Tattosh Peak, Aug 20th

I’ve got to admit, this hike was not even in my radar and I ended up doing it because I hadn’t planned anything and Steve, one of the hike leader in the group, had posted it. From the description it looked interesting so why not. And I think I have to disclose that they only bad thing about this hike is that is far. The drive from Portland is about three hours. In the end, you are hiking in the south side of Mt Rainier. Getting there is easy even though we did pass some shady campsites – read hunters, but once at the trailhead we felt a bit more secure. The hike gets in the forest right away and it’s pretty covered. Not only that, but it also takes very little time until you hit the first of a series of switchbacks that will make you gain some good elevation. But then, between the trees you get a glimpse of what’s coming ahead. The trail follows the northern side of a valley without getting all the way to the ridge. Looking at the map you can see many small creeks that start below the trail which made me think that the trail was build thee just to avoid the creeks. The climbing goes pretty steady until you get close to a saddle where a side trail would take you to Tatoosh Lake. We did see several backpackers heading that way for the weekend and our original plan was, depending on the group and time, to check the lakes out on our way down. We didn’t have that chance so there’s something to explore next time. After passing the junction though the trail opened up and was very exposed. We had to lather up with sun screen several times so we wouldn’t fry under the sun. The entire side of the mountain was covered in grasses and low plants that must have looked amazing earlier in the season when they were in full bloom. AS you continue to gain elevation, rolling hills appear to the west. At one particular point I stopped and turned around and almost fell back with the view. In most hikes we concentrate on the views ahead of us. This hike, the views are behind you (at least when you are going up). From different point of the trail you could see the entire path and Mt Rainier peeking above the ridgeline. The trail then turns east again to traverse another small valley with some impressive rock formation and some pretty steep cliffs. Below you could see the streams and creeks that have probably eroded the land forming the valleys. After a third valley we finally found the junction to the viewpoint that climbs quickly to the ridge line and leaves the tree line behind. Once you reach the ridgeline, Mt Rainier disappears for a moment but you get the valley of the Muddy Fork drainage and all the hills and mountains to the east and south. Way in the distance, almost hiding in plain sight, was Mt Hood. At this point, unless you were looking close down, you could not see the trail as it was obscured by grasses and pasqueflowers. Finally, you reach the summit and wow, what a view. The mountain just drops off in front of you with a rocky valley below and a seasonal tarn. Beyond that a mountain ridge and the towering Mt Rainier. Simply spectacular views. WE stopped there for lunch and pictures and then headed back down following the same path. When we reached the junction to the lake, the consensus vote was not to go there so we just continued down to the cars. The lakes remain to be seen.

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South Sister, Aug 13 – 14

Sometimes plans change and the result is spectacular – I believe this would be the best way to describe it. Our original plan was to climb Mt Adams with a small group of friends, but then we started monitoring the weather as the closer we got, the uglier it seemed it was going to be. Finally, we decided to pull the plug on that idea. Val then suggested South Sister which, as it happens, was also on my to-do list. So we quickly came out with a plan and a small group and headed down Saturday morning for a two-day adventure.

Day 1: Green Lakes trailhead to Moraine Lake.

I had read that a lot of people that climb South Sister, camp at Devil’s Lake and then start early in the morning and go up just for the day. Those same reports talk about being very crowded making it even difficult to find an available campsite. Reading multiple reports and ideas, we decided to start from the Green Lakes trailhead but, instead of heading to Green Lakes, which can also get very crowded head to Moraine Lake. Not only the hike is shorter but it also puts you much closer to the climbing trail so it was a far better choice. Considering all that, we drove early in the morning and met the rest of the group at around noon to start hiking. The first half of the trail follows the beautiful Fall Creek as it makes its turns in the forest. The views here are limited to the creek itself and numerous short waterfalls. This is pretty much constant until you reach the junction with the Moraine Lake and leave the Green Lakes trail. At that point, the creek is left behind and you start gaining elevation. Pretty soon there’s a dramatic change in scenery but not because you start seeing the top of the mountains over the horizon. It’s because the trial passes a small saddle in the lava fields. As you get closer, the vegetation thins out and then you find yourself in front of big pile of rocks. Some of them look to be in a pretty precarious position as if almost a gust of wind could take them down.

On the other side, a couple of ups and downs separate you from the destination which appears as surprise after a turn on the trail. From that point you start seeing campsites already occupied so it’s time to start looking. Right when we got to the lake, to a junction that splits the trail to go on either side of the lake we met with the forest ranger. Talking to him we learned that the sites were limited and the we needed to stay in a designated site – unless we wanted to be asked to move and even fined. But, he was kind enough to point out that taking the trail on the other side and following the closed canyon trail, we would find the last three campsites probably empty as not too many people know about those. So with this recommendation, we headed that way. We did pass two or three already occupied campsites but after that, we found the remaining three, all empty. After waling back and forth two or three times, we picked the one we liked most and set up camp. Being early in the afternoon, we took our time to get water, relax and have dinner while admiring the limited views we had of South Sister.

Day 2: South Sister summit and out

On Sunday, we made a point to wake up early and hit the trail no later than 7:00 AM. With Val we woke up before 6 and had breakfast while we packed everything we didn’t need to leave in the tent. Then we hit the trail towards the lake. Behind us the sun was starting to come up illuminating the side of the mountain. It was looking like it was going to be a good day.
On the other side of the lake we took the Moraine Lake trail that steeply climbed over the ridge and met with the climber’s trail. Turning around at that point gave us a pretty spectacular view of the lake below us and Broken Top in the distance.

The trail itself was wide and easy to follow, in fact, it almost looked like a highway, but after passing a large flat area the fun began. Slowly at first but faster later, the trail got steeper, narrower and rockier. The views ahead of us were limited to the false summit but behind us the expanded to lava fields and other peaks. We huffed and puffed until we reached the false summit which comes as a surprise. From it, the true summit, or the south side of it shows up, but you also get a view of Lewis Glacier and a small seasonal tarn in a small valley.

Pretty much everyone stops there to catch their breaths and eat something so it was prey crowded when we got there. As everyone else, we took a very short break to grab a bar and then continue on the ridge to the final push to the summit. At that point the trail changed colors from the normal grey to red. Several switch backs later finally got us to the top. And I say the top because again, is not the actual summit. But, at this point things get just magical. When you reach this point, you are at the south end of the snow covered lake in the mountains crater. A trail goes around it and you can see the rock outcrop that is the actual summit on the east side of the rim. We started walking around the rim passing several wind shelters and then, just before you reach the rock outcrop, the views to the north start to open up in front of you. At that point it’s one of those instances that you can see almost everything but know it will get even better if you just walk a bit more. And it does. WE skipped the summit and continued to the very north end of the rim to a small rock shelter. From the point the views to the north are just incredible as you can’t even count how many peaks become clearly visible. Just looking at Middle Sister and North Sister at an arm’s reach and Chambers Lakes in the valet below is incredible enough, but when you add Mt Jefferson, Mt Hood and Mt Adams to the north it becomes just incredible.

We stayed there for a while having lunch and enjoying the views until the wind started taking a toll on our core temperature. On the way back we made a quick stop at the summit you to make sure we stood there or at least touched it. AS we hiked down, the clouds started moving in and the sky turned from blue to grey. The views were still pretty spectacular and once we got down to the lake, most of the clouds were already gone. That gave us one last good view of Moraine Lake and South Sister. From there we just went to camp, packed everything and hiked the short path back to the trailhead to head back home. WE spent most of the drive back in silence just re-living the scenery.

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Huffman Peak, Aug 6th

I’m still asking myself why did it take me so long to go back to Huffman Peak. The first time I tried this loop was about 6 years ago and we found, really fast, the March was probably too early in the year. Back then the weather was less than perfect, there was considerable snow and the clouds covered most of the limited views from the trail. More importantly though, we were not able to find the actual summit. In contrast, this time was the right time to do it. I had seen some pictures from a friend on Facebook who gave me a couple of important details to reach the summit. So with all that in hand, we headed out to Siouxon Creek to start our hike. Instead of heading down and east along the creek. This loop starts going uphill towards the west but just for a little bit. As soon as you find an intersection the trail goes quickly down towards Siouxon Creek meandering thru some pretty big trees. While I hanged in the back of the group it was almost like watching a trail of ants walking around standing toothpicks. Soon and still fresh, we got to the creek which we knew we had to cross. With the recent low water and snow years we’ve had, Siouxon was running extremely low so for a moment we considered the possibility of using rocks to cross. After a couple of minutes, we realized that it wouldn’t be easy to that given the width of the creek. So with a bit of reluctance, we took our shoes off and waded the creek to the other side where we got our shoes back on and started the hard part of the hike. One of the main descriptors for this hike is that it pretty much goes up. Even though most of the trail follows a ridgeline towards the summit, views are very limited. There is only a spot or two where you can see the Siouxon drainage to the southeast but nothing more. After several hours of huffing and puffing we finally got to a saddle just before the trail makes a turn and goes around the north side of the summit. We looked for a marked path towards the summit but only found what looked like an animal path. So just before the trail started to descend again, we veered off trail and tried to keep in the ridgeline towards the summit. At that point, the going got slow. On one side, the path was not easy to follow, but on the other, most of the mountainside was covered in bear grass that gets really slippery when you step on it. Aside from dealing with that, we had to find our way around and thru multiple low pines with dry branches that acted as little hands grabbing onto our gear and clothes. Yes, we did get our good share of scratches before we finally got out of the dense vegetation to an open slope. At that point we started getting the good views. Even though there was a bit of haze, Mt Hood was showing its face out in the distance. Ahead of us we saw a good approach to a rocky outcrop that seemed to be the summit. Once we got there and made the final push, we reached a rocky ridge and that’s when we got out rewards, first with an incredible view of Mt St Helens, and then, a bit further up, Mt Adams.

We traversed the top to the eastern end where remains of an old fire tower are still visible and stopped there for lunch. After a need rest and being fried with the intense sun, we continued on the ridge and found a much easier way down back to the Huffman Peak trail. At that point we were back in the forest making our way to the Wildcat Mountain trail which we took going down. We did the necessary stop at Wildcat falls, both from the viewpoint on top of it and also from the trail as it passes next to it. Even though I took a couple of pictures, I had to make a mental note that I need to go back there to take some more serious pictures… on of these days. Back at Siouxon Creek we had several options to go back. WE chose the shortest which pretty much meant crossing the creek right there and then doing a little bushwhack back to the Siouxon trail. The hike from that point back to the car was very relaxing as the sun started to move away from the ridge and the colors in the forest started to change to intense oranges. It was an intense workout but the rewards make out for it.

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Cooper Spur, Jul 24th

High elevation and up close personal views of Mt Hood, reason enough to do Cooper Spur. The other reason is that this hike is great for training purposes when you are planning on climbing a mountain. Not only it gives you the steep, exposed experience but also gives you the high elevation one as it starts at 6000 feet and goes to about 9000 feet. Since Val and I had our aims set on climbing Mt Adams towards the end of the month or beginning of August Cooper Spur was a perfect choice. We were also super lucky with the weather as we got a crystal clear day that gave us some incredible views. As we did last time, instead of taking the normal trail, we took a user trail that is becoming more official as time goes by. This trail climbs quickly to the ridge line just south of the Elliot Glacier run off. This route opens up views of the mountain and an incredible canyon as well as a clear view of the route to follow. From the ridge we noticed that some of the switchbacks on the face of the mountain were still covered in snow so some of the climb was straight up instead of the normal switchbacks. Still, we kept our steady pace until we connected with the actual trail and continued pretty much straight up to the signed rock which, seemed we reached much faster than expected. Last time we hiked this route we got to the first wind shelter and then turned around. This time, we less snow on the ridge, we continued up and were able to reach the upper wind shelter were we stopped for lunch while admiring the views of the crevices on Eliot Glacier that were almost at arm’s length. After the necessary rest and just before the wind started cooling us beyond what was comfortable, we started our hike down following the normal route passing by the shelter and then entering the forest to finish back at the trailhead. So we got our training and the rewards that come with it.

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Rudolph Spur, Jul 16th

Wanting to go for a harder hike, Val and I picked the Rudolph Spur in the Gorge. On one side it had been quite some time since we did it last and on the other, I had been mentioning the last month or so. Also, we wanted something closer so we wouldn’t have to wake up super early and rush out the door. So we drove to Bridge of the Gods and had to do a couple of turns to find a parking spot. As it has become the norm, parking areas are now full so you need to be creative and sometimes park in places where you’re not sure if you’ll get a ticket or not. So with our fingers crossed, we crossed the street and got on the PCT. The first part, as you gain elevation in a couple of gentle switchbacks is a good warmup until you reach the power lines and then head east towards Dry Creek Falls. Right before the spur trail we found our turn and from there we could see lots of people heading to the fall. Trying to be inconspicuous, we made a quick turn and quickly tried to disappear thru the bushes. Right there we noticed that there seems to be less traffic on Rudolph spur. The trail has always been kind of hidden but has clear marks of adventurous hikers that take this route. We also started seeing newer fallen trees that were not there the last time we did this hike. The going was hard as we had to negotiate branches and rocks. We lost the trail a couple of times and were able to find it again. AS you gain elevation, there’s a known area where the hill gets very steep on the side and towards the end, the trail seems to disappear. At that point an old fallen tree serves as a handrail to climb and continue a bit higher but here’s where things got different. The tree, after many years of rain and sun, is finally decaying so grabbing onto it is not a good idea. The other thing we found is that the foot path that used to be there at the top is no longer there. There’s signs of a small washout that seems took the path down, We found an alternate path around a tree that was very sketchy but were able to negotiate and get to a fairly decent viewpoint before the path made a turn and headed back into the forest. From there, the ridge was easy to find and follow for the most part. The hard part was multiple new downs trees crisscrossing the trail. The progress was slow and at some point we lost the trail again. I noticed quickly enough and corrected just a couple hundred feet below a big clearing that serves as a great lunch spot with great views of the Columbia. In the past we have found groups of people here enjoying the views before continuing on. To our surprise, the area is now almost uninviting. Three trees feel across blocking pretty much the entire area where we used to sit and enjoy the view. Now, the only way to see anything is climbing around a knob of rocks and standing there. Otherwise, you see branches. Unfortunately, this is a trail that is marked as not maintained, so the likelihood of having a work party go up there with tools to clean it up is almost none existent. After a short break, we continued up negotiating even more downed trees as we gained more elevation until we reached Benson Plateau. I remember a faint trail that was somewhat easy to follow to get back on the Ruckel Creek trail. Either we missed it or buried under fallen trees and branches. Finding your way up there is always a challenge, the added branches and trunks, made it eerie.

It felt like being in a haunted forest for a while. Navigating our way around, we finally found our trail for the return path. At first we started going down fast as the trail is pretty steep and sometimes is just easier to let yourself fly down. But after a while the pounding took its toll. Both Val and I started feeling our knees as we pounded our way on a rocky trail all the way back down to trail 400. Normally the hike down is the easy part, not this time. It was as hard as the climbing so when we got down we had just enough energy left to hike back to the car. It was a bit sad to see the trail disappearing, but I guess that’s what happens when the trail is not maintained, the forest just takes it back.





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