Timberline Lodge – wanderingyuncks

Silcox Hut and Paradise Park – 08/31/2025

For our second hike of Labor Day Weekend we decided to head to Mt. Hood’s Timberline Lodge and hike up to the Silcox Hut.

The hike to the hut was one of the options Sullivan described in his Timberline Lodge Trails entry of “100 Hikes/Travel Guide Northwest Oregon & Southwest Washington”. We had done the longer options to meet our goal of hiking at least part of all 100 featured hikes in the book (post) so this was a chance to put a bow on this hike.

We parked at Timberline Lodge and hiked past the lodge on the Mountain Access Road.

Sunrise from Timberline Lodge.

We followed the access road to a junction with the Timberline Trail/Pacific Crest Trail.

We angled to the right on a use trail looking for the Mountaineer Trail

The Mountaineer Trail heads uphill along the small ridge ahead.

We turned left when we reached the small ridgetop and began the mile long, nearly 1000′ climb to the Silcox Hut.

The trails are braided and there was also a dirt road that we followed for a bit, but as long as you head up along the ridge toward the buildings, you’re on track.

Aster

The Palmer Lift to the left of the Palmer Glacier.

The Magic Mile and Palmer Lifts to the left with the Silcox Hut to their right (a white van is parked in front).

Timberline Lodge below. The haze is from the numerous wildfires currently burning.

Silcox Hut and Illumination Rock

Mountain bluebird

There was a private event going on at the hut but there was a picnic table nearby where we took a break.

Mt. Hood from the Silcox Hut.

After our break we followed a road over to the ski lifts where we faced two options. Sullivan’s entry has you follow this road down below the Magic Mile Lift back to Timberline Lodge, but since we were going to head toward Paradise Park we picked up the Mountaineer Loop Trail which would drop us onto the Timberline Trail nearly three quarters of mile from the lodge.

The Magic Mile Lift runs during the summer allowing for a less strenuous climb to the Silcox Hut.

The Mountaineer Loop continues from the end of the first turn in the road below the Magic Mile Lift.

We should have stayed on the road between the two lifts but instead we went up and around them and wound up looking down at the curve where the Mountain Loop continued. We followed a use trail down to the curve.

Tundra aster

Pussy paws

The large cairn ahead marks the trail.

Heather had decided that she was not going go all the way to Paradise Park and would instead turn around at the Zigzag River and return to the lodge to wait for me. Since I would be doing over 5.5 more miles than she we split up and I went ahead and reached the Timberline Trail first.

Illumination Rock

Looking down toward Timberline Lodge

Golden-mantled ground squirrel

I turned right onto the Timberline Trail and followed it for two and a half miles to the crossing of the Zigzag River.

Wilderness information along the Timberline Trail.

Mt. Hood Wilderness signs at Sand Canyon West Branch.

The Timberline Trail on the far side of the Little Zigzag Canyon.

Mt. Hood from the Little Zigzag River.

Junction with the Hidden Lake Trail (post).

Tom, Dick, and Harry Mountain (post)

One and a half miles from the Mountaineer Trail the Timberline Trail arrives at viewpoint above the Zigzag River Canyon.

From the viewpoint it is a mile and 600′ down to the river.

There was a lot of beargrass earlier in the year.

Big mushroom

Sickletop lousewort

Beardtongue

Grass-of-parnassus

Paintbrush

Arnica

The trail crosses near the left of this photo. I was able to rock hop across and keep my feet dry.

Zigzag Falls

Zoomed in photo.

Heather went up to the falls when she got to the river.

A half mile climb gaining 250′ led up from the river to a junction with the Paradise Park Loop Trail where I turned right.

Another mile of climbing brought me to a junction with the Paradise Park Trail (post) in the middle of a wildflower meadow.

Pearly everlasting and paintbrush

Aster along the trail.

Trail sign at the junction ahead.

Fritillary butterfly.

The trail leveled out as it passed through the meadow and after a quarter mile I passed the ruins of the former Paradise Park Shelter.

Western pasque flower

Valerian

Monkeyflower

Pink and yellow monkeyflower and paintbrush near Lost Creek.

The shelter ruins.

I continued along the trail crossing another branch of Lost Creek and passing through wildflower meadows with views of Mt. Hood.

Fireweed

The iconic (and crowded) split rock on the hillside to the left.

Gentians

Bistort, lupine, and groundsel

Part of the crowd at Split Rock.

Yocum Ridge (post) in the distance.

The trail eventually descended back into the forest and arrived back at the Timberline Trail a little over a mile from the shelter ruins.

The Timberline Trail/PCT junction.

I turned left on the Timberline Trail and started back toward the lodge. It was roughly 2.2-miles back to where I had turned up the Paradise Park Loop Trail and another 3.7 back to Timberline Lodge. I kept a good pace as I made my way back to the Zigzag River.

Monkeyflower

Heading down to Rushing Water Creek.

I heard several pikas in the rocks here but failed to spot any of them.

A barely flowing waterfall on Rushing Water Creek.

Looking back as I passed the Paradise Park Loop Trail.

My pace slowed considerably as I made the mile climb out of the Zigzag Canyon. In hindsight I should have stopped for water from the river, but I didn’t and wound up having to ration what I had left in order to make it back to the lodge. (The Little Zigzag River had no visible water this late in summer.)

Canada jay

Mt. Hood from the Zigzag Canyon overlook.

There was a lot of sneaky uphill on the way back to the lodge and I was dragging by the time I reached the Magic Mile chairlift which is where the last of my water was sipped.

The Palmer and Magic Mile Lifts on the hillside ahead.

The top of Timberline Lodge from beneath the Magic Mile Lift.

Heather had texted me and let me know she had gotten a table upstairs at the Ram’s Head Bar & Restaurant.

I made my way through the crowds, and after calling out a family for allowing their kids to throw rocks at a ground squirrel (sigh), I found her table. Heather got a Strawberry Spinach Salad which was refreshing, and I ordered the Maple Bourbon Bacon Meatballs. The food hit the spot and so did the couple of glasses of water I downed before we headed home.

My hike came in at 14.2-miles with approximately 3300′ of cumulative elevation gain. It was a challenging hike which I made more difficult by not stopping for water when I had the chance.

Happy Trails!

Flickr: Silcox Hut to Paradise Park

Boy Scout Ridge – 10/06/2024

We try and get to the Mt. Hood Wilderness at least once a year and this year’s visit kicked off our October hikes. The one area where we hadn’t really been on the mountain was the SE side along the White River. The Pacific Crest Trail climbs on the mountain on that side crossing Highway 35 near Barlow Pass and following Boy Scout Ridge joining the Timberline Trail in approximately 3.75 miles and continuing on to Timberline Lodge. We weren’t planning on going quite as far as Timberline Lodge this time, but we were planning on a loop in the middle of the hike utilizing the Yellowjacket Ski Trail and Upper White River Trail.

It was a little wet, and 35 degrees Fahrenheit (2 Celsius) when arrived at the nearly empty Barlow Pass Trailhead.
We had also parked here in 2021 for our Barlow Butte hike (post).

The PCT passes just east of the parking area and can be accessed behind the signboard near a picnic table or as it crosses the Barlow Wagon Road which is where we hopped on this time.

We followed the trail for a quarter mile through forest before joining an old roadbed where we turned right to reach the Highway 35 crossing.

On the far side of the highway the trail climbed gradually through a nice forest arriving at the Yellowjacket Trail junction in just under 2-miles.
The colors of Fall.

Tom, Dick, and Harry Mountain (post) catching the morning Sun.

Mt. Hood teased an appearance a couple of times along the lower portion of the PCT. It was enough to see that there was a dusting of fresh snow on the mountain.

The signed junction with the Yellowjacket Trail.

We turned right onto the Yellowjacket Trail and followed the faint tread nearly a mile down to the White River.

The wet brush had me whishing I’d worn boots.

The Yellowjacket Trail passing a small meadow.

Makeshift footbridge along the trail.

The trail came to a muddy track used to access a set of powerlines where we turned right. We followed the muddy track downhill and crossed the South Fork Mineral Creek on a metal bridge.

We stayed on this roadbed until we reached a road junction at the river where we turned left. Here we had a pretty good view of the mountain.

New snow on Mt. Hood.

The roadbed followed a levee along the river’s debris plain providing spectacular views.

The valley is the result of an eruption around 250 years ago.

Pacific lupine

At the end of the levee the route climbed a moraine then continued its gradual ascent to the Timberline Trail.

Dark-eyed junco. There was a good variety of birds along the moraine, but this was the only one that sat still long enough to have its picture taken.

Frost on a log. It was really nice to be hiking in the crisp cool air.

Boy Scout Ridge from the moraine.

The unsigned junction with the Timberline Trail.

We turned left on the Timberline Trail and made a fairly steep 0.4-mile climb to Pacific Crest Trail at a junction in a meadow.
Mt. Hood from the junction.

Sign for the PCT nearly absorbed by the tree.

Lupine (broadleaf?)

A few remaining blooms on the goldenrod.

Signpost at the PCT junction ahead.

We turned right on the PCT heading for a viewpoint described on Oregonhikers.org. It was a scenic three quarters of a mile to the viewpoint. Along the way we spotted a coyote hunting in the meadows below the trail.

The coyote with Mt. Hood looming behind.

Mt. Jefferson to the south with the Three Sisters behind to the left.

The Three Sisters and Mt. Jefferson

The round peak along the far ridge is Gunsight Butte (post) and Bonney Butte (post) is along the broad rise to its right.

We’d lost sight of the coyote until it ran across the trail not too far in front of us.

More lupine

A few remaining aster blossoms in the foreground.

Timberline Lodge across the Salmon River Canyon.

Looking back down the White River Valley. Barlow Ridge is the near hump on the right.

Another look at Timberline Lodge.

Despite all the cars at the lodge we would only encounter a half dozen other trail users until we were back at the Barlow Pass Trailhead.

Small waterfall below the ridge.

Heather stopped at the viewpoint, which was at a high point above the waterfall. I continued on a short distance just to make sure that was indeed the viewpoint described in the Oregonhikers Field Guide.
I turned around here where the Timberline Trail headed across the Salmon River drainage. The Silcox Hut is straight ahead on the side of the mountain.

Looking back at the high point where Heather had stopped.

I headed back to Heather and after a short break we started back down the PCT.
Mt. Hood’s summit.

The waterfall looking pretty small far below the mountain.

It took us a moment to decide what the dark rounded peak straight ahead in the distance was. We eventually correctly identified it as Black Butte (post).

Olallie Butte (post) in front of Mt. Jefferson.

Birds on mountain ash.

The Timberline Trail junction.

We stayed straight on the PCT leaving the Timberline Trail and descending through the mountain forest past the Yellowjacket Ski Trail and back to Highway 35.
Beargrass meadow, there hadn’t been any blooms this year.

Lousewort

It was nearly 2-miles between the Timberline and Yellowjacket trail junctions.

We were shocked to see a bunchberry that still had some petals, even if they were in sad shape.

Mushrooms and fungi are not surprising this time of year.

Highway 35

We had no problem dashing across the highway and then made our way back to the now nearly full Barlow Pass Trailhead.
Arriving at the Barlow Road.

The hike came in just over 11-miles for me with close to 2000′ of elevation gain. Stopping at the viewpoint would have put the hike around 10.7-miles.

This was a great Fall hike. The views were amazing, and the cool temperatures helped it from getting too hot during the exposed climb. It was also really nice to get a track on the map to fill in the blank area around Mt. Hood.
Our various hikes around the mountain. There are still a few areas where we could add a track or two. Happy Trails!

Flickr: Boy Scout Ridge