park scenery.

Our next thought was that they might be at Bays Lake so we headed over to the south end of that lake to take a look. We hadn’t spent much time on that side of Bays Lake so we decided to do some exploring.

We headed down to the day use peninsula and removed our packs to take a break and check out the area.

When we resumed our hike we decided to just loop around the rest of the lake and then head back to Scout Lake.

We still hadn’t seen any signs of my parents by the time we had made it back to the PCT from Scout Lake and we debated on whether to head back to the car or go up the PCT again toward Russell Lake in search of them. It was at this point that we realized that it would have been a good idea to establish a time at which we would head back to the car. We made it all the way back to Russell Lake without running into them which had us a little concerned that they may not have made it all the way to the park. Heather had come up with a theory though, she suggested that they might have gone directly to Russell Lake since that was the ultimate goal for my Mom. If they had done that we easily could have missed them while we were touring the other lakes and then missed them again while we were on the PCT if they had taken one of the other signed trials to Scout Lake. Either way we were fairly certain they were either on their way back to the car or were already there waiting so we headed back down ourselves.

Heather asked a group of young hikers that were on their way up if they’d seen anyone matching my parents description and they had, which made us feel better. We didn’t think to ask how far ahead of us they were though. We picked up our pace but kept getting distracted along the way. It was interesting to see how much the water level had risen in Whitewater Creek as the heat caused an increase in the glacial runoff.

We also kept looking back at the views of Mt. Jefferson.

We were still making pretty good time trying to catch them when we rounded a little bend in the trail and saw a gentleman trying to dust himself off. He was covered in dirt with some scratches on his head and there was a camera mounted on a tripod behind him on the trail. He explained that he had set the timer on the camera and was running up the trail to get in position for the picture when he had tripped. He said he was fine but hadn’t realized he was bleeding until Heather pointed it out. Luckily none of the cuts were deep and there was no real damage. He told us that it wasn’t going to affect his enjoyment of his hike. Just more proof that there is no such thing as a bad hike.

We never did catch up to my parents and I half expected to see them sitting on the bench along the trail at the trailhead, but instead we found them at a picnic table just a few feet away. We found out that they had indeed gone straight to Russell Lake and relaxed there awhile before heading to Scout and Bays Lakes. Heather had been right again. We didn’t know how far we’d wound up hiking with all the wandering we’d done, but we found out when I plugged the Garmin into the computer. According to the GPS we’d covered 18.1 miles, a little bit more than we’d planned on but that’s what can happen with a place as scenic as Jefferson Park. Happy Trails!

flickr: https://www.flickr.com/photos/9319235@N02/sets/72157656592737940

Tags bays lake, black bear, hiking, Mt. Jefferson, Mt. Jefferson Wilderness, Oregon, Pacific Crest Trail, Park lake, Pika, rock lake, Russell Lake, scout lake, south breitenbush river, whitewater creek, whitewater trail

Central Coast Hiking Oregon Oregon Coast Trip report

Salishan Spit

Every August we head to Gleneden Beach for a family reunion, and almost every year we consider hiking Salishan Spit due the starting point being less than a mile from the site of the reunion. We had consistently passed on it though in favor of doing a wildflower hike in the mountains the day after instead. With the wildflower season over early this year it was a perfect time to finally check out the spit. We started at the Gleneden Beach Wayside south of Lincoln City, OR. The wayside consisted of a large parking area, picnic tables, restrooms, and a large gazebo. A rabbit was the only one present when we arrived.

The area was full of salal berries which are edible but not one of our favorites.

There were a few flowers at the wayside as well.

A short path led through a small stand of trees and down to the beach.

It was a weird day at the beach. We had been having a heat wave in the Willamette Valley with highs over 100 degrees and our drive to the coast had been under bright blue skies. When we had arrived at Lincoln City the sky was still blue but there was a big wall of clouds visible off-shore over the Pacific. As we drove south down Highway 101 toward Gleneden Beach the blue sky was replaced by fog. It was blue sky again at the wayside, but when we reached the beach we saw that we were in a pocket of blue amid the fog. The bank of clouds off-shore was also visible.

We headed north along the beach. The tide was out as we watched seagulls search for snacks in the surf.

The beach was fairly free of debris but there were a few items to inspect including some nice drift wood.

One of the things we were looking forward to on this hike was the possibility of seeing some seals. We spotted the first one of the day in the ocean about half way down the spit.

The spit ends where Siletz Bay meets the Pacific Ocean.

As we walked around the end of the spit we spotted many seals floating past on their way back out to the ocean.

We then turned along the bay.

There were several groups of seals lounging in the bay as well as a Great Blue Heron looking for breakfast.

Along the shore we spotted a bird laying in the sand. We weren’t sure if it was injured or just a young bird but we kept our distance so we didn’t disturb it.

A wide path then led through some stunted pines and grasses to the Salishan North parking area.

From the parking area we crossed back over to the ocean due to the presence of private residences on the bay side of the spit beyond the parking area.

We returned along the beach to the wayside. Many of the seagulls were still hunting for goodies to eat although some were now taking a break.

Our total distance was 7.7 miles making this a relatively short hike for us but we finished with plenty of time to get to the reunion on time. It was a far cry from the previous weeks hikes in the Three Sisters Wilderness but it was great to see so many seals and the mild temperatures made for a really nice hike. Happy Trails!

Flickr: https://www.flickr.com/photos/9319235@N02/sets/72157656249280980

Tags drift wood, gleneden beach, gleneden beach waysdie, great blue heron, hiking, lincoln city, Oregon, salishan north, salishan spit, seagull, seal, siletz bay

High Cascades Hiking Oregon Three Sisters Area Trip report

Three Sisters Wilderness Days 3 & 4

Post author By derwoodynck
Post date July 29, 2015
No Comments on Three Sisters Wilderness Days 3 & 4

**Note the 2017 Separation Fire burned a portion of these hikes.**

I am combining the final two days of our Three Sisters Backpacking trip because the last day was simply a 7 mile hike back to the trailhead along portions of the Louise Creek and Separation Lake Trails that we had done on the first day.

The day after our successful off-trail exploration of Linton Creek it was time to pack up camp and move on. We woke to find that the clouds had finally won out overnight and now covered the Three Sisters.

We were once again visited by the deer who stayed back in the trees this time as they made their morning rounds. We packed our things and ate some breakfast then headed back toward Husband Lake. The frog situation around Eileen Lake seemed to have worsened with the arrival of the clouds. There were even more frogs on the trail and the going was pretty slow.

We discovered that tapping our trekking poles on the ground in front of us got the frogs to start getting out of the way sooner so we tapped our way through the frogs and past the lake. The frogs weren’t the only animals out as we had spotted several different types of birds by the time we’d gotten to Husband Lake.

We topped off our water at Husband Lake and then headed for the big trail junction where we would be looking for the Separation Creek Meadow Trail which would take us down to Indian Hole Falls. We had not seen the trail when we were at the junction on the first day and when we got back there we still didn’t see it. Heather thought it might be just a bit up the trail toward the James Creek Shelter and went to investigate. She was right and just over a little rise there was an unsigned but clear trail heading down to the right.

The Forest Service described this trail as “a primitive trail that may be hard to find at times.” That sounded a lot better than the impassable due to heavy blowdown description of the Separation Creek Trail. There were a few downed trees but the path was easy to see and some trees had been blazed to mark the trail.

The trail met Separation Creek in what must have been a spectacular field of lupine. Now it had all gone to seed.

It had also been invaded by grasshoppers.

As we walked they would all jump in unison and make all kinds of noise. I would have liked to get a better look at them but there were also plenty of mosquitoes present and whenever I stopped they landed. We were just about to Separation Meadow and we hadn’t had any issues following the trail up to that point. Then the trail just disappeared. We knew it was to the right of the creek and we noticed a tent set up at the far end of the meadow so we simply aimed for the trees between those two things.

We had to hunt for a couple of minutes to find the trail again once we arrived at the trees. We managed to follow it fine after that all the way to a trail junction with the trail from Buck Meadows. This junction was also unsigned but it was marked with a rock cairn.

We turned left at the junction and began to descend toward Cole Chuck Meadows. Views included Sphinx Butte and The Wife.

The trail went around Cole Chuck Meadows without ever entering it then headed steeply downhill. There was a large meadow below to our left and we could hear Separation Creek roaring in the distance. The trail had loose rocks and dirt and it also passed below the Indian Holes, springs that flowed across the trail and down toward Separation Creek.

The trail then entered the large meadow at a narrow point. The grasses were tall enough to hit us in the face as we passed through. We then entered another treed area before arriving at Separation Creek.

The creek was much wider and deeper than it had been in Separation Meadow. Several other creeks and springs had fed into it since then. We crossed on an old log and and quickly arrived at another unsigned trail junction with the “impassible” Separation Creek Trail.

We could hear Indian Hole Falls from the junction. It was only a couple hundred yards to the top of the falls. This was another impressively massive waterfall. An upper viewpoint allowed for a close up view of the top portion of the falls while a steep scramble down along the creek led to a lower moss covered viewpoint where the entire cascade was visible.

The Three Sisters Wilderness had managed to wow us again and we sat on the mossy ledge of the lower viewpoint in the cool breeze of the waterfall. We climbed back up from the lower viewpoint and decided to head out the the upper one.

After checking out that view we headed back up to the trail to pick up our packs. It was my turn to get stung by an angry yellow jacket. Just as I was about to step back onto the trail I felt a sharp pain on my ankle bone. It took me a minute to figure out what was causing it but once I realized what it was I was able to knock it out of my pant leg. I took a moment to be a bit of a baby then we resumed our hike and head back toward the creek crossing.

As we were passing back through the tall grasses of the meadow we heard some strange noises ahead. It was a family of grouse. The adult stood watch as the young made their way into the safety of the trees.

She stood guard until they were all safe then headed into the trees herself.

We climbed back up the steep trail past the Indian Holes and went straight past the rock cairn. Our plan was to stop at Honey Lake to fix an early dinner and fill back up on water for the final day since we knew there were no sources from Buck Meadows on. We weren’t sure what we’d find at Honey Lake because none of the maps or the Forest Service showed a trail going to the lake but we had seen the pointer for it at the junction by Buck Meadows. As we were looking for the mystery trail we spotted various wildlife along the way.

Sure enough we came to a side trail with a pointer for Honey Lake.

We momentarily had second thoughts about our plan when we saw how far below us the lake actually was.

We knew we needed water though and the lake looked very pretty so we headed down the steep path to the lake shore. It really was a pretty lake and larger than we had been expecting.

We noticed a tent back up in the forest on the far side of the lake and headed around the lake counter-clockwise looking for a good spot where we could set our things down and cook dinner. We found a pair of spots where people had obviously camped, fire rings and all, both of which are illegal within 100 feet of water in the wilderness. One of the fire rings was full of cigarette butts. Yay for people, not 😦 We took off our packs and wandered out to a little peninsula where the breeze kept the mosquitoes at bay.

We took a nice long break at the lake and felt recharged after having our dinner and we were ready to tackle the climb back up from the lake.

The climb back up turned out to be a lot easier than we’d expected and we were soon back on the trail to Buck Meadows. We stuck to the trail this time when we arrived at the meadows and wound up going right around the area we had considered camping in. Once we saw that we had passed it we decided to just keep going and we’d look for a spot further along the meadows. The view from the meadow was changed a bit from our first day with clouds now hiding The Husband.

There wasn’t a viable spot to camp anywhere else along the meadows that we saw so we just kept going keeping our eyes open for an acceptable site. About 1 1/2 miles from the junction at Buck Meadows we came to a dry pond. On the opposite side of the trail was a flat area perfect for setting up camp.

We woke up so early the next morning that we needed our headlamps as we began packing up. We ate breakfast at the edge of the dry pond and then set off down the trail. The 2 man trail crew had done a fine job clearing the trail and we were making great time since we’d just been on this trail a few days earlier and weren’t distracted by many new sights. There are always some new things to see though and we noticed a few flowers we’d missed on the first day.

We reached the Separation Lake Trail a few minutes before 9am and according to our Green Trails map we then had 1.2 more miles to go to the trailhead.

We figured we’d be back at the car around 9:45 based on our normal pace so we were surprised when we saw a familiar wooden bridge that we remembered being near the trailhead sooner than we expected.

We actually wound up back at the car before 9:15. We were moving pretty fast but not that fast. Checking another map it showed the distance from the trailhead to the junction as 0.9 miles which made a little more sense. We were happy to be able to change into some clean clothes and different shoes, but we were also sad to have the trip end. We were already thinking about our next backpacking trip, wondering what new adventures awaited us. Happy Trails!

Flickr: https://www.flickr.com/photos/9319235@N02/sets/72157654071670793

Tags buck meadows, cole chuck meadow, Eileen Lake, grouse, hiking, honey lake, Husband Lake, indian hole falls, indian holes, Oregon, separation lake trail, separation meadow, separaton creek, Three Sisters Wilderness, Willamette National Forest