Tag: Mt. Jefferson

Triangulation Peak & Boca Cave via Cheat Creek

Post author By derwoodynck
Post date September 14, 2014
9 Comments on Triangulation Peak & Boca Cave via Cheat Creek

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

We decided to do something a little different this week and visited Boca Cave in the Mt. Jefferson Wilderness. We started at the Cheat Creek Trailhead along Whitewater Rd http://www.fs.usda.gov/recarea/willamette/recreation/hiking/recarea/?recid=4266&actid=50 as opposed to beginning at the closer Triangulation Trail Trailhead http://www.fs.usda.gov/recarea/willamette/recreation/hiking/recarea/?recid=4274&actid=50. The later would leave us with a mere 4 mile hike which would mean our driving time would likely be more than our hiking time which is something we try and avoid.

The Cheat Creek Trail is approximately 2.9 miles long gaining 1700′ in elevation and ending at the Triangulation Trail. We arrived at the trailhead a little early but with just enough light to set off.

It is not a heavily used trail and that was evident as there were some downed trees and several areas where the trail was somewhat overgrown.

Around the 2.5 mile mark we arrived at Wild Cheat Meadows. I was hoping we might find deer or elk in the meadows but no luck. There was some nice Fall colors beginning to show along the edge of the meadows though.

After leaving the meadow we climbed to the junction with the Triangulation Peak Trail and hung a left.

From the junction it is just over 2.5 miles to the .6 mile Triangulation Peak Trail. This section of the Triangulation Trail was fairly level but it was also narrow and overgrown in spots. We were now basically heading back the direction we’d come up but were now hiking along the ridge high above the Cheat Creek valley. As we continued on the views started to open up to the South and East.
Mt. Jefferson:

Three Fingered Jack, Middle & South Sister, and Mt. Washington:

There was also one spot along the trail where we could see Boca Cave.

The trail eventually crosses over to the North side of the ridge as it wraps around Triangulation Peak. Once on that side we could see Mt. Hood and Olallie Butte.

A nice newer looking sign announced the Triangulation Peak Trail.

It wasn’t until we were on this final .6 mile climb that we ran into our first other people, a pair of hikers that were on their way down after spending the night. Near the top we passed a rock cairn marking a trail to the left, the unofficial path to Boca Cave. Before checking out the cave we headed up to the summit to take in the views and have a short break. There was a little smoke in the air due to a series of fires near Oakridge, OR but we still had a pretty decent view.

We headed back down to the cairn and started our descent down to the cave. The scramble trail was steep, narrow and required caution. Boca Cave was impressive though. The cave is about 60′ back and 80′ wide with a high ceiling. There is a constant drip of water in the back of the cave and the opening frames Mt. Jefferson.

After thoroughly inspecting the cave we returned to the trail and began our return trip. We passed several more hikers on the way down the Triangulation Peak Trail but once we turned right on the Triangulation Trail we were alone again. We were headed straight toward Mt. Jefferson for awhile on the way back. The Sun had passed overhead and the smoke had lifted some giving us some of the clearest views of the day.

It was sunny in the meadows on the way back but still no deer or elk.

It certainly would have been easier to have started at the Triangulation Trailhead, but there is something to be said for logging miles alone in the forest. Either way Boca Cave is worth the trip and the views from Triangulation Peak are just the cherry on top. Happy Trails!

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Tags Boca Cave, Cheat Creek, Cheat Creek Trail, hiking, Mt. Hood, Mt. Jefferson, Mt. Jefferson Wilderness, Olallie Butte, Oregon, Three Fingered Jack, Triangulation Peak, Triangulation Trail, Wild Cheat Meadows

High Cascades Hiking Oregon Three Sisters Area Trip report

South Sister Loop – Day 3

After not being able to fall asleep in the wake of an amazing second day the third day of our backpacking loop started way to early. I woke up just after 5am needing to empty my bladder. Looking out our tent to the East I could see an orange glow through the trees indicating that the Sun was coming, but not for awhile. I threw my headlamp on, grabbed my camera hoping to get a shot of the horizon, and started to walk toward the edge of the plateau that Demaris Lake sits on. I was scanning the forest with my light when I noticed a pair of glowing eyes about 50yds to the left of our tent. They were fairly low to the ground and I couldn’t tell what it was. Since I didn’t know what kind of animal was staring at me I wasn’t sure if I should get big or slowly back away. Not being fully awake my solution was to take a picture using the flash to see if I could figure out what it was. That may not have been the best idea, but when the flash went off I could see that it was a deer that was bedded down.

She got up after I took the picture and began walking along the ridge in front of me so I stopped heading that way and thought I would loop around behind to get my horizon picture. Apparently she didn’t like that because when I looked back in the direction she had been headed she had turned around and was now walking toward me with her head down.

She stopped when she realized I’d spotted her and I backtracked down to the lake shore and tried taking a wider loop around a rocky outcropping to get my picture. I got to good viewpoint and after scanning for the deer I set about trying to get a decent picture.

After taking a few pictures I suddenly had a strange feeling. Glancing to my right there was that crazy deer again staring at me with those glowing eyes. I headed back down to the lake and hurried back to the tent site to grab my poles and wake Heather up thinking that maybe the presence of a second person would deter the stalker deer. It must have because we didn’t see her again and were able to watch the sunrise light up the mountains and trees above the lake.

After a deer free breakfast we returned to the Camp Lake Trail at the North Fork Wychus Creek. A nice little waterfall lay just downstream from the creek crossing.

Soon we entered the area burned during the 2012 Pole Creek Fire.

The forest is only starting to recover from the fire so there wasn’t much to see as we made our way to the Green Lakes Trail and Soda Creek.

We turned right on the Green Lakes Trail and headed south toward Park Meadow. The first section of trail remained in the burn area but we were now headed back toward the mountains so we at least had a view.

After recrossing the North Fork Wychus Creek and then crossing the South Fork Wychus Creek the trail passed between a pair of ponds at the edge of the burn. The large pond on the left was empty while the much smaller pond on the right was filled with ducks.

After leaving the burn area our next marker was the West Fork Park Creek in Red Meadow.

There weren’t many flowers in the meadow but a hawk provided some entertainment as it watched us from a nearby tree.

From there it was just under a mile to our next trail junction located in Park Meadow.

After taking a quick look at Park Creek we continued on the Green Lakes Trail passing through Park Meadow. The meadow was quite large with a good view of both Broken Top and the South Sister. Although it was fairly dry many gentian flowers dotted the ground along with the occasional aster.

We were looking for a side trail about a mile from Park Meadow that would take us to Golden Lake. There was no sign marking the .7 mile trail to the lake but as we made our way toward the lake we did see signs announcing the areas restrictions.

It was easy to see why this was a popular spot.

We hiked around to the far end of the lake and decided to follow the inlet creek up looking for a place to set up our tent far enough from the lake to fit the 250′ restriction. We knew that there were a pair of tarns about a mile up from Golden Lake which we had originally planned on visiting after we had found our camp site and dropped off our gear. We weren’t having much luck finding a site, but the scenery was once again spectacular. Wildflowers lined the creek and the water was as clear as glass. We were headed straight at Broken Top and the South Sister loomed across the creek to our right.

We eventually reached the beginning of the creek as it flowed out from the bottom of a rocky hillside.

We began climbing the hill expecting to find the first tarn at the top.

We were not disappointed.

The water in the tarn was crystal clear and the views extended to Mt. Jefferson to the North.

A path led up another hill to the second tarn. It was quite a bit smaller and there was a hiker with a dog splashing around in it so we headed back down to the first tarn and went about setting up camp. We had found our spot for the night.
Second tarn

South Sister over the first tarn

Our campsite back in the trees on the far side of the tarn.

We had views all around from the site.

The nice part was we had arrived just after 1pm so we had plenty of time to soak our feet (the water was way too cold for anything else) and watch the wildlife that would occasionally stop by the tarn.

We decided to try and turn in early (or at least take a nap) since we didn’t get much sleep the night before so we laid down in the tent around 6pm. Heather fell asleep but I wasn’t having any luck so I got back up shortly after 7pm and took a few more pictures. It had been hazy to north all weekend but I could now make out Mt. Hood in that direction, and rays of sunlight shot through the gap between the South and Middle Sister.
The Three Sisters, Three Fingered Jack, Mt. Jefferson, and Mt. Hood at 7:04pm

Broken Top at 7:07pm

I went back to the tent and laid back down after taking the picture of Broken Top hoping to finally get some sleep. About 20 minutes later I smelled smoke. Thinking it was a campfire I lay there for a minute wondering if someone wasn’t able to follow the restriction on campfires. The smell kept getting strong so I sat up and looked around. Smoke was filling the basin below Broken Top and when I turned around I could see a line of smoke passing between the Sisters. The whole valley below us was full of smoke and it looked like it was rising up from somewhere on the other side of the South Sister.

I woke Heather up and we began discussing what to do. Another hiker came up to the tarn and she was wondering what was going on as well. She had a satellite phone and had managed to talk to a friend in Bend but they didn’t have any knowledge of a fire near the Sisters. There were some fires near Oakridge, OR 40 miles to the South but it didn’t seem possible that this smoke was coming from there. Looking at the smoke column we weren’t sure if we would be able to hike out via Green Lakes since it appeared to be rising from somewhere in that direction so we considered our Plan B evacuation route back through Park Meadow to the Three Creeks Campground. We were also debating on if we should try and stick it out through the night of if we should just pack up and try and get out before it got any worse. We quickly agreed that neither of us would be able to get any sleep under these conditions and if the smoke got any worse it would certainly be unhealthy even if we did manage to fall asleep.

We loaded everything up grabbed our headlamps and started back down toward Golden Lake just after 8:15pm. We were watching the smoke column still unable to decide exactly where it was emanating from when arrived back at Golden Lake. No one had any new news at the lake so we decided to attempt to hike out as originally planned past the Green Lakes as it looked like the smoke was coming from the far side of the South Sister.

This was our first experience with night hiking so we didn’t know exactly what to expect. Our adrenaline was pumping as we began climbing the Green Lakes Trail to its high point above the Green Lakes. To our surprise and relief the smoke lessened as we went. By the time we arrived at the Green Lakes area the sky was full of stars and the smell of smoke had all but vanished.

I managed one picture of the elusive Green Lakes having once again missed seeing them in the light of day.

We were now committed to leaving though so we kept hiking. It turned out to be quite a bit of fun. We missed out on seeing a lot but the sky was beautiful and we spotted some things we would not have seen during the day like toads and the glowing eyes of many deer.

We were fortunate that the Green Lakes Trail is well used and easy to follow. By 11:40pm we had reached the trailhead and our waiting car. There was no sign of fire anywhere around and as it turned out the smoke had come from the Deception Creek Complex of fires near Oakridge. The wind had apparently shifted just right flooding the area with smoke. Although it would have been nice to have spent the night by the tarn and been able to wake up to that view we felt like we made the right choice. Experiencing our first night hike was something to remember and it brought our day 3 total to a nice round 21 miles. It truly was a trip to remember.

Happy (and smoke free) Trails!

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High Cascades Hiking Mt. Hood Area Oregon Trip report

Burnt Lake to Paradise Park Overnight

Post author By derwoodynck
Post date July 15, 2014
4 Comments on Burnt Lake to Paradise Park Overnight

Our latest overnight trip brought us to the Mt. Hood Wilderness where we planned to continue honing our backpacking skills. We plotted out a trip that would bring us to some new places as well as some previous favorites. The plan was to start at the northern trail head of the Burnt Lake Trail, pass Burnt Lake and climb up to East Zig Zag Mountain where we would take the Zig Zag Mountain Trail up to the Paradise Park Trail. From there we would head up to Paradise Park and camp somewhere along the Paradise Park Loop Trail near Split Rock. We’d been to East Zig Zag Mountain and Paradise Park in 2012 on separate hikes, but we had come in on different trails for those trips.

We set off from the Burnt Lake trail head shortly before 7am and quickly entered the Mt. Hood Wilderness.

The trail climbed between Burnt Lake Creek and Lost Creek for 1.9 miles before crossing and then recrossing Burnt Lake Creek. Near the 2.5 mile mark an unmarked side trail to the left led downhill to Lost Creek Falls. (Waterfalls on Lost Creek became a theme for this trip.)

The trail then veered away from Lost Creek and climbed for a mile up to Burnt Lake. Along the way we got our first glimpses of Mt. Hood.

We stopped briefly to check out Burnt Lake but decided to wait until the return trip to locate the best viewpoint of Mt. Hood from the lake shore.

From Burnt Lake the trail climbed up to the Zig Zag Mountain Trail where we took a brief detour to visit the summit of East Zig Zag Mountain. Heather decided to remain amid the wildflowers at the junction with the southern portion of the Burnt Lake Trail while I climbed up to the former lookout site.
Mt. Hood and Burnt Lake from the south trail junction:

Trail heading up East Zig Zag Mountain:

Wildflowers:

Mt. Jefferson:

Mt. Hood:

Butterfly:

Heather waiting at the junction:

After getting my wildflower fix we headed East on the Zig Zag Mountain Trail and began climbing towards Paradise Park. The trail began with a nice gradual ascent through open meadows of beargrass, huckleberry, and other bushes. It was fairly overgrown but easy enough to follow.

We then came to a forested ridge where the trail suddenly steepened – downhill! We had been at 4600′ when we joined the Zig Zag Mountain Trail and needed to get up to 5800′ in 3.7 miles to reach Paradise Park. Going down meant more climbing on the way up as well as having to climb up on the way back down the following day. There were at least 4 fairly brief but steep descents before we began climbing again. At least were some nice views of the mountain ahead of us and a view of our goal.
Paradise Park is the light green areas just above the tree line:

The Paradise Park Loop Trail passed just below the pile of boulders:

As we neared the Paradise Park Trail Junction we began to see lots of avalanche lilies, a telling sign of recent snow melt, and a few patches of snow still hanging on.

After joining the Paradise Park Trail we passed through several meadows and a nice viewpoint of the Zig Zag River before arriving at the Pacific Crest Trail in a mere .2 miles.

Zig Zag River Canyon and Mississippi Head (the rock outcropping at the center of Mt. Hood):

Oh the choices!

We crossed over the the PCT and climbed up to the Paradise Park Loop Trail which was a fairly steep .5 miles and 400′ above us. It was late August when we visited in 2012 and to this day the wildflowers in the meadow at the junction of these two trails remains the best display we’ve seen. There was little indication of the scene to come this trip as the snow was still melting off and only a few early flowers could be found. The view of Mt. Hood was still top notch though.
Late August 2012

Mid July 2014

Western Pasque Flower

Avalanche lilies and paint

We headed left at the junction and started looking for our tent site. We passed several good locations but had something specific in mind. We were looking for a site close to a water source, with a good view, but also with some shade as it was quite warm. We made our way North passing the remains of the Paradise Park Shelter, crossing both branches of Lost Creek, and passing Split Rock before we found what we had been looking for.
South Branch Lost Creek crossing

Mt. Hood from the crossing

North Branch Lost Creek crossing – The snow shelf made this one tricky as the creek was flowing under the edge of the snow.

Split Rock

Camp

After setting up camp we spent the rest of the afternoon and evening alternating between exploring the area and relaxing as we waited for sunset.
Mountain heather beginning to bloom

Cinquefoil

Shooting Star

Marsh marigolds

Western pasque flowers

Mt. Jefferson

Mt. St. Helens

East Zig Zag Mountain and some of our route from earlier in the day

Yocum Ridge on the other side of the Sandy River. The waterfall is on what appears to be an unnamed fork of the Sandy River but I’ve seen it referred to as Paradise Park Creek.

The Sandy River

Waterfall flowing down into Lost Creek

Marmot in the grass near the falls

Our shadows as the Sun was getting lower

Small waterfall on Lost Creek

Sunset

After watching the Sun go down we turned in. For some reason I wound up awake shortly after 4am so I grabbed the camera again and waited for the sunrise.
The Moon was super bright all night and a few clouds had moved in to the South by the morning

Starting to get some sunlight

Then came the colors

After a breakfast of Mountain House freeze dried scrambled eggs and bacon (yes we managed to use our stove this trip 🙂 ) we packed up camp and began our return trip. We decided to continue on the loop which would bring us back to the PCT which we could then take South back to the Paradise Park Trail junction. This would allow us to visit a few waterfalls on the way back. The first of the falls is on Rushing Water Creek as it comes down from Paradise Park. There was a nice display of wildflowers just before the falls here.

There was a trail crew from the Pacific Crest Trail Association gathered at the base of the falls that was out doing some trail maintenance.

It had clouded up and as we were passing the falls rain began to fall lightly. We decided to stop at the next set of falls to waterproof our sleeping bags just in case it started to rain harder. The next set of falls were on Lost Creek. Both branches come down within a short distance of each other and both in scenic waterfalls.
North Branch Lost Creek

South Branch Lost Creek

It was raining off and on but not very hard but then we began to hear thunder. We picked up our pace as best we could as the thunder became steadier and we started to see the flashes of lighting. We had made it to the Paradise Park Trail and were back on the Zig Zag Mountain Trail when the hike got really interesting. We came around a bend in the trail and less than 20 yards ahead of us was a black bear. We all instantly froze, even the bear for a split second before it turned in bolted back into the forest. All I’d had time to do was say “bear” before it had vanished. I had just put the lens cap back on the camera and tucked it under my shirt to keep the rain off of it so I had no chance at getting a picture. Heather went for the bear spray just to be safe but it was long gone.

We made it back to the steep sections that we were dreading without further incidents. The climb was pretty much as ugly as we’d expected but the rain had let up without ever getting too heavy so we were dry at least. Dry until we reached the overgrown section of trail that is. By the time we emerged from that section we looked and felt like we’d forded a thigh-high creek. 🙂

When we got back to Burnt Lake we headed down past campsite C where there is a great view of Mt. Hood from the lake shore.

We ticked off the remaining 3.5 miles at a brisk pace pausing occasionally to sample the salmon and blueberries that were ripening nicely along the trail.
Oval-leaf blueberries

Mt. Hood had delivered another amazing adventure. Happy Trails!

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Hiking Middle Santiam Old Cascades Oregon Trip report

Crescent Mountain

Our wildflower adventure in the Old Cascades continued on our way home from Bend on July 6th. The hike we’d chosen was Crescent Mountain which is less than five miles from Iron Mountain as the crow flies. A 4.5 mile trail climbs up the SE ridge of this crescent shaped mountain through a series of meadows to another former lookout site.

The first 2.5 miles climbed through a nice forest with a crossing of Maude Creek at the 1.3 mile mark.

The trail then entered the first meadow which was full of bracken fern and some wildflowers.

The ferns gave way to more wildflowers as the trail continued to climb. Then we spotted a field of beargrass ahead. It turned out to be the most densely packed we’d ever seen.

Butterflies and birds could be seen flying about in all directions. Behind us a view of Mt. Washington and The Three Sisters opened up across the open hillside.

There was a nice variety of flowers in bloom.

The meadows lasted for about a mile before the trail reentered the forest and climbed a ridge to a trail junction. Taking the uphill fork to the right we quickly popped out on the rocky summit where the former lookout had stood. The view here was better than Iron Mountain with Three Fingered Jack unobstructed and Crescent Lake below nestled in the curve of the mountain.
Mt. Jefferson

Mt. Washington and The Three Sisters

Three Fingered Jack and Black Butte

Diamond Peak

Mt. Hood & Mt. Adams

Crescent Lake

There were more flowers, butterflies and birds up at the summit and despite a brief encounter with mosquitoes when we left the meadows we were left alone to enjoy the scenery.

Hummingbird enjoying the paint

Coming down we ran into a pair of hikers passing through the meadow who were equally impressed with the flowers. We agreed that we’d probably timed it as well as could be hoped. It was a great way to end the holiday weekend. Happy Trails!

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Tags Beargrass, black butte, butterflies, crescent lake, crescent mountain, Diamond Peak, hiking, hummingbird, maude creek, Mt. Adams, Mt. Hood, Mt. Jefferson, Mt. Washington Area, Oregon, The Three Sisters, Three Fingered Jack

Hiking Middle Santiam Old Cascades Oregon Trip report

Iron Mountain and the Meadows of Cone Peak

Post author By derwoodynck
Post date July 9, 2014
7 Comments on Iron Mountain and the Meadows of Cone Peak

July means wildflowers in the Old Cascades, the eroded peaks that are now the western foothills of the Cascade Mountains. We were headed over to Bend, OR for the 4th of July weekend so we seized the opportunity to check out a couple of the hikes on the way over and back. On the way over to Bend we decided to revisit Iron Mountain, a hike we had done in 2010 during the final week of July. We missed the wildflower peak that year by a couple of weeks so we hoped we would be hitting the area at a better time this visit.

On our previous visit we did the loop clockwise by starting at the trailhead located on road 15 and heading up Iron Mountain first then through the meadows on Cone Peak. This time around we parked at Tombstone Pass and headed counter-clockwise in order to hopefully have the meadows to ourselves before the trail got crowded.

We took a short detour on the Tombstone Nature Trail that circled around a meadow with flowers and a view of Iron Mountain.

After finishing the nature trail we crossed Highway 20 and started climbing up the Cone Peak Trail. We started seeing flowers almost immediately. It seemed every open area had an assortment of different flowers.
Lupine, Columbine & Thimbleberry

Wild Rose

Columbine

Larkspur

Penstemon & Blue Gilia

Cat’s Ear Lily

Woolly Sunflower

Flower variety

Columbia Windflower

Wallflower

Paintbrush & Larkspur

More variety packs

We’d already lost count of the number of different flower types we’d seen by the time we got to the main meadow 1.2 miles from the highway crossing. In the meadow we found even more types of flowers as well as views of Cone Peak and Iron Mountain.

Cone Peak

Cone Flower

Giant Blue-eyed Mary

Iron Mountain

Scarlet Gilia

We’d been hearing some elk off and on while we were in the meadow and as we were exploring a rocky outcrop Dominique noticed some brown spots in a meadow up on Iron Mountain. There were 7 elk moving through the brush grazing on the vegetation as they went.

We left the meadow and reentered the forest as we wound our way around Iron Mountain to the junction with the Iron Mountain Lookout Trail. There were still flowers everywhere and now we were starting to get views of the snowy Cascade Mountains.

Mt. Hood

Mt. Jefferson

The Three Sisters

At the site of the former lookout is a railed observation deck and bench which allowed for a relaxing rest as we took in the 360 degree view which spanned from Mt. Adams to Diamond Peak.
Mt. Adams & Mt. Hood

Mt. Jefferson beyond Cone Peak and the top of Three Fingered Jack behind Crescent Mountain

Mt. Washington

The Three Sisters, Mt. Bachelor & The Husband

Diamond Peak

The view was so good even a hummingbird took a break from the penstemon to take it in.

We headed back down to the trail junction and continued on our loop passing more flowers, recrossing Highway 20, and returning to Tombstone Pass on the Old Santiam Wagon Road.
Beargrass

Bunchberry & Queens Cup

The flowers had certainly been better than on our previous visit and it looked like they would be pristine for another week or two. It was a great way to start a holiday weekend. Happy Trails!

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

Whetstone Mountain

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

One of the hikes we wanted to do this year was a repeat of a hike we’d done back in 2010 when we were just getting into hiking. The goal of that hike was Whetstone Mountain. When we were done with that hike we had no idea how far we’d gone, we just knew that it kicked our derrieres. We wanted to revisit this hike to find out just how far it was and to also see how we would fare now being more prepared and experienced.

The previous hike had ended with Heather and I jogging down the closed portion of forest service road 2209. We weren’t jogging for fun, we were jogging because we couldn’t walk any longer and we desperately wanted to be back at our car. We were heading back now armed with 4 years of experience and a Garmin to find out just how difficult this hike really was. The starting point for this loop was the Opal Creek trail head which was already full of cars when we pulled up at 6am. The trail head is the main gateway into the Opal Creek Wilderness and Jawbone Flats a former mining camp turned ancient forest center. A gate at the trail head blocks any unauthorized vehicles from reaching the center.

We set off down road 2209 and followed it across Gold Creek.

Shortly after the bridge a sign and wilderness registration box announced the Whetstone Mountain Trail heading up on our left. We turned up it and quickly entered the Opal Creek Wilderness.

The trail climbed steadily through rhododendrons and beargrass. Neither Heather nor I remembered much about this portion of the hike from our first visit. It may be that we suppressed the memory of this difficult climb :). It wasn’t until we reached a small saddle with an open view of Mt. Hood to the north that anything looked familiar.

Another notable item that we remembered was an anvil shaped rock outcrop that could be seen through the trees as well as view of Mt. Jefferson.

On our first visit we had been disappointed with the mountain views. We had been told to look for a trail that forked off to the left and led to a nice view, but we never found it that first trip. We had our eyes open again this time determined to find this trail to a view, but this time we didn’t need to look very hard. A nice new sign had been put up pointing directly at a well maintained trail. It’s hard to believe either was there on our previous visit. The sign was surely new and we couldn’t believe we would have missed such an obvious trail.

The views kept getting better as we climbed toward the former lookout site. The trail passed a nice meadow below the rocky summit before winding up on top where a 360 degree view awaited.

Olallie Butte, Mt. Jefferson and Battle Ax Mountain

Mt. Hood

Broken Top, Coffin Mountain and the Three Sisters

Three Fingered Jack

Diamond Peak

Mt. Rainier

Mt. Adams

We would have liked to have stayed up on the summit for awhile but it was crowded up there. Mosquitoes were beginning to swarm us and there was no breeze to keep them at bay so we didn’t stick around very long and headed back down to the Whetstone Mountain trail to continue our loop. Not far from the summit we passed another lovely meadow filled with larkspur and paintbrush.

The trail down the east side of Whetstone Mountain had a gentler grade than the side we had come up. We didn’t remember this section either until we reached the bridge less crossing of Battle Ax Creek. On our last visit we removed our shoes and socks and made sure our pant legs would stay dry. Our attitudes about creek crossings have changed since then and this time we just plunged in.

Shortly after crossing the creek we popped back up on the old road 2209 at a trail junction. We turned toward Jawbone Flats and headed down the abandoned mining road. As we were walking I spotted a snake trying to get out of the way. It didn’t seem too concerned with us and posed for several pictures. Nique and I moved on and soon realized we’d lost Heather. When she caught back up she told us that the snake had come over to check her out.

About a mile from Jawbone Flats are the remains of the Ruth Mine. We took a moment this time to check out the old equipment and shafts.

Just before Battle Ax Creek reaches Jawbone Flats there is a nice open rocky area where we could get an up close view of the clear water that the Opal Creek Wilderness is known for.

We had gone straight through Jawbone Flats crossing Battle Ax Creek on a footbridge on our previous visit but we had made other plans this time. The bridge had recently collapsed so there was no direct route through the old camp. Instead we would take the Kopetski Trail which would take us across the Little North Santiam River and by the Opal Pool.

Closed bridge:

Old mining equipment:

Little North Santiam River:

Opal Pool:

Despite the number of cars in the parking lot that morning we had only seen one group of people up until we reached the Opal Pool. From that point on we were passing another group every couple of minutes. Since we had hiked this trail in 2012 and we’d already been hiking for over 6 hours we didn’t bother with exploring all the possible access points to the river. After a mile and a half we recrossed the river on another bridge and were back on road 2209. We had one last stop to make. There was a waterfall that we had yet to find along the trail. We knew it was somewhere behind the old Merten Mill but we had yet to actually see it. Determined to finally see Sawmill Falls we turned off the road at the old mill and followed a path next to the building. This time we found the falls easily and it was worth the side trip.

After a brief rest we returned to the road and began the home stretch. Nique and I began snacking on the Salmonberries that were ripening along the trail (Heather finds them too sour) and we passed a good patch of flowers growing in an exposed rocky section.

We ended up with the Garmin showing a 16.3 mile hike which would explain why it had seemed so hard 4 years ago, it was hard :). We’d probably gone closer to 15 that day since we hadn’t found the summit trail or taken time to explore the Ruth Mine, Opal Pool, or Sawmill Falls but up until then 7.1 had been our longest hike.

It is really a beautiful area with lots of options, but if you don’t like crowds avoid weekends, especially nice ones. When we got back to the parking area the number of cars had more than doubled. If we were to ever do this loop again I’d go the opposite direction to minimize crowds and to take advantage of a more gradual climb. Happy Trails!

flickr: https://www.flickr.com/photos/9319235@N02/sets/72157645240344216/
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Tags battle ax creek, battle ax mountain, Coffin Mountain, hiking, jawbone flats, Mt. Hood, Mt. Jefferson, opal creek, opal creek wilderness, opal pool, Oregon, rhododendron, ruth mine, sawmill falls, snake, whetstone mountain

Year-end wrap up

The hikes of 2013 – A year in review.

Post author By derwoodynck
Post date December 27, 2013
1 Comment on The hikes of 2013 – A year in review.

What an amazing year of hiking it was! As we reach then end of 2013 we thought we’d make one final entry recapping the beautiful areas and unique features we were blessed enough to encounter while out on our “wanderings”. We began the year in February at the Oregon Coast, hiking at Gwynn Creek and Cape Perpetua then finished up just a couple of weeks ago, once again on the Oregon Coast at Tillamook Head, 140 miles north of where we had started. Sandwiched in between these two hikes were 40 other adventures in which we climbed mountains, crossed rivers, and scrambled cross-country to explore a small sampling of the trails of NW Oregon and SW Washington. We put together a map of the approximate location of the trailheads for each of the hikes.

An interactive version can be viewed on mapquest using the following link.
http://mapq.st/1bQXoXo

I’ve always been interested in numbers so I have kept quite a few statistics regarding these 42 hikes. Here are some of those that I found most interesting. We visited 10 wilderness and 2 scenic areas in 8 different national forests. In addition to the national forests we hiked in 4 state parks and at a national volcanic monument. Some of the other numbers are as follows:
Total Miles (according to the Garmin) – 515.2
Cumulative Elevation Gained (approx.) – 88,000′
Minimum/Maximum Elevation – sea level/10,358′
Total Moving Time (per the Garmin) – 240hrs 36min
Total Time on the Trails (per the Garmin) – 280hrs 6min
Total Miles Driven (approx.) – 7550 miles

For the most part the weather was good. We had a warm, dry end to Winter which carried into Spring clearing many trails of snow earlier than normal. This allowed for some earlier visits to some of the higher elevation areas and also an early bloom for most of the wildflowers including the bear grass which only blooms every 2nd or 3rd year. A mild summer kept temperatures bearable and despite the dry beginning to the year the fire season wasn’t too bad. Fall brought an early snowstorm and left an early winter wonderland at mid-elevations and some unusually cold temperatures of late created some interesting ice displays.

Words can’t do justice to the beauty of God’s creation that we experienced this so year I’ll try to keep them to a minimum and attempt to let pictures show what they can.
I have to start with the Cascade Mountains. The most awe inspiring creations, these steadfast beacons that on clear days dot the horizon always seem to draw our attention.

From the rim of Crater Lake in the south to Mt. Rainier in the north they rise above the other ridges, rooted in their positions, yet ever changing in order or varying in appearance depending on what our location was. Some of the views we had were amazing.

Mt. Scott, Mt. Thielsen, Mt. Baily, & Diamond Peak from the South Sister Summit

Cascade Peaks from Mt. Bachelor to Mt. Hood (minus the North Sister which was hidden behind the Middle) from Mt. Fuji

Mt. Washington to Mt. Hood from the Pacfic Crest Trail near Yapoah Crater

Mt. Washington to Mt. Bachelor from Three Fingered Jack

Mt. Rainier, The Goat Rocks, and Mt. Adams from Wildcat Mountain

Mt. St. Helens, Mt. Rainier, and Mt. Adams from Silver Star Mountain

Individual peaks working from the south to the north.
Mt. Thielsen:
From Fuji Mountian

Diamond Peak:
From Waldo Mountain

From Fuji Mountain

Mt. Bachelor:
From Fuji Mountain

From Tam MacArthur Rim

Broken Top:
From above Moraine Lake

From Fuji Mountain

From Tam MacArthur Rim

South Sister:
From above Moraine Lake

From Tam MacArthur Rim

From Fuji Mountain

Middle & North Sister
From Tam MacArthur Rim

From Scott Meadow

From the South Sister

Mt. Washington
From the Matthieu Lakes Trail

From Fuji Mountain

From Three Fingered Jack

Three Fingered Jack:
From the Matthieu Lakes Trail

From Canyon Creek Meadows

Mt. Jefferson:
From Fuji Mountain (Dwarfing Three Fingered Jack)

From Hanks Lake

From Three Fingered Jack

From Bays Lake in Jefferson Park

Mt. Hood:
From Barrett Spur

From Table Mountain

From Elk Meadows

From Lamberson Butte

From Youcum Ridge

From Timothy Lake

Mt. St. Helens:

From the Loowit Trail on Mt. St. Helens

From Johnston Ridge

Mt. Adams:
From Silver Star Mountain

Mt. Rainier:
From Wildcat Mountain

From the giant rock towers of the mountains we move on to the delicate meadows full of wildflowers that often times call the mountains home. We visited amazing wildflower displays near Mt. Hood, Mt. Jefferson, and Three Fingered Jack but the Cascades were possibly outdone by Silver Star Mountain in Washington.
Bear Grass on Mt. St. Helens

Balsam Root and Paintbrush in the Ochoco National Forest

Clearcut on Silver Star Mountain

Meadow on Salmon Butte

Elk Meadows

Near Heather Creek on Mt. Hood

Mt. Hood Meadows

Lupine in Canyon Creek Meadows

On Coffin Mountain

Avalanche Lilies on the Timberline Trail

Western Pasque flowers and Paintbrush near Elk Cove

Barret Spur on Mt. Hood

Gentians in Jefferson Park

Jefferson Park

Along the South Brietenbush River in Jefferson Park

Aster on Yocum Ridge

On Yocum Ridge

More from Yocum Ridge

There weren’t many hikes where the presence of water was not felt. We encountered it in various forms and in an array of colors. There were lakes, creeks, rivers, waterfalls, springs, and the Pacific Ocean adding sights and sounds to our hikes.
Roaring Creek

McKenzie River

Tamolitch Pool

Russell Lake

Umbrella Falls

Diamond Creek Falls

Heather Creek

South Matthieu Lake

Benham Falls

Carver, Camp, and the Chambers Lakes

Lewis Tarn

Creek near Pamelia Lake

Timothy Lake

Little Crater Lake

Frozen pond near Fuji Mountain

Birthday Lake

Ramona Falls

Pacific Ocean at Tillamook Head

Pacific Ocean from Cape Perpetua

Last but not least the most unpredictable of the sights out on the trails are the creatures that call these places home. From flying ants on Coldwater Peak to the black bear who left its tracks in the snow on Fuji Mountain we were the tourists traipsing through their neighborhoods. We spotted our first elk, snow shoe hare, and sooty grouse this year. We also had the mysterious case of “mouse rain” on Salmon Butte which you can read about here:https://wanderingyuncks.wordpress.com/2013/06/20/salmon-butte/

Butterflies

Birds

Little guys

Big Guys

We’d like to leave you with what each of us found to be their favorite hike and the most difficult. For myself Elk Meadows was my favorite. https://wanderingyuncks.wordpress.com/2013/07/24/elk-meadows/ The variety and beauty we encountered on that hike put it atop my list. As for the most difficult I chose Silver Star Mountain https://wanderingyuncks.wordpress.com/2013/07/04/silver-star-mountain/ which was also in the running for my favorite. The heat on that day made it the hardest one for me.

After much deliberation Heather chose the same hike as I did her favorite, Elk Meadows; something about that day had her mesmerized as we traveled up Gnarl Ridge towards Mt. Hood. For the most difficult she picked Observation Peak due in part to having fallen shortly after we stared the hike and spraining her hand and wrist. It made for a more challenging and uncomfortable hike as she endeavored to keep her injury elevated above her heart during most of the journey. https://wanderingyuncks.wordpress.com/2013/07/09/observation-peak/

Dominique chose Fuji Mountain for his favorite. There was snow and a great view with a reasonable amount of distance. https://wanderingyuncks.wordpress.com/2013/10/09/fuji-mountain/ For the most difficult he picked Table Mountain and the climb up Heartbreak Ridge. https://wanderingyuncks.wordpress.com/2013/06/14/table-mountain/

I am already hard at work putting together a 2014 itinerary which will include some overnight backpacking trips and hopefully visits to the Goat Rocks Wilderness and Mt. Adams in Washington. If all goes as planned we will kick things off in January, take things slow until we’ve recovered from our April half or full marathons, and then be ready to crank things up in May. Until 2014 here is a link to a 2013 hikes in pictures album on Flickr http://www.flickr.com/photos/9319235@N02/sets/72157635497870439/

Merry Christmas & Happy Trails!

Bend/Redmond Central Oregon Hiking Oregon Trip report

Black Butte

For the final hike of our vacation we decided to say farewell to the mountains for the year. Black Butte provided us the opportunity to get one last good view of the Cascades and a nice bit of elevation gain to boot. We had been checking the weather forecast as often as possible to see if it would be worth the effort and when we went to bed the night before our hike the forecast was for clear sunny skies all day long. They were wrong. lol

My first inkling that something was amiss was when I was loading the car in the morning and there were no stars visible in the sky. As we began our drive to the trailhead occasional sprinkles of rain were falling, but we were committed now and figured that it was early and maybe the clear skies were just a little late.

We arrived at the lower Black Butte Trailhead under cloudy skies but at least there was no rain. The trail set off through pine trees and a carpet of orange ferns.

We caught several glimpses of Black Butte on the lower portion of the trail and at least it was cloud free (it had not been on the drive earlier).

The lower portion of the trail passed through a variety of forest types. The ever changing makeup of the trees and plants was very interesting.

There would have been some mountain views on a clearer day along this portion as well but on this day all we could make out was the snow line at the base of Mt. Washington and Three Fingered Jack. We were still hoping that the cloud cover would burn off by the time we reached the summit so we continued to climb to the upper trailhead.

From the upper trailhead we climbed out of the forest to the more exposed upper slopes of Black Butte. Here the view was virtually unobstructed by trees but the clouds were a different story. There was a thick layer of clouds above our heads but low enough to hide the taller Cascade Peaks. Below us were smaller patches of clouds passing by and sometimes over us.

As the trail wound up and around the butte we got our first good look at the lookout tower. We also noticed that the summit appeared to be a bit snowy or at least frosty.

We had been overly warm as we climbed so far and had taken most of our layers off but as we entered the “white” zone we were met with much colder air. As we worked our way around the north side of the butte a slight breeze brought even colder air to us and kept this side of the butte wintry white.

To the north we could see the edge of the upper cloud layer as sunlight reflected off the lower clouds.

To the NE we spotted the top of a snowy mountain against blue sky – Mt. Hood!

Further around we found ourselves staring at the base of Mt. Jefferson. The view was strangely reminiscent of the view we’d had on Double Peaks on the opposite side of the mountain just 3 days earlier with clouds covering the upper 2/3rds of the mountain and blue sky apparently above and behind the mountain.

At the summit the snow/ice created some interesting scenes.

We explored the area on top of the butte where the lookout tower is not the only structure. A 1924 cupola that was the former lookout and a log cabin where the lookout staff lives were also present.

Signs on the summit listed the mountain peaks that would be visible on a clear day from Broken Top to the south to Mt. Adams to the north. We were mostly left with our imaginations. 🙂 Looking out over the log cabin we could see a good portion of Three Fingered Jack and some of Mt. Jefferson.

We hung around for a little over half an hour hoping that the clouds would break up but the lower clouds just kept coming up from behind us and the upper clouds didn’t seem to be budging. Just as we started to leave though we noticed the upper layer was breaking up to the north and there seemed to be some breaking up near Mt. Jefferson. We turned around and headed back toward the cabin but the low clouds were rising up just in front of us so we again headed back down. I kept looking back though hoping for something when we finally got a little break and the summit of Mt. Jefferson made an appearance over a ribbon of clouds.

As the upper clouds retreated south we suddenly had blue sky above us and the frosty coating quickly melted from the trees and plants.
As we came around to the south side of the butte Mt. Washington was a bit more visible.

The upper layer of clouds retreating south

Just as quickly as the blue sky had appeared one of the larger low clouds enveloped the side of Black Butte and we were once again without a view.

When we got down past the upper trailhead we finally got back out of the cloud and could once again see out to where the mountains would be. Even though the upper layer of clouds had mostly retreated the lower clouds were quickly replacing it and many of them clung to the taller peaks. We did manage to get a good view of several small peaks and buttes though.

We even got a brief glimpse of North Sisters summit.

This time on the lower trail we spotted a decent amount of wildlife including chipmunks, douglas squirrels, golden-mantled squirrels, and various birds. Some were more willing to have their pictures taken than others.

We were supposed to meet my parents at the trailhead at 2:00 so they could drop off Dominique (who had chosen not to accompany us on the hike). A series of mishaps led to a bit of an adventure but while we were waiting a group of deer came by the parking area.

We eventually met up with my parents and reclaimed Nique and headed home. With that the bulk of our 2013 hikes were behind us. We’ll hopefully get out a couple more times this year, but our activities have now shifted to running for the next several months. It’s the beginning of our race season and we are all starting to train for a 15 mile trail run in a couple of months. Happy Trails.

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Tags black butte, cupola, deer, golden-mantled squirrel, hiking, lookout tower, Mt. Hood, Mt. Jefferson, Mt. Washington Area, Oregon, Three Fingered Jack

High Cascades Hiking Mt. Jefferson Area Oregon Trip report

Red Lake Trail

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

I am a bit behind on our trip reports but that’s because we were busy getting a few more hikes in on our final week of vacation. After our hike on the coast at Pacific City we headed back toward the mountains on Thursday. We had been debating on whether or not to attempt the hike we had planned due to the early snow that had been falling in the Cascades. The planned hike had us starting on the west end of the Red Lake Trail, climbing Potato Butte, continuing on to Top Lake, and then making a small loop past Cigar Lake where we would attempt to climb Double Peaks before returning to the Red Lake Trail and our car.

It was a nice morning as we set off and there were some good Fall colors on display. We climbed for a mile and a half before reaching the trails namesake – Red Lake.

After passing Red Lake the trail then visits three more lakes in the next 1.3 miles. Avrill Lake was up first with a great reflection of Olallie Butte and Twin Peaks.

Next up was Wall Lake where we got our first good glimpse of Potato Butte.

Finally we came to Sheep Lake where a pair of ducks paddled beneath the reflection of Double Peaks.

We took a trail on the eastern end of Sheep Lake that led up to Potato Butte. There were several swollen ponds along this trail and in places standing water obscured the path. We wound up losing the trail at the base of the butte and decided to scramble to the top and hope to pick up the correct trail at the summit.

One of the many swollen ponds along the Potato Butte Trail

We arrived at the summit and easily picked up the official trail. We had a fairly good view of Mt. Hood despite the presence of some clouds and a great view of Olallie Butte.

On the way down on the real trail we got a good look toward Mt. Jefferson which was hiding in the clouds and at Double Peaks. At 5280′ Potato Butte had only small amounts of scattered snow but Double Peaks was clearly snow-covered at its height of 5998′.

Looking toward Mt. Jefferson from Potato Butte

Twin Peaks on the left and Double Peaks on the right from Potato Butte

When we got to the base of the butte we saw the reason for our having lost the trail on the way up. One of the ponds had enveloped the actual trail making it impossible to see. We made our way around the edge of the pond and back to the Red Lake Trail and continued east toward the Pacific Crest Trail which we would use for part of our small loop to Cigar Lake.

The trail passed Fork Lake and several other unnamed ponds/lakes as it slowly climbed toward the PCT. We also began encountering more and more snow as we went.

The snow made it possible to see a variety of animal tracks showing us just how many different species that we never see walk these same trails. At the PCT junction we continued on the Red Lake Trail heading down now to Top Lake.

At Top Lake we left the Red Lake Trail and skirted the overflowing lake to its south end and climbed back up to the PCT near Cigar Lake.

There was a good amount of snow at Cigar Lake but we decided to see how far up Double Peaks we could make it. We found the marker for the trail easily enough, but between the snow and the extra water around Cigar Lake we were having a hard time determining just where the trail actually was. Luckily for us a deer had left us a set of tracks that we were able to follow that led us across and around the edge of Cigar Lake and to the continuation of the Double Peaks Trail which was just barely identifiable by a slight indentation in the snow.

Once we found the trail it was like walking through a winter wonderland. The snow was anywhere from a half-inch deep to mid-shin. The snow-covered trees looked ready for Christmas making this one of the most enjoyable stretches of hikes we’d had.

The trail was fairly steep and we almost lost it near the top when it veered up between some boulders but we managed to follow it all the way to the summit.

The base of Mt. Jefferson from Double Peaks

Timber, Olallie, Long, and Monon Lake from Double Peaks

We didn’t get the view of Mt. Jefferson we’d hoped for but the snow more than made up for that. As we started down Double Peaks the day began to warm up and the snow was melting quickly. We did a lot of sliding down the slushy trail before reaching the PCT again and heading back to the Red Lake Trail. We returned the way we’d come only now we had some blue skies and sunlight as we passed the lakes and arrived back at our car. Happy Trails!

Twin Peaks from Sheep Lake in the afternoon

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Tags Avrill Lake, Cigar Lake, Double Peaks, hiking, Mt. Hood, Mt. Jefferson, Olallie Butte, Olallie Lake, Oregon, Pacific Crest Trail, PCT, Potato Butte, Red Lake, Snow, Top Lake

High Cascades Hiking Oregon Trip report Waldo Lake Area

Fuji Mountain

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

After a (well timed) scheduled week off we were back on the trails this past weekend. A highly unusual storm had rolled through as September gave way to October. Not only had this storm brought record amounts of precipitation but some of that precipitation fell as snow as low as 4000′. The hike we had planned, Fuji Mountain, topped out at 7144′ so we weren’t sure if it was going to be doable but some warmer weather moved in and we decided to give it a go. If we managed to make it up to the summit we knew the views should be great, and worst case scenario we could just choose a different lower trail in the area.

Fuji Mountain is located in the Waldo Lake Wilderness near Highway 58. A pair of trail heads lead to the summit. From the SW a 1.5 mile option starts on road 5883 making for a nice short hike. We chose to start from road 5897 (Waldo Lake road) to lengthen the hike a bit and visit some of the areas many lakes.

The trail begins just below 5000′ and started out snow free, but that didn’t last for long. We quickly began seeing snow along the trail and then on the trail itself. We followed a single set of hikers prints as we climbed up toward the first of the lakes.

They weren’t the only set of prints in the snow. 🙂

It wasn’t long before there was more snow covered trail than not but the snow wasn’t very deep, only on occasion measuring 6″. The trail climbed for about a mile then gently rolled along a plateau dotted with ponds and lakes for another 2.5 miles. Many of these were at least partly frozen making for some pretty scenery.

Shortly after crossing the South Waldo Trail the Fuji Mountain Trail began climbing again. In another mile we met up with the trail coming from road 5883 and began the final 1.2 mile climb to the summit. Here there were more hiker tracks in the snow but we only saw one other couple who were on their way down after spending the night on the summit.

As we climbed we began to have views of snowy Diamond Peak and Mt. Thielsen to the south, but these views paled in comparison to what awaited at the summit. When we arrived at the summit a 360 degree view awaited with Waldo Lake and a string of snowy peaks to the north and more mountains to the south. To the east lay Wickiup Reservoir and Odell Lake with distant Paulina Peak and nearby Maiden Peak in between. To the west were the foothills leading to the Willamette Valley.

Cowhorn Mountain, Mt. Thielsen, Hillman Peak and Diamond Peak

Looking west along the summit ridge of Fuji Mountain

It was a beautiful day at the summit, sunny and warm with no wind. We took our time eating lunch and enjoying the tranquility before heading back down. On the way out Heather and I decided to take a brief side trip along the South Waldo Trail to the Island Lakes. It was around half a mile to Lower Island Lake with it’s green water and tiny rock island. Just up and across the trail from Lower Island Lake was Upper Island Lake which also had a small rocky island.

Lower Island Lake's island — Lower Island Lake’s island

The warm weather made the return trip pretty slushy as the snow was melting fairly quickly. When we arrived back at the half frozen pond the scene had changed quite a bit.

We all really enjoyed being able to take a hike through the snow and it made for a nice change of pace. I don’t know if the early snow is a sign of things to come or just a fluke but it was enjoyable. Happy Trails!

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Tags birthday lake, Diamond Peak, fuji mountain, High Cascades, hiking, island lakes, Mt. Jefferson, mt. thielsen, Oregon, The Three Sisters, Waldo Lake, waldo lake wilderness