Nick Eaton Ridge 11/28/10

Not letting winter weather bother us, me, Chris and the dogs, Buddy and Timmy, took a stroll through part of the network of trails around Herman Creek. Herman Creek is located in the Columbia River Gorge, just east of Cascade Locks, OR.

Because of the recent snow at low elevation, we originally were planning on strapping our snowshoes to our backpacks to use when we got into deep snow. A game-time decision was made to leave them at home and to stay at lower elevations.

We started out at 9:00 AM outside the gate to Herman Creek Campground. Normally you can drive the 0.3 miles up a paved road to the Herman Creek Trail trailhead, but the campground is closed in the winter.

Some interesting facts dug up about the Herman Creek Trail: 1) It was constructed for foot access to the old site of a wartime lookout built to spot balloon bomb sent over by Japan. 2) It contains the largest surviving forest of old growth Douglas fir, cedar, and hemlock in the Columbia River Gorge. 3) It doesn’t get close to the creek itself, but parallels it much of the way,

There was a trace of residual snow at the trailhead, so we knew there would be more once we began gaining elevation. We decided to take the Nick Eaton Ridge Trail to try and reach Deadwood Camp at 2900’ on the other side of the ridge. Neither of us had been there before and it sounded interesting.

We quickly gained elevation and the snow slowly got deeper and deeper. It was fun hearing the sound of the crunching snow under our boots. Fortunately someone else has blazed a path in the snow, making it easier to walk and navigate. It was evident someone else a few days prior had used snowshoes when the snow was even higher.

At 2900’ where the Nick Eaton Ridge trail met the Nick Eaton Ridge Cutoff Trail, we initially decided to continue on upward on the main Nick Eaton Ridge Trail proper. This was because there were no tracks in the snow on the cutoff trail, but there were on the main trail.

After resting and letting the dogs play in the snow, Chris and I both agreed to abandon the Deadwood Camp idea and take the cutoff trail back to the Herman Creek Trail via the Gorton Creek Trail. Even though we would have to blaze our own way through the snow, the cutoff trail was much shorter.

It turned out to be a good idea. We could have made it to Deadwood Camp, but hiking in the snow, even in someone else’s footsteps, is much harder than bare ground.

We made it back to the trailhead by 2:00 PM and only saw one other person the entire time. Tired and hungry, we headed to Char Burger for a bacon cheeseburger.

Total mileage: 8.3 miles

Total elevation gain: 2900’ elevation gain

Here is a link to the pictures on my Flick site:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/54959080@N05/sets/72157625364173651/

Hike To McNeil Point

As the days grow shorter, colder, grayer and wetter in the Northwest, it is best to take advantage of the remaining sunny days we have left. That is especially so when hiking up to the higher elevations, as soon they will be either snowed in or the views will be obscured by clouds.

That's why, last Saturday, Chris, myself and the dogs, Buddy and Timmy, took the opportunity to do the McNeil Point hike on the west side of Mt. Hood. McNeil Point is a hike to avoid during the summer if solitude is what is desired. That's because it is a relatively close and easy drive from Portland and has fantastic views. Mostly because of this, neither of us had done this hike before. I figured this late in the year the crowds would have decreased.

When got to the 4000' elevation Top Spur Trailhead at 9 AM, there were only two other vehicles in the parking lot. The sky was clear, there was no wind and it was 38 degrees. We put on our day packs (one for the dogs too) and set out for a great day of hiking.

On Mt. Hood in general, and in this area specifically, there are a myriad of interconnecting trails. As usual, I had done my trail research and map making and Chris had his GPS, so we knew exactly where to go.

About a mile into the hike, we ran into a guy who was coming down from backpacking the previous night near McNeil Point. He said the temperature had gotten down to 26 degrees. Now that's hard core camping.

Soon we reached a point where we could opt for a scramble shortcut trail to McNeil Point. The description for this route was, "A faint, very steep trail that was potentially dangerous going right up the face of McNeil Point that is not recommended." Another description was, "Only attempt this dangerous route if you are prepared to crawl along using your hands." We decided to take the safer, longer route. We later ran into a couple who had come up that way and they similarly described it and decided to go down the safer route.

Around the 3.25 mile mark, we came across what is referred to as "The Ponds". This area contains several ponds, open fields, some campsites and views up to McNeil Point. The Ponds still had a layer of ice from the previous night. That didn't deter Buddy from wanting to jump in. He hates baths but has no problem diving into frigid water. Needless to say I did not let him jump in.

At about the 5 mile mark, we made it to the McNeil Shelter at 6100'. The shelter has stone walls and a tin roof supported by beams of wood. It contains a fireplace and is open on one side. Apparently, this shelter was built in the 1930s by the CCC and named to honor Portland newspaperman Fred McNeil. Therefore, that's how McNeil Point got its name.

The views from McNeil Point are great, and that would have been a great hike. But there was a trail going up the alpine meadow to what the map indicated was McNeil Peak. Of course we had to follow it. What I thought was only another 300' of elevation turned out to be almost 900' and another half mile. It was one of those times when you can't see beyond the initial peak in front of you and don't realize that the trail just keeps going up and up once you get up to the next peak.

The effort was well worth it. The views included: a full frontal of Mt. Hood, as well as views to Mt. Adams, Mt. Rainier, Mt. St. Helens, Barrett Spur, Sandy Glacier and Lost Lake. That's what we came for.

On the way down it was surprising the number of other hikers we saw - probably around 50. Just think how crowded this hike would be on a sunny summer Saturday. Amazingly, some hikers were just starting out as we neared the trailhead. I hope they were prepared just in case.

Total mileage: 11 miles

Total elevation gain: 3000'

Here is a link to the pictures on my Flick site:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/54959080@N05/sets/72157625200674900/detail/

Climbing Mt. St. Helens 9/22/10

Shortly after I climbed South Sister, my friend, Chris, suggested we climb Mt. St. Helens (MSH). I thought that was a good idea and started organizing a time that worked for both of us. I also researched the steps to get the necessary permits.

You see, one can't just climb MSH any time they want. Because MSH is in the MSH National Volcanic Monument and is a very popular climb, a limit of 100 permits per day are issued from 5/15-10/31. The permits must be picked up at The Lone Fir Resort in Cougar, WA. That is also where climbers sign in and sign out.

Chris and I had a window of 9/22 and 9/23, as those were the only days that we could synchronize our days off with days that did not have the permits sold out. As those days approached, I closely watched the weather forecasts. Just as those days drew near, 9/22 looked to be favorable. Almost the entire month of September had been gray and wet up to then, and we did not want to put forth all that effort in the rain or snow.

So 9/22 it was. Everything with the permit went smooth. We made it to the Climbers Bivouac Trailhead at 9:00 AM and began the hike shortly thereafter. The sky at the trailhead was mostly clear and sunny. However, there was a cloud hovering over the top of the mountain. Positive thoughts were expressed that the cloud would burn off, affording us great views at the top.

Now for some math.

The trail to the top is 4.7 miles one-way gaining 4,500' in elevation. The high point of MSH is 8,369'. Due to safety reasons, climbers cannot get to the true high point and have to settle for 8,281'. Something of importance to note is that the first 2.1 miles gain only 915'. That means the remaining 2.6 miles gain 3,601'. This equates to 1,385' per mile, whereas 1,000' per mile is considered very steep and strenuous.

Now try that all the while rock hopping on boulders and walking on loose sand, gravel and volcanic ash. Chris and I were able to get this done in 6 1/2 hours. The sign at the trailhead noted that it should take 7-10 hours. Cue the chest puffing and bicep flexing.

As for the climb? It went off without any incidents. Both Chris and I got a little nauseous and had mild headaches due to the elevation, but nothing like we got on South Sister. There were great views until we got to around 7,200'. That's when we hit the cloud level and were shrouded in fog the rest of the way up. It also got cold and windy. At the top it was 33 degrees. My fingers were numb even with gloves on.

Here is a link to the pictures on my Flickr site:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/54959080@N05/sets/72157625101773161/detail/?deleted=5108417763

Silver Star Huckleberry Picking 9/11/10

Once again I took a trip to one on my favorite areas, Silver Star Mt. This time the objective was to pick some huckleberries and try out my new huckleberry rake. I was a little concerned I wouldn’t find any because I had gone picking a couple of weeks earlier and found very few. My concern grew as I progressed up the trail and saw that all the huckleberry bushes were barren.

My luck changed when I got to a historical mother lode area I knew from past seasons. Even though the patch of berries was waning due to the weather getting colder, it once again produced many berries. And the rake? Let me tell you, I LOVE IT!! It made picking the berries many times faster.

While I was rustling around in the bushes, I heard a man yell, “Hey bear!” Apparently he thought the rustling sound around the corner in the huckleberry bushes might be a bear. I briefly considered growling and huffing, then thought better of it and announced my presence. He was right to be concerned because, as bears are well known to feast upon huckleberries.

After about an hour of picking berries, my back was tired so I decided to head back, taking a secret route on the back side of Pyramid Rock. This is an area where I had seen the biggest huckleberries in my life and loads of them. Sadly, when I got there, there were none to be found.

Oh well. I had plenty already. Since it was such a beautiful day, instead of simply hiking past Pyramid Rock like I had done every other time I was there, I bushwhacked up to the top of it. It was obvious very few people make this scramble. The view was great and well worth the effort.

Here is the link to the pictures on my Flickr site:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/54959080@N05/sets/72157625233721304/detail/

South Sister Climb 8/20/10

On Friday, August 20th, Chris and I headed out to make an attempt to hike to the top of South Sister. South Sister is a 10,358 foot high mountain in the Central Oregon Cascades, being the tallest of the Three Sisters.

After leaving the Portland area at 7:00 AM, we reached the Fall Creek trailhead at 5,440 feet and started hiking at 10:45 AM. Our camping destination was the Green Lakes area, a relatively flat plain at 6,550 feet between South Sister and Broken Top. We got to Green Lakes about 1:30 PM, found a camp site, then set up camp.

Since the weather was crystal clear, and because recent weather reports indicated that the next couple of days had a high chance of being cloudy, I talked Chris into going for the summit that day. Our whole purpose was to get to the top, and all that effort would not be worth it if the views were obscured. So we set out at 2:00 PM with food, water, warm clothes and headlamps in our packs. We were prepared for a long day.

The route we chose was not the more popular route via Moraine Lake, but a more direct route ascending between the Lewis Glacier and Prouty Glacier. While this route avoids the summer crowds, it does not follow a well-defined trail and is more difficult.

Now I have climbed to the top of South Sister twice before, but I don't remember it being as difficult as it seemed this time. It may be that I am a little bit older and a little bit heavier. It also could have been that we woke up at 250 feet elevation and were trying to get to 10,358 later that same day. There were many times I wanted to give up and turn back. Afterwards, Chris confessed he felt the same way.

After scrambling up for what seemed like forever, we finally met up with the main climbers trail at 8,850 feet. Next up: 1,500 feet in 1 mile of loose rock, thin air and ever-increasing wind. We noticed that the last other climbers were coming down and we were the only ones going up. This was because the sun was getting lower and lower in the sky.

At about 6:00 PM we made it to the outer crater rim, but the true summit was another .4 mile around the rim. Even though we were exhausted and suffering from altitude sickness, we had to do the final slog just because. With the wind blowing over the crater glacier at over 40 mph, all I wanted to do was snap some quick pictures of the view and leave. And that's what I did.

At past 6:30 PM, we began our descent. With every foot of elevation loss I could feel the altitude sickness going away. Splitting headache. Nausea. Cloudy thinking. Since the sun was setting fast, we decided to take the main climbers path to Moraine Lake, then the cut-off trail from Moraine Lake to the Fall Creek trail back to our camp at Green Lakes. Even though this added significant mileage, it was a safer trail.

With the almost full moon and our headlamps, we walked for a couple of hours at night. I rather enjoyed this. We had the whole trail to ourselves and were able to see the silhouette of the mountains as we hiked. Upon returning to camp at 10:30 PM we promptly ate dinner then went to bed.

The next morning, since we had accomplished what we came to do, we decided to pack up and head home. Neither one of us felt like backpacking to another site. I wanted a juicy burger and a soft bed.

Day 1: 17.5 miles, 6,000 feet elevation gain

Day 2: 4.5 miles, 1,000 feet elevation loss

Next up: Mt. St. Helens

Here is the link to the pictures on my Flickr site:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/54959080@N05/sets/72157625109142569/detail/

Backpack Trip To Wahtum Lake 6/1/10

I thought I would share some of the pictures of my backpacking trip this weekend. Me, my friend Chris and by dog Buddy left Thursday morning and started out at the Herman Creek trailhead (150 ft). We followed the Herman Creek trail, then hiked to Wahtum Lake (3,980 ft) the first day, about 11-12 miles. We spent one night there, then the next day hiked the PCT (Pacific Crest Trail), with a side trip to Chinidere Mountain, to Benson Camp on the Benson Plateau for the next night. We packed up quickly then next morning in the rain and followed the PCT back down to the Herman Creek cut-off trail to my truck. It ended up being over 5,000 feet of elevation gain and over 20 miles.

Here is a link to the pictures on my Flickr site:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/54959080@N05/sets/72157625110813567/detail/

Backpacking Mt. Adams Wilderness

My friend Chris and I had a great backpacking trip exploring the N-NW area of the Mt. Adams (12,281 ft) Wilderness on 7/30/10. We found a great camp site near the Muddy Fork Creek at about 6,200 ft with a view of the creek, Mt. Adams, Goat Rocks and much more. Our only neighbors were a small group of people 100 yards away and the hordes of mosquitoes (thank goodness for DEET and permithrin).

We settled in for a quiet evening – at least until the lightning, thunder and rain came. It was the most lightning and thunder I have ever experienced. The next day, under clear skies, we took a side trip to a place called Devil’s Garden at about 7,800 ft, crossing a snow bridge over the roaring creek. At Devil’s Garden we saw and heard several large chunks of ice careen down from near the top of the mountain and fall thousands of feet. We also saw many mountain goats on a distant ridge.

After that side trip, the plan was to pack up and meet up with the PCT (Pacific Crest Trail) and find a camp site somewhere near a planned side trip to High Camp. We succeeded in finding a great spot near where the PCT crosses Killen Creek with a view of Mt. Adams and a waterfall.

The next day we packed up and hiked to the trial to High Camp. High Camp is an area where many mountain climbers make base camp. We stashed our backpacks in the woods so we wouldn’t have to carry all that weight over 1,000 feet up. As expected, it was beautiful up there. After hiking back down, we took the Killen Creek trail back to my truck.

Total Mileage: 25 miles

Elevation gain: 5,500 ft

Here is a link to pictures of my Mt. Adams adventure:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/54959080@N05/sets/72157625101540203/detail/

Jefferson Park Backpacking 9/13/10

This last weekend my friend Chris and I took a backpacking trip to Jefferson Park. Jefferson Park is a large, relatively flat plain on the N-NW side of Mount Jefferson (10,497 ft) within the Mt. Jefferson Wilderness.

Several lakes dot the area, as well as a plethora of meadows and streams. Each area has its own unique scenery. We timed it just right as the wildflowers were at their peak.

Dawn and I went there last year but were driven away by the mosquitoes. They were not as bad this time, possibly due to the constant breeze, plus I had my arsenal of DEET and permithrin.

The weather cooperated with absolutely clear blues skies, which you will see allowed for some great photography.

Total mileage: 27+

Total elevation gain: 4,500 ft

Here is a link to some pictures from the Jefferson Park trip:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/54959080@N05/sets/72157625226441276/detail/

Enjoy!

Brad

Hardy Ridge Hike 10/31/10

The beauty of nature can be experienced throughout the year. It doesn't have to be a warm, sunny day to enjoy the sights and sounds on a hike. In fact, the experience can be very different at different times of the year.

For instance, during the fall and winter, there are far fewer people on the trails. There is a greater feeling of solitude. Of course the scenery of fall colors are always a welcome display. And when the leaves have fallen, what may once have been obscured can open up to wide open vistas. With the sun lower in the sky, the lighting can be completely different. Creeks that are bone dry during the summer once again flow with water.

So if you ever wonder why people go out hiking in the cold and rain, refer to the comments above. They are not crazy... they just enjoy nature.

With that being said, despite the forecast of rain, and partly because the forecast of rain, on Sunday (10/31/10) my friend Chris and I headed out to hike Hardy Ridge. Hardy Ridge is a 2957' high ridge located within Washington State's Beacon Rock State Park.

I have done this hike many times and it is one of my favorite close destination hikes. Normally, views can be seen of the Columbia River, Bonneville Dam, Mt. Hood, Hamilton Mt., Table Mt. and Mt. Adams. During the spring and summer, the wildflowers are abundant. But not last Sunday.

With rain in the forecast, I wanted to test out my new rain gear, which included my new friend, Gore-Tex. The rain never came, but there was dew and leftover rain droplets all over the vegetation. My gear passed the test of secondary moisture. Bring on the monsoon!

While there was no rain, there was almost constant fog and clouds. What was really interesting was that Hardy Ridge appeared to be the dividing line between complete cloud cover and the partly sunny skies. It was like that for almost the entire hike. Of course, as we neared the end of the hike, the clouds cleared off. Oh well.

Total distance: 10 miles

Elevation gain: 2500'

Below is a link to some photos of the Hardy Ridge hike. To view the pictures with descriptions, click on the picture and go from next to next. To view in full screen as a slideshow, click on "slideshow" in the upper right area, then click on the icon in the lower right.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/54959080@N05/sets/72157625284109438/detail/

Enjoy,

Brad