Paradise Park

Sunday, July 15, 2018

Greg and I decided to hike to Paradise Park today.

Paradise Park

I was camped up at Mt. Hood and Greg drove up this morning to join me at Timberline Lodge. Even at the early hour of 7:30am it was already pretty warm. Here is Mt. Hood from the parking lot:

Paradise Park Hike

Hiking up to the TImberline Trail:

Paradise Park Hike

We had a nice view of Mt. Jefferson beyond Timberline Lodge on this clear day:

Paradise Park Hike

We didn’t see many people on the trail and it was nice and quiet:

Paradise Park Hike

Paradise Park Hike

We reached the rim of Zigzag Canyon and peered in before making the long descent to the bottom:

Paradise Park Hike

We saw some nice wildflowers along the way as we switchbacked down to the river:

Paradise Park Hike

Paradise Park Hike

Paradise Park Hike

Paradise Park Hike

Paradise Park Hike

We’ve reached the bottom! Now we have to climb back out again:

Paradise Park Hike

Mt. Jefferson again:

Paradise Park Hike

Look at all that beargrass!

Paradise Park Hike

Paradise Park Hike

Paradise Park Hike

Paradise Park Hike

Paradise Park Hike

Paradise Park Hike

Paradise Park Hike

Paradise Park

In the distance, clouds were starting to build up around Mt. Jefferson:

Paradise Park Hike

These meadows will be full of lupine in a week or two. We were too early:

Paradise Park Hike

The western pasque flower was just getting started:

Paradise Park

Paradise Park

Paradise Park

We sat down by Lost Creek and boy did it feel nice there. The day was getting quite hot:

Paradise Park

An American Dipper kept us company:

Paradise Park Hike

This is such a lovely spot (except for the biting flies):

Paradise Park

Paradise Park

After hanging out by the creek for a few hours, we finally started hiking back. We could see the clouds spreading out and getting closer:

Paradise Park

Good and cloudy now:

Paradise Park Hike

A lot of trees fell last winter. We saw evidence of recent work to get them cleared and most have been taken care of, but these hadn’t yet been dealt with. This was between Zigzag Canyon and the Paradise Park loop:

Paradise Park Hike

Descending into Zigzag Canyon:

Paradise Park Hike

Crossing the Zigzag:

Paradise Park Hike

At the top of the canyon:

Paradise Park Hike

Once you climb out of Zigzag Canyon you still have more than two miles and several hundred feet of elevation to gain before reaching the lodge. It was a long uphill trudge in the heat:

Paradise Park Hike

The Little Zigzag River had been dry in the morning, but was now flowing. It was very silty:

Paradise Park Hike

We’re back!

Paradise Park Hike

We knew the lodge would be crawling with tourists so we went to Mt. Hood Brewing in Government Camp instead:

Mt. Hood Brewing

It was a long hot day, 10.5+ miles and 2400′ elevation gain. But beautiful! I’m cherishing these beautiful blue skies because any day now wildfires will fill the sky with smoke and haze for the rest of summer.

Bald Mountain

Saturday, July 14, 2018

We had a heat wave this weekend with sweltering temperatures. Wanting to escape the heat I headed up to Mt. Hood where it was cooler and I set up camp for the weekend. Even up there it got hot during the day so I did a fairly easy hike on Saturday. After breakfast Saturday morning I drove up to Lolo Pass and hiked the PCT southbound toward Bald Mountain (hike description). The trail is in the trees, but I was fine with that because the shade felt great.

PCT

PCT

At 1.7 miles there’s an opening in the trees and boom! Great view of Mt. Hood! That little white smudge at lower right is the very busy and crowded Top Spur Trailhead where people start their hike to McNeil Point. Bald Mountain – my destination, is the foreground bump at right:

PCT

I passed the junction with the Top Spur Trail and then came to the four-way junction and the wilderness boundary:

PCT

Shortly after that is an obvious but unmarked side trail to the left. This is the spur trail to the top of Bald Mountain:

Bald Mountain

The trail is well-trod and easy to follow:

Bald Mountain Trail

There was a fire lookout up here in the 1930s (read more about that here). All the evidence that remains are a few chunks of concrete:

Bald Mountain

There’s a nice flat spot to camp up here. No water, of course, but man, what great place to watch the alpenglow on Mt. Hood at the end of the day! I was surprised that I didn’t find a trash-filled fire ring here:

Bald Mountain

There was a nice batch of columbine in bloom:

Columbine

I got up there around noon and with plenty of time to kill I sat down in the shade with my book and read for a few hours. It was quite pleasant. About 15 hikers came and went during that time. I departed at 2:30 at which time the light was much better for photography. What a view!

Mt. Hood

I got a peek at Mt. Adams through the trees as I hiked back:

Mt. Adams

On the hike back I got another nice view from that gap in the trees. That long ridge out there is Zigzag Mountain:

Zigzag Mountain

And nice afternoon light on Mt. Hood:

Mt. Hood

It was a little too early for dinner when I got back, and it was HOT, so I hung out by Lost Creek for awhile with my book. It was nice and cool there.

Lost Creek

Evening at the campsite wasn’t very pleasant as my inconsiderate neighbors turned on their music for everyone to hear. I retreated to my tent with my earbuds in and listened to classical music to drown their music out. I really would have rather listened to the birds, though.

Tomorrow: Paradise Park!

Grasshopper Mountain

Saturday, July 7, 2018

This morning I attempted to make omelettes for breakfast before. They tasted ok, but I had trouble getting them to cook evenly, which I think was due to the fact that the stove was a teeny tiny bit off-level:

Campsite breakfast

We drove up to the Skimmerhorn Trailhead on good gravel roads. A curious side note: In Art Bernstein’s 76 Day-Hikes Within 100 Miles of the Rogue Valley (1987), he says this: “The Skimmerhorn trailhead is the most elaborate I’ve seen, with parking for at least 50 cars, a picnic ground and pit toilets.” It’s not THAT big, and I saw no toilets. I wonder if he’s talking about a larger area next to the road a short distance before reaching the trailhead. It looked like a dispersed camping site and was pretty grassy, indicating it wasn’t used as much.

We headed up the Lakes Trail:

Lakes Trail

After 0.6 miles in the forest we entered a burn. This is from the same 2002 Tiller Complex Fire that burned the Beaver Swamp Trail we hiked yesterday, but unlike that patch of forest, this one got totally roasted. For a long half mile there’s no shade. This section is also very brushy in parts:

Lakes Trail

Lakes Trail

Re-entering the shady forest was a relief:

Lakes Trail

At 1.6 miles this sign was the indication that we had reached the spur trail to Buckeye Lake:

IMG_2268

Calm and quiet:

Buckeye Lake

Grasshopper Mountain, our destination:

Buckeye Lake

Down the trail a bit further, the next lake is Cliff Lake, right at the base of Grasshopper Mountain (the spur trail is unsigned but obvious):

Cliff Lake

Cliff Lake

We met an elderly gentleman here who was backpacking. He planned to day hike over to Fish Lake and said that back in the day before this was wilderness he used to work as a guard at the Fish Lake Guard Station, which is long-gone.

At Cliff Lake there is a very old decrepit dock or raft or something:

Cliff Lake

More brushy trail after Cliff Lake:

Brushy Trail

At 2.7 miles we reached a junction and turned right on the Grasshopper Trail (the trail to the left goes to Fish Lake). We saw this vivid Snow Plant (Sarcodes sanguinea):

DSC_2315

It was obvious that this trail didn’t see a lot of use, but the tread was good and it was in pretty decent shape for a wilderness trail. There were a few spots with downed trees, but it could have been worse:

Hiking up Grasshopper Mountain

Finally after 3.75 miles we reached another junction and turned right on the Grasshopper Mountain Trail, which started out in the trees and then started passing through some nice meadows:

Hiking up Grasshopper Mountain

Hiking up Grasshopper Mountain

Wildflowers

Grasshopper Mountain

Grasshopper Mountain

Grasshopper Mountain

Incense cedar:

Cedar

4.5 miles from the trailhead we reached the top, where four concrete footings remain from the fire lookout days:

Grasshopper Mountain

A D6 cupola lookout was built here in 1925, followed by an L4 tower in 1933, built by the CCC:

In 1958 the Forest Service used a helicopter to deliver 3,800 pounds of building material to build a new lookout up here:

The lookout was removed in 1977 and in the intervening years a cedar tree has grown up tall next to one of the footings, hiding it from view. We utilized the shade of that cedar on this very warm day:

Grasshopper Mountain

Below us we could see Buckeye Lake and Cliff Lake:

Grasshopper Mountain

On the other side far below us was Grasshopper Meadow (if we had stayed on the Grasshopper Trail and not taken the spur trail to the summit, we would have passed through that meadow):

Grasshopper Mountain

Little Black Rock at center of photo (with exposed rock on its slope):

Grasshopper Mountain

Highrock Mountain, which we saw part of from Fish Lake the day before:

Highrock Mountain

We marveled at the clear blue skies all around us after experiencing such hazy smoky weather on Wagner Butte two days ago:

Grasshopper Mountain

Grasshopper Mountain

This mountain has some interesting geologic history. About 1,000 years ago half of Grasshopper Mountain fell away in a huge landslide with debris spreading out over four square miles. You can see in these photos how the mountain just drops away abruptly and is still slowly eroding today (I bet that several decades ago the cliff edge was at least 10 feet further out than it is now):

Grasshopper Mountain

Grasshopper Mountain

There is an option to make a loop on the way back, passing Grasshopper Meadow and Little Fish Lake, but the gentleman at Cliff Lake said that route had a lot of blowdown so we just returned the same way we came up. On the way back we stopped at Cliff Lake again to get photos in better light. We had been way over at the far right up there:

Grasshopper Mountain

Cliff Lake

And we stopped at Buckeye Lake again too. It doesn’t look like the high point from down here, but we were over in the area of open trees at far right:

Buckeye Lake

Grasshopper Mountain

Back through the burn. So hot.

Lakes Trail

We went home the next day. I had wanted to do the short Little Black Rock hike (less than a mile one way), but we didn’t break camp until 10am and we had a three-hour detour ahead of to visit Marys Peak near Corvallis so Greg could see the wildflowers. Here is Little Black Rock as seem from the road up to Skimmerhorn Trailhead. Hopefully we can visit this one another time!

Little Blackrock Mountain

On Sunday before we left I wandered down the short Camp Comfort trail by our campground. It ends at a spot where the Black Rock Fork (left) and Castle Fork (right) join and it’s the start of the South Umpqua River.

Camp Comfort Trail

Nice spot for hanging out on a warm day. I also noticed what looked like bridge supports on the other side. They look like they would have been associated with something small like a footbridge. But there’s no trail over there and I didn’t find similar supports on the near side of the river. I wonder what the story is!

Camp Comfort Trail

Camp Comfort Trail

Fish Lake

Friday, July 6, 2018

Last night we left our campground and got a hotel room, so instead of waking up to the sound of birds outside our tent we woke up to the sounds of our AC unit. We walked next door and got in line for a delicious waffle breakfast at the Morning Glory Cafe. YUM!

Morning Glory Cafe

In an effort to escape the wildfire smoke that now blanked the Ashland area, we decided to head to the Umpqua National Forest. After driving for several hours we reached the Tiller Ranger Station and stopped in to get some information and a map. Then we drove Road 28 along the South Umpqua River and pulled in at the Camp Comfort Campground where we grabbed a site. (The Forest Service website says this campground has five sites, but it only has four because one of them has been closed due to safety issues.) We were not happy to discover that we had traded one annoyance (smoke) for another (mosquitoes).

Fish Lake Hike

We had some lunch and then set out for a short hike. We drove good gravel roads up to the Beaver Swamp Trailhead and set off for Fish Lake.

New sign:

Fish Lake Hike

Old singed one:

Fish Lake Hike

This forest was burned in the 2002 Tiller Complex Fire, which consisted of eight large and many small fires. These big trees survived the fire but are still blackened on the outside.

Fish Lake Hike

Fish Lake Hike

Fish Lake Hike

This tree’s center burned out:

Fish Lake Hike

Yet it’s still alive!

Fish Lake Hike

The forest is actually pretty lush in many places:

Fish Lake Hike

Entering the Rogue-Umpqua Divide Wilderness:

Fish Lake Hike

We saw hundreds of butterflies on this hike:

Fish Lake Hike

There are a lot of incense cedar in this forest:

Fish Lake Hike

After descending the Beaver Swamp Trail, at 1.3 miles we turned left onto the Fish Lake Trail. Another 0.3 miles later we reached the lake outlet and this old broken sign. (Of course, even if the sign was new and in-your-face people would still not follow the 200-foot rule)

Fish Lake Hike

Highrock Mountain towered above the lake:

Fish Lake Hike

Fish Lake Hike

Another 0.3 miles down the trail we reached a nice peninsula where we dropped our packs and enjoyed a nice long rest. Bonus: no mosquitoes!

Fish Lake Hike

Fish Lake Hike

Fish Lake Hike

Greg noticed this tenacious fireweed growing on a log:

Fish Lake Hike

Greg stayed by the lake while I went exploring further along the trail. There’s a nice campsite just beyond the peninsula:

Fish Lake Hike

I went another quarter mile down the trail, which was very muddy in spots. I came to an illegal lakeside campsite and was dismayed to see quite a lot of trash that had been left behind:

Fish Lake Hike

Fish Lake Hike

Someone had hauled in a very heavy cast iron griddle and then just left it here. It was too heavy to haul out, so I grabbed what I could of the other trash and carried it back to where Greg and I were hanging out. I had left my trash bag with Greg or else I would have been able to pack out everything. As it was we had trouble getting everything to fit in the bag, especially since we had also found trash at the peninsula:

Fish Lake Hike

Fish Lake Hike

We started hiking out at 5:30. I noticed this log munching on a branch!

Fish Lake Hike

A note: later I would learn that Fish Lake was once the site of a guard station. I can’t tell for sure from the old maps, but I believe it may have been at the east end of the lake where Highrock Creek flows in. I didn’t go that far to explore, although I would have if I had known. Here’s a photo from 1944:

Fish Lake Guard Station, 1944
USFS

Back at our campground I made dinner with my headnet on. We couldn’t get our new Thermacell to work (after some testing at home it turns out you need a COMPLETELY full fuel canister for it to work. Half-full is not good enough.) Throughout the evening the whine of mosquitoes was drowned out by the very obnoxious sounds of dirt bikes racing up and down the road on the other side of the river. It went on for hours.

Tomorrow we hike Grasshopper Mountain!

Wagner Butte

Thursday, July 5, 2018

Greg and I had breakfast at our campsite at the Mt. Ashland Campground then drove up Road 20. We passed the point where snow had blocked our progress last year (no sign of snow this year) and continued on to Road 22, which we followed to the Wagner Butte Trailhead.

After switchbacking up the hill, the trail then follows the route of a long-abandoned road, passing the occasional collapsed berm from back when this road was decommissioned.

Wagner Butte Hike

Wagner Butte Hike

The trail reaches the Sheep Creek Slide and a sign explains what it is:

Wagner Butte Hike

I tried to find photos from 1983 showing the slide right after it happened, but I had no luck. What a sight that must have been! Now, 35 years later, it just looks like a huge grassy meadow with some wildflowers:

Wagner Butte Hike

Wagner Butte Hike

Wagner Butte Hike

Wagner Butte Hike

Wagner Butte Hike

The trail takes it’s sweet time getting to the summit, taking a weirdly indirect route. After hiking south for 2.4 miles the trail abruptly turns uphill and starts switchbacking up.

We saw plenty of wildflowers on this hike, which was a nice treat:

Wagner Butte Hike

Wagner Butte Hike

Wagner Butte Hike

Wagner Butte Hike

Wagner Butte Hike

Wagner Butte Hike

Wagner Butte Hike

Wagner Butte Hike

We reached Wagner Glade Gap and a four-way junction, and there were some pretty new-looking signs here, including one that pointed to something called Split Rock:

Wagner Butte Hike

When I got home I looked it up. Here’s a report from last year from that trail.

Looking southwest from Wagner Glade Gap:

Wagner Butte Hike

We stopped for a rest here, then pushed on for the final two miles to Wagner Butte:

Wagner Butte Hike

Wagner Butte Hike

Wagner Butte Hike

Old cattle watering trough?

Wagner Butte Hike

The summit is in sight!

Wagner Butte Hike

Wagner Butte Hike

Some scrambling is required to get to the top:

Wagner Butte Hike

We made it!

Wagner Butte Hike

Wagner Butte Hike

Wagner Butte Hike

As you can see, this is a former lookout site. A D6 cupola lookout was built up here in 1923. Explosives (100 pounds of picric acid) were used to level the top of the mountain, and 40 horse and mule loads of building material had to be hauled up there to construct the lookout.

Wagner Butte, 1942
National Archives

In 1961 a pre-fabricated R6 lookout cabin replaced the cupola cabin, although it was only used for a few years (in 1971 it was burned down):

Wagner Butte,
National Archives

The views were smoky in all directions. Smoke from the Pawnee Fire and Yolo County Fires 200+ miles away had drifted north and made for hazy views, which was a pretty big bummer:

Wagner Butte Hike

Wagner Butte Hike

Wagner Butte Hike

Mt. Ashland:

Wagner Butte Hike

Wagner Butte Hike

The town of Ashland:

Wagner Butte Hike

When we first got up there we couldn’t see Mt. Shasta at all, but either the sun’s progress or a slight clearing of the smoke later resulted in us being able to see it a tiny bit:

Wagner Butte Hike

This is the true summit of Wagner Butte, being a bit higher than where we were:

Wagner Butte Hike

We signed the summit register of course. I was AMAZED at the large number of entries in there, dating all the way back to January! I guess this must be a popular hike.

Wagner Butte Hike

Wagner Butte Hike

We hung around on the summit for awhile, having it all to ourselves after a couple with two dogs left. Then we headed back down.

Wagner Butte Hike

When we got another view again a bit later it seemed like the smoke had cleared a bit. That’s Mt. Ashland on the left:

Wagner Butte Hike

When we got back to the car we were pooped! 10 miles and 2000′ elevation gain.

Wagner Butte Track map

My phone picked up service again as we drove on Road 20 back to the Mt. Ashland Campground. I had a text from my mom that said “I-5 south of Ashland is closed because of wildfire.” Less than a minute later we pulled up to the Willamette Meridian viewpoint and sure enough, we could see the fire. Well THAT’S not good.

Klamath Fire

Klamath Fire

It was 5:30 and the fire – we later learned – had been going for five hours already. We gave a ride to a PCT hiker (hey, Snowman!) and when we arrived at the campground several people were standing around gawking at the enormous plume of smoke. I had a signal so I did some quick searching and found out that the fire had started in the vicinity of Hornbrook, California, which was just ten air miles away. The northern edge of the fire looked closer than that:

Klamath Fire

Klamath Fire

I was tired and hungry and we were not in immediate danger so I suggested we cook dinner. I had been looking forward to sitting around the campsite with a cold beer and a book, but it was clear that we were going to have to leave. Even if the fire didn’t get close enough to threaten our campground, the smoke was going to become a problem by morning. We’ve had our fill of smoky camping trips and wanted none of that, so even though we had only been there one night and had planned to stay for three more, we started packing up. The sound of our neighbor’s RV generator – which had been running ever since we arrived – droned on as we loaded up the car. It grated on my nerves and made the situation even more tense than it was. The only silver lining to having to leave was getting away from that racket.

IMG_2182

With the car loaded up I took a final shot before we left at 7:40, Mt. Shasta framed by the wildfire smoke:

Klamath Fire

Later we would learn what happened. The fire was reported around 1pm on Thursday and according to the California Highway Patrol Yreka incident page, a caller reported that they had “started (a) small fire on friend’s property and it is out of control.” As of today (July 10) 2,800 firefighters are working on this fire which has killed one civilian, injured three firefighters, and destroyed 82 structures, including many homes. It is 36,000 acres. People have lost their homes, their vehicles, and their animals.

Interstate 5 was closed between Ashland and Yreka and our exit was between those two points. We were allowed to get on the freeway going northbound away from the fire but the freeway was deserted of course, which was incredibly weird. That night we got a hotel room in Ashland and went to bed, glad that we were safe, disappointed at having to pack up and leave, and thinking of the residents impacted by the fire. It was a somber ending to an otherwise good day.

NOTE: On Sunday when we left the Umpqua National Forest, after having not had a signal for a few days, we checked the Mt. Ashland webcam and this is what we saw. Lots of smoke.

Mt. Ashland

Mt. Ashland

Mt. Ashland

Wednesday, July 4, 2018

This year the 4th of July fell on a Wednesday so Greg and I decided to make it into a five-day weekend. I suggested we go backpacking in the Trinity Alps Wilderness but Greg wanted to see wildflowers and suggested we go to the north side of Olympic National Park instead. Sounded good to me, but then the weather forecast for that area looked cold and damp so I suggested we go back to the Mt. Ashland area. We camped there last year over the 4th of July hadn’t been able to access most of the trailheads due to a large snowbank on Road 20.

So this morning we loaded up the car and after a long delay in getting out of the house we finally hit the road at 10am. We arrived at the Mt. Ashland Campground at 4:45 and got the second-to-last campsite. The last campsite was snatched up 10 minutes later. After many trips from the car to the site, we finally got everything set up:

Mt. Ashland Campground

We couldn’t see Mt. Shasta like we could last year. A ranger came around checking on everyone to make sure they were being responsible with campfires and he told us that the air was hazy because of the Pawnee Fire and Yolo County Fires down near Sacramento. Jeez, that’s over 200 miles away!

Too Smoky

Yesterday was our wedding anniversary and because I worked the late shift we didn’t get to celebrate. So we had a celebratory dinner at our campsite with pesto gnocchi and white wine. YUM.

Anniversary Dinner

After dinner we drove up to the Rabbit Ears area on Mt. Ashland and did some exploring. Nice sunset!

Mt. Ashland Sunset

Mt. Ashland Sunset

Looking up at Mt. Ashland.

Mt. Ashland

Tomorrow we hike Wagner Butte!

Ed’s Trail on Silver Star Mountain

Sunday, July 1, 2018

Greg and I hiked up Silver Star last weekend via the Grouse Vista Trailhead. Mom and Dad wanted to see the grand wildflower display on Silver Star Mountain. They don’t hike at all anymore and they wouldn’t have been able to handle the rough trail from Grouse Vista, so we knew we had to take them to the north side, even though the road is utter crap.

On Sunday Karl, Deb, Dad, Mom, and I piled into Karl’s truck and drove up there. Road 4109 is even worse than last year. I got my Outback up that road last year, but I probably wouldn’t have made it up this year. This is what the road looks like now, as photographed on our way down. This is the worst of the ditches:

Road 4109

Nice driving, Karl! We made it! There was only one other truck there when we arrived at 8:30.

Silver Star Mountain

Unfortunately we were very much in the clouds with no views:

Silver Star Mountain

We headed up the trail:

Silver Star Mountain

Silver Star Mountain

There were wildflowers all over the place:

Silver Star Mountain

Silver Star Mountain

Silver Star Mountain

Visibility was very limited:

Silver Star Mountain

The vegetation was sopping wet (we ran into some backpackers who said it rained pretty much all night), which had some beautiful effects:

Silver Star Mountain

We turned off of the old road and headed up Ed’s Trail. We were lucky to be here during a good beargrass year:

Silver Star Mountain

Silver Star Mountain

The wildflower show continued:

Silver Star Mountain

Silver Star Mountain

Silver Star Mountain

I love this part, where the trail crosses a huge meadow:

Silver Star Mountain

Silver Star Mountain

We cut over to the old road from Ed’s Trail in order to avoid some scrambling sections coming on Ed’s Trail:

Silver Star Mountain

Shortly after that we stopped for a break on some rocks above Ed’s Trail, which you see at the bottom of this photo:

Silver Star Mountain

Then we continued hiking the old road towards the summit:

Silver Star Mountain

Almost to the summit! (Notice the two switchback-cutters popping out onto the trail up there):

Silver Star Mountain

We made it! The “views” were pretty cloudy:

Silver Star Mountain

Here’s Karl looking out over Star Creek. Normally you’d be able to see Mt. St. Helens, Mt. Rainier, and Mt. Adams out there, but not today:

Silver Star Mountain

We followed the old road all the way back to the car, hiking past thousands more wildflowers:

Silver Star Mountain

Silver Star Mountain

Silver Star Mountain

Silver Star Mountain

Silver Star Mountain

Sturgeon Rock:

Silver Star Mountain

On the way down the clouds lifted a bit, but not enough for us to see Mt. St. Helens, Mt. Rainier, and Mt. Adams

Silver Star Mountain

Silver Star Mountain

As we neared the end, though, a bit of Mt. St. Helens came out:

Silver Star Mountain

Mt. Hood hiding in the clouds:

Silver Star Mountain

Mom wasn’t a fan of these really rocky sections, but she and Dad did great!

Silver Star Mountain

We got back to the trailhead at 2:30 and then we bumped our way down the road. There were seven cars parked along the road, having bailed on their way up when it got too rough. Some of the cars were partially blocking the road.

We stopped in Battleground at Double Mountain Brewing for some post-hike food and beer:

Double Mountain Brewing

I could have done without the clouds, but the flowers were beautiful. So glad we were able to get Mom and Dad up there to see them. Great day!

Video:

Silver Star Mountain via Grouse Vista

June 24, 2018

The first time I visited Silver Star Mountain in 2006 I went with my sister and we took our Dad’s pickup because the road was described as being pretty rough. Back then we drove Road 41 and Road 4109 from Sunset Campground and it was a bit of an adventure, with rough potholed roads.

I’ve been back numerous times since then, eventually switching to a slightly different route via Road 1100 (much better road) that connected up with Road 4109 for the last 2.7 miles. Those last 2.7 miles have been getting worse and worse over the years, and after driving it last year in our Outback, Greg and I vowed we’d never drive that road again. (I actually traveled on that road the next weekend, but not in my car.)

So Greg and I headed to the Grouse Vista Trailhead today to hike up that way (here is a description of the hike). The road access is much better. We got up very early to avoid the crowds and the heat and started hiking at 7:30am. The trail is an old road and it starts out steeply, climbing up through the trees. Large rocks litter the old roadbed.

Silver Star Mountain

This cute rabbit was on the trail ahead of us. He held still for a surprisingly long time before finally hopping away.

Silver Star Mountain

After gaining 600′ in three-quarters of a mile the trail leveled out a bit for awhile:

Silver Star Mountain

Around the one-mile mark we emerged out into some open areas and we could see ahead to Sturgeon Rock (left of center):

Silver Star Mountain

Looking back down the trail:

Silver Star Mountain

Ugly clearcuts:

Silver Star Mountain

Then we were back in the trees:

Silver Star Mountain

And back into the open. The wildflowers were nice on this stretch:

Silver Star Mountain

Silver Star Mountain

Silver Star Mountain

Silver Star Mountain

Silver Star Mountain

Silver Star Mountain

Silver Star Mountain

Silver Star Mountain

Silver Star Mountain

Silver Star Mountain

The steep rockiness continued. This trail is in very bad condition.

Silver Star Mountain

After 3.1 miles and 1700′ elevation gain we reached the junction with the summit spur trail. Last push to the summit!

Silver Star Mountain

We lucked into a clear day with views of the Cascade volcanoes. Mt. St. Helens and Mt. Rainier:

Silver Star Mountain

Silver Star Mountain

Mt. St. Helens and Mt. Rainier and Mt. Adams:

Silver Star Mountain

Mt. Hood:

Silver Star Mountain

Silver Star Mountain

Sturgeon Rock with yucky haze on the horizon beyond:

Silver Star Mountain

After leaving the summit we took the side trail towards the Indian Pits hoping to see beargrass, but there wasn’t much there so we didn’t go all the way. Mt. Hood loomed in the distance:

Silver Star Mountain

Silver Star Mountain

Silver Star Mountain

Back on the main route we descended back to our car, passing numerous people heading up. It was really warming up by this point and I was glad to be going down, not up. Here’s a shot looking back up the trail (that’s Sturgeon Rock in the background):

Silver Star Mountain

Silver Star Mountain

We got back to the car at 1:30. The final mile was pretty grueling. It was impossible to maintain any rhythm on the descent because of all the rocks on the trail. I had to pick my way along, navigating the rocky obstacle course. It was as mentally challenging as it was physically exhausting since I had to concentrate on every step so that I didn’t fall on the rocky trail.

Although this route has better road access, the trail doesn’t even compare to the route on the north side, which is MUCH more scenic, with way more views and flowers. But of course that trailhead requires driving on a wretched road.

Here’s video of our hike: