Owl Point and Perry Lake, Oct 17th

Having done a lot of the hikes in the books, I’ve started to research some not so common places by looking at maps and other sources. This hike is one of those forgotten trails which are only maintained by the few hikers that usually go there. I wanted to head there for two reasons, to check out the unusually view of Mt Hood from the north side and see one of the smallest named lakes in Oregon. Also, this hike offered a chance to do some route finding and bushwhacking. So we started from the Vista Ridge Trail Head and just before we got to the trail sign, I found the very faint route to Owl Point. The first part of the hike just meanders thru the forest without a lot of views but you know they are right there as light filters thru the trees. At about a mile from the trailhead, we found our first view point which gave us a view of the rocky edge at Katsup Point. My original plan was to explore that and also the Red Hill or our way to Owl Point so we took off the trail for a while following what looked like a foot path which didn’t go where we needed it to. So after circling around for a while, we got back to the main trail and shortly after found a trail sign for Owl Point. Not only the sign was unexpected but also that it was put here recently. We followed that path to a meadow with open views of the north side of Mt Hood, the Hood River Valley and Laurence Lake in the distance. We stopped there for a while to have lunch and enjoy the views before continuing on our way to Perry Lake. After getting back to the main trail, about half a mile further, we found Alki Point, another opening but this one looking north. From here, the views extend all the way to Mt Adams, Mt Rainier and St Helens. From that point on, there aren’t many views although the trail goes by the remnants of some old fire lookout stations. To get to Perry Lake from there, we followed an old 4WD road down until we spotted water to the side. As you’ll see in the pictures, Perry Lake looks more like a pond than a lake. I guess it has a name because it doesn’t dry up in the summer. On the way back I asked the group if they wanted to try to find Katsup Point but once we got there and started bushwhacking they changed their minds so we headed back to the cars. In the end, I left a couple of things unexplored so I guess I will have to do it again



You can check the pictures here