Mt Adams climb, Jul 22nd and 23rd

Hard to imagine that last time I climbed Mt Adams was 6 years ago! It was certainly time to head back up there again. Part of the reason I hadn’t done is because last couple of years, conditions have not been right and a big fire that went thru the cold springs campground where the trailhead is located at. This year, after a winter with above average snow levels, was looking like perfect conditions so I pasted in the calendar and of we went.



Day 1: Cold Springs to Lunch Counter

On our way to the trailhead we had to do the usual stop at the ranger station to get climbing permits. There we learned about the hordes of people going up the mountain. Apparently, they had about 300 self-issued permits overnight plus about 100 they had filled out that morning. That got me a bit worried about being able to find campsite at lunch counter. There are a lot of sites but they are still limited. We that in mind I wanted to get up there quickly, not rushed but quick. With permits in hand we drove to the trailhead which was, as I was recalling, rough ride. The campground is completely changed. I do remember some shade and sites where people would camp the night and just climb for the day. No is all exposed and dusty and barely a place to set up a tent. Even if you did, you would be covered in dust in about 10 minutes. Aside from that, there were cars parked down the road for quite a while. Lots of people on the mountain! So, we started the trail and right from the beginning, since there’s no tree cover now, it got hot. Luckily we were heading up so we knew we would be hitting snow patches that would provide some level of coolness. We got lots of beautiful flowers on the way and soon were hiking on snow. Rather than taking the winter route, we did a slight variation of the summer route which goes over the Crescent Glacier. The route was easy to follow as you had always people in front or behind you. Some puffy clouds started passing by but weather was pretty good. We finally made it to Lunch Counter in the early afternoon and were able to secure the three sites we needed. Interestingly enough, there were a lot of empty sites so I’m not sure how that worked. Either way, we set up camp and rested for the rest of the afternoon. I can’t say that all of us felt stellar. Either the altitude or just being plain tired got to us. Pete commented that he didn’t recall this being so hard while I was a bit dizzy and recovering. We didn’t find running water so part of the afternoon was spent melting snow for cooking and drinking. Later that day we enjoyed a magnificent sunset and then an incredible starry night. Temperature wasn’t that low that night and wind kept very calm so I was able to get out in the middle of the night for some night photos of the milky way. I was able to stay out for about half an hour until my toes started to freeze.



Day 2: Lunch Counter to summit and back to Cold Springs

We woke up early on Sunday with the plan of starting to climb at around 7AM. As we were getting ready, packing and having breakfast, we enjoyed a nice sunrise with light hitting the side of the mountain and casting a shadow all the way to the horizon.



I still find it incredible how the shadow projects all the way into the sky. It’s a pretty amazing sight. Right before starting I turned and looked towards the climbing route and could see a line of people going uphill like a line of ants. There was a lot of people on the mountain. Our march was slow and steady and like that, we reached Pikers Peak, the false summit, at bit after 9AM. Wind was blowing a bit harder at that point so we ate a bar, put on some new layers and then continued up on our last push towards the summit. About 40 minutes later, we finally made it to the top with a bright sunny and spectacular day. There was a considerable number of people to the point that there was a line to get on top of the chalet to take the famous victory photo.
Then it was time for the fun part, glissading down the mountain. The first chute we took brought us down from the summit to the saddle towards Pikers Peak. The snow was soft but still slippery enough to slide with no effort. It was going to be a fun slide. At Pikers, we had three chutes to choose from. I waited for a bit as I wanted space in front of me to go fast. Once I saw I had a clear line, I literally thru myself down the mountain. In the past, when I’ve done this I had to stop several times and restart because I would get out of the chute or loose control. With softer snow, I was well in the chute with no need to stop. I reached Lunch Counter in about 20 minutes after a single run where my GPS told me I had come at about 15 miles an hour. It was a blast and I almost wanted to go up to it again! Since we all got down relatively quick, we took our time to repack, eat and rest a bit. I took my rain pants off and notices I had trashed them so if there was more glissading, I needed an alternative solution. I remembered that I always carry a heavy plastic bag in my pack so I took it out and put it in my pocket just in case. On the way down we found more chutes that we used. They were not as fast as the upper chutes but good enough to glissade with your pack and save you from walking down the mountain. We did that for quite a while until our packs, pants and boots were completely drenched. Finally, we reached the trail were more glissading was just not possible so we hiked from there. Since we had saved quite some distance we reached the trailhead at a very reasonable hour with plenty of time to stop for lunch and head back home. I believe this marks my fifth climb and only the second with perfect views but I must say that mountain is getting harder to climb.

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Bluegrass Ridge, Jul 9th

Another route from my long to-do list, and this one had been there for quite a while. The Blue Grass ridge is one of those trails that is slowly disappearing and being forgotten. I’m not sure if it’s because a big portion of it was burned in 2006 or lack of funding yet, due to the fire, you now get some pretty amazing views from that trail. The other challenge about this route is distance. Even though it could be combined to make a loop using the Elk Meadows trail, it’s better to do a car shuttle between the trailhead and the Tamanawas trailhead. So, when I saw Zach’s post to lead this hike I jumped right in. AS things go, everyone bailed so in the end it was just him and me for this hike – no car shuttle, but we decided to test our luck and try to catch a ride back to the trailhead from Tamanawas Falls. So off we went. There are several places when you can get on this trail but the most convenient perhaps is the Elk Meadows trailhead just before Hood River Meadows. The first portion is a very well know area where you can cross with lots of other hikes and families heading to or coming back from Newton Creek (also a great winter route). After crossing the creek people thin out as the trail quickly gains elevation thru several switchbacks that take you up to Elk Meadows. Once there, you find yourself at a four-way junction where any choice good if you had to pick one. You could head to Gnarl Ridge, continue exploring Elk Meadows or the lesser known trail to Elk Mountain which is the one we took. The top of Elk doesn’t offer much of a view but a short trail continues down a ridge to a much better viewpoint where Mt Jefferson appears to the South. The views east are a bit harder to identify as you look at Robin hood Creek drainage. After a short stop for pictures and food, we retraced our steps back to Elk Mountain and got on the Bluegrass Ridge trail. The trail thins out and disappears quickly under your feet so you need to find your way. It’s not that hard as you are following the ridge line, still, there’s plenty of logs and rocks to go around. Aside from the magnificent view of Mt Hood to the left, we had a compete wildflower covered ground. It made a great contrast with the white, dead wood all around. We hiked for miles enjoying both until we reached a rocky outcrop that opened views to the north with Mt Adams and Rainier almost aligned. Right in that area, we crossed a small creek completely covered with Columbines.
 I’ve never seen so many in just one spot, the whole hillside was painted red. From there we negotiated our way down on an even more faint trail until we reached the Elk Meadows trail where we turned right. This trail took us to the junction with the Tamanawas Falls trail which is not part of the route but a side trip. I’ve seen this waterfall in the winter but never in the summer so it was time for a side trip. WE headed up and found a big rock slide that fell on the trail making a bit hard to go thru. Several people got to that point and turned around as they couldn’t figure a way around the huge boulders. We climbed around and got back on the trail to the waterfall where we found a family taking pictures behind the waterfall. We didn’t go there but took a break at the base enjoying the views.


Several pictures after, we resumed our hike retracing our steps to the junction and continuing the Tamanawas trail to the trailhead. Along the way we met a couple that was also hiking out and asked them for a ride which they gave us to the trailhead. To celebrate our accomplishment, we made a stop at Solstice for a well-deserved pizza and beer. What a day.

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The Thumb, Jul 4th

After the wonderful Oregon Coast Backpack, we still had an extra day. With the choice of either coming back home early or doing another hike we all voted for the later. At first we thought about doing Cascade Head but quickly found that there was no access to the trailhead. Then I recalled a hike I did earlier this year to the Thumb so I proposed that to the rest of the group. None of the had done it so I quickly downloaded my tracks and took them there. The hike itself and the views were fantastic as with the first time I did with the bonus of wild flowers. Right from the start we got to several displays that almost hurt the eye. The other encounter was with a deer that, same as last time, followed us for a bit before taking of and disappearing into the forest. It was a very rewarding short hike to finish a long weekend with good friends… and with plenty of time to get back home a relax before the work week started.


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