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mtnyoung
Trad climber
Twain Harte, California
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Topic Author's Reply - Aug 8, 2018 - 11:16am PT
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After a short backpack trip to the Sisters last year, I really want to hike the PCT section along the west side of the sisters. Looks incredible and very diverse. Must have been nice after all that forest hiking south of the Sisters.
This is a really big understatement. Make the time to do it!
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mtnyoung
Trad climber
Twain Harte, California
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Topic Author's Reply - Aug 8, 2018 - 11:18am PT
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Day Three:
An early finish yesterday let us get to bed early and sleep well. So we were up and off earlier this morning.
The first part of the hike was through “Jefferson Park,” a relatively flat, beautiful, lake-filled area of wilderness that isn’t a “park” in the city sense at all (it is pretty heavily used though). Gorgeous and viewful:
After the “park,” we started up Park Ridge (who thought of that name?). Lots of uphill getting up this very alpine ridge:
Looking south at Mount Jefferson:
But the uphill was worth it. At the crest of Park Ridge there’s a whole new set of views to the north. Here, seen from that crest, are Olallie Butte (big and forested), and Mount Hood (self-explanatory). Lots of lesser stuff too:
The dogs’ gaze was focused on a location closer than ours though. SNOW. Yep, their favorite non-food substance. We had to make some play-time:
We continued down the north side of the ridge. Soon we could see Forest Road 4220, Vicki’s path to reach us for a pick-up:
Poor Vicki got caught up in a “bridge-out” road closure though (delaying her for over an hour and stressing her out). She was "late." But we were content. We rested and ate the last of our food (hey, Alex, I said you could have SOME OF my Payday bar):
Vicki showed up, of course:
We dropped off the packs and the dogs (after today Charlotte wasn’t ready to hike again until she’d had three full days of rest). And off then for another six miles to Olallie Lake:
Then a short drive to Olallie Meadow Campground (“Olallie” is what natives call the huckleberry), and a comfortable camp with Vicki:
Day Four:
We started our fourth day with a slow and relaxed morning:
Steam coming from Tricia’s hot chocolate:
Then we had some decisions to make. The terrain and the road situation both change north of Olallie Lake. Plus, a certain 22 year old was driving up to meet us. Should we hike? If so, how far? Where to camp/meet Katie?
Coming up less than four miles from our last end-point was an area where the trail passes up the west side of the Warm Springs Reservation. This area is heavily logged and the dirt logging roads there “change” a lot year by year (even the PCT guidebook mentions this). As best as I could tell, we’d likely need to do 24.6 miles through that area in one push. We could look around some, but it didn't seem likely that we could shorten this. So, for today it seemed logical to hike just under four miles to set us up for the longer leg and then drive north to find camping.
Our less than four miles hike traversed the west side of Olallie Butte on easy terrain:
About the only break in the forest was where the trail passed under high tension wires:
We finished with Olallie Butte well to the south:
A very interesting driving reconnaissance then followed. The maps we had showed possible dirt road pick-up points. We thought we’d check these out and maybe thereby cut the coming, long, 24.6 mile day into two pieces. A discerning reader, seeing the words “very interesting,” might think to themselves: what, in the context of these nut-jobs, do those words mean?
Well, let’s see. How to answer politely…? To start with, the “main” dirt road we took was fine. But then we needed to take a side dirt road. We barely made it. Over three miles Vicki kept it in first gear, four wheel drive and we still barely made it. Dust, bumps, and trees resulted in massive jostling, many stops and tight turns, and, ultimately, scratches to the Ford and a destroyed right running board. But she did it. She did a masterful job of driving really.
The “quality” of this side road left us with an easy decision too. We made it to a better dirt road and unanimously agreed: no way. No way on God’s green earth were any of us going back there. To hell with cutting the distance down, we simply were not driving anywhere near those three miles again.
That decision made, we had only to find a place to camp. Instead, we got lost. After we got off the really bad road, what was there, in that forest by way of roads, bore absolutely no resemblance to what was on our maps. We tried “dead reckoning,” but in a forest? With a third of a tank of gas, no phone reception and no road signs? Sketchy. We kept calm (mostly).
Half an hour of driving passed. Nothing. I used the InReach to text Steve (Alex’s dad). “Where are we relative to Road 42?” (The InReach sends a message that includes a map link with it - Steve could click on this and then text back some idea of where we were.) But nothing again. Steve got the message, but for the first time in either of our experiences ever, the message did not include a link. Crap again. We kept going, now at least headed in the right direction (northwest, thank you very much).
Finally, we stumbled on the road we needed, paved Road 42 (like many such crises, we went from “oh shit” to “thank God” in about three seconds). Relieved, we continued north toward Timothy Lake and our intended camp. (I’ve never, ever, ever seen maps that are so far off that I couldn’t at least reconstruct where I’d been after the fact - even using Google Earth, the Half Mile and strip maps bear no resemblance whatsoever to what we drove).
Once there we tried to put together the remains of a rest day. We set up camp. We ate. Katie texted that she’d be there by 4:30. Then it was time to clean ourselves up (Olallie Meadow Campground is dry and we’d gotten there after the three-day backpack short of water). Tricia and I decided to walk over and at least wash off the dust in the lake (we’d been doing what we could along those lines each day). And Alex? Well, Alex is a 13 year old boy. I was one of those once, and, at least I thought, I know what it is like to be completely unworried about getting and staying dirty. After four days though, I thought he must be pretty dirty and ought to clean up at least a little. Vicki and I insisted that he join us in the lake.
Pretty dirty? He wore long pants hiking for four days. When he took them off to go in the lake? Well, I’m at a loss for words; it can’t be described. Here it is:
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Da-Veed
Big Wall climber
Bigfork
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Good for guys! I've been reading this for years as you progress, its been one of my favorite posts on ST. I have been through the entire Cascades for the last 40 years and the sections you just visited brought back many good memories. Thanks for posting!
The North Cascades are something to look forward to, as well as the Goat Rocks in WA. Keep up the great work!
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Norton
climber
The Wastelands
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I SO look forward to reading this thread !
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mtnyoung
Trad climber
Twain Harte, California
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Topic Author's Reply - Aug 8, 2018 - 02:59pm PT
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EDIT: Thanks Norton for the support. I must have posted just seconds after you!
^^^
Yep, looking forward to more of the Cascades. Just today Vicki picked up a map of the state of Washington. I haven't yet looked at the PCT there, but I plan to start soon (even though we're not likely to get back now until next June).
Here are days five and six:
Day Five:
I haven’t hiked more than 21 miles in a single day since I was in my twenties. But none of us wanted to carry full packs for two relatively short days and the road reconnaissance yesterday made it very clear that we weren’t going to cut down the distance (I guess the recon was successful in a way). So we decided to go for the full 24.6 miles in one day. By the end, 24.6 miles didn’t seem all that bad.
Also, to my extreme pleasure, today we’d be joined by a fourth person. Katie has a job this summer guiding backpacking and hiking trips in Yosemite. She loves the job, but, well, Yosemite hasn’t exactly been “open for business” with the Ferguson fire and all. She’d always wanted to check out the Bend area and so she decided to come up and join us for some of this summer’s trail.
Katie got us all up and moving early. We made the drive down from Timothy Lake on the main roads (no diversions and no recons!). We started hiking by 8:15:
A quick 3/10 mile hike got us back to the trail:
And that’s about the extent of the “interesting part” of this hike. Yeah, it was 24.6 miles, but most of that was in deep forest. There were no trail junctions until the end, and so I cut the kids loose to hike at their own pace. Here’s what I saw occasionally:
Mostly though I saw this:
They did wait now and then:
I caught up at Lemiti Creek (a nice looking place to camp, but we only took a break):
And then they were off like a shot again. There followed more hiking in forest (alone). Although mostly "in" forest, we went directly through one clear-cut and got glimpses through trees of others. This made me curious, and, checking later on Google Earth I saw that the whole area is a checkerboard of old and new clear-cuts; the trail mostly stays in the remaining forest, creating only the illusion that the whole area is continuous trees:
Eventually I caught up with the kids again at the only “really nice” place on the hike, Warm Springs River. In spite of the name, the water was very cool and refreshing. We took a nice long lunch:
After lunch we continued north in nice conditions. And I saw something I’ve never seen on a trail. This trail, this PCT was well maintained in this area. Very well maintained. From new erosion banks and log steps to a “re-flattened” tread, the trail had clearly been worked on recently. Oh, and someone had weed-eated (eaten?) both sides of the trail for over two miles. Seriously:
By the last few miles we were all hiking together again. After only 9 1/2 hours we came to our end-point, Road 42 (I’d estimated to Vicki that we’d take 11 hours):
A quick drive back to camp at Timothy Lake then left time for some in-the-lake cleanup, a nice dinner, and some more PCT planning:
Day Six:
Our sixth day was an easy 13.1 miles, split into two sections by a visit to “Little Crater Lake” and lunch with Vicki and Katie (Katie’s knee was slightly sore from the 24 mile day, and since her legs are “working assets” these days, she decided not to hike today).
Off from the trailhead:
Next to the Oak Grove Branch of the Clackamas River:
Quickly to the shores of Timothy Lake (the PCT goes halfway around it, on its shores):
Views across to the campground where we were staying:
Soon we leave the trail to hike over to Little Crater Lake. This is an interesting feature that might better be called “Minuscule Crater Lake.” Minus its garage, our house could fit into it. The “lake” is actually an artisan spring gushing 40 degree water. It’s hard to photograph its wonderful teal color and depth. This shot will have to do:
A nice rest stop with Vic and Katie:
And then off again, forest hiking toward Mount Hood and Highway 26:
Forest marching that is until we came around one corner where the trail is high up on the canyon wall of the Salmon River. The trees part and there’s this view:
Nice mountain!
The highway was an easy hike away:
By mid-afternoon we were back to camp and a relaxing afternoon and evening (this “heavily supported, ultra, ultra slow through-hiking” does have certain advantages).
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johntp
Trad climber
Little Rock and Loving It
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Once again, thanks for this ongoing saga. This is a really cool thread. A family experience that we be forever remembered by the youth.
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mtnyoung
Trad climber
Twain Harte, California
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Topic Author's Reply - Aug 8, 2018 - 06:31pm PT
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Thanks john too.
Here are the last two days of this trip (and, most likely, this season):
Day Seven:
This day was kinda yin and kinda yang. Highway to highway forest marching for the first half, a break with Vicki, and then an ascent through forest onto the open flanks of a magnificent mountain.
First though this shot from our morning in camp. I gotta admit that this woman looks very, very nice in pink:
Punks and one mature adult at the Highway 26 trailhead:
Then off, together at first, and then me slowly “letting them” get ahead:
To the PCT trailhead on Highway 35:
After lunch we crossed the highway and started up the southwest side of Mount Hood:
The terrain got more and more alpine:
Soon we could see Timberline Lodge:
We met up with Vicki at the headwaters of the Salmon River:
Then hiked the few hundred yards to the PCT exit point (for the day):
And then a miracle happened. At least it seemed to. Somehow, somehow, I'm not sure by what means, we suddenly made another 256 miles (miles!) of progress north from Mexico in the course of less than five minutes walking:
Miracles are a good way to end hiking days. And this one wrapped up our second to last day of hiking. Notice so far the clean skies for days on end, the lack of clouds and the warm temperatures? That’s about to change….
Day Nine:
After seven straight days, we took a rest day on day eight. This let us regroup and check out future hikes (we drove up to the end-point for the next hike and then continued all the way to the Columbia River and then around). Also, heeding the advice of a certain poster on this site, we visited Huckleberry Inn in the town of Government Camp (she wasn’t kidding about the size of those maple bars, and Huckleberry milkshakes were the perfect antidote to too many straight days of hiking).
When we woke up the next day, intending one more hike, the weather had changed. The night before, the prediction for this day had been for cold and drizzle. That sure looked accurate as we got going.
It was 47 degrees and clouds were blowing through in the Mount Hood parking area:
As always, these two were ready (just give the word - please!):
The cold persisted up at the trail:
This shot shows summer skiers on Mount Hood. I couldn’t believe how small they looked (little dots), but there were lots of them:
And then we were off on a partial traverse of Mount Hood in the clouds:
Alex is 200 feet away and only just visible in this shot:
A lot of this part of the hike consists of getting past the creeks and rivers that start as snow-melt high on Hood. Typically we’d come to the edge of a huge erosion canyon and then switchback down near it, cross the stream/river and then move back up a little.
Here’s the edge of the Zig Zag River erosion canyon:
There’s a creek down there (if someone had told me we were on the Oregon Coastal Trail this day I could have come close to believing them):
Down the switchbacks:
To Zig Zag River:
Repeat for Rushing Water Creek:
And then the biggest canyon of the all (and the biggest set of switchbacks down), the Sandy River:
Mount Hood started making wispy appearances when we took a break on this river:
We were down at low elevation now and we stayed there past a few more creeks. The Muddy Fork crossing:
And then the last big climb of the trip, back into the forest:
We saw Mount Saint Helens (in Washington State) through breaks in the clouds and trees:
Other breaks let us see a very dramatic version of Mount Hood:
And then Lolo Pass, the end of this trip and this year’s very satisfactory PCT season:
Post-script: I told Tricia what I’d posted about Lolo Pass in the Volume 35 thread. I said that I thought Lolo (as in Lolo Pass) was a combination of of the modern acronyms L.O.L. and Y.O.L.O. and that it stood for “Laughing Out Loud Once.”
Her immediate reply was simply: “HA.”
I sure like her ;)
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Climberdude
Trad climber
Clovis, CA
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Thanks for the great trip report Trish, Alex, Katie, Vicki, Brad, Halifax, and Charlotte!
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Mungeclimber
Trad climber
Nothing creative to say
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I just talked to this guy and this pops up?! Collusion!
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clinker
Trad climber
Santa Cruz, California
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Your latest adventure is a good read with beautiful pictures. What happened to the kids? Who are these people? ;-)
The 4WD section of obscure road I can relate to a little more of late, after getting almost stuck while lost on a few of our explorations this summer. These "roads" were suitable for a high clearance jeep with a winch, chainsaw and dead-man. A companion vehicle with similar equipment and like minded mechanic/adventurers to help would be great. Oh, and got to have the extra gas cans too!
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