Cornucopia Peak

Saturday, August 12, 2023

Another day, another lookout! The hike to Summit Point is short, so I decided to check out Cornucopia Peak while I was here.

The road continues beyond the trailhead, but is closed to public vehicles. Last time I was here in 2013 I think this gate was still standing. Now it’s a mangled mess along the road:

Cornucopia Peak Hike

Cornucopia Peak Hike

Cornucopia Peak Hike

Up the road I go:

Cornucopia Peak Hike

Lots of nettle-leaf giant hyssop along here:

Cornucopia Peak Hike

Cornucopia Peak Hike

Cornucopia Peak Hike

Beardtongue:

Cornucopia Peak Hike

I passed the junction where the road swings right to the lookout and I kept going straight on an old jeep track:

Cornucopia Peak Hike

Cornucopia Peak Hike

Cornucopia Peak Hike

Cornucopia Peak Hike

Cornucopia Peak Hike

After a stiff climb on a super dusty cattle-trampled trail I reached the edge of the giant meadow informally known as Little Eagle Meadows. Lupine bloom here earlier in summer, but they were all done now except for one patch:

Cornucopia Peak Hike

Cornucopia Peak Hike

I crossed the wilderness boundary. I wish that meant no cattle, but alas grazing is allowed in designated wilderness:

Cornucopia Peak Hike

I continued across the huge meadow. That’s Cornucopia Peak on the far side:

Cornucopia Peak Hike

An almost-dried-up pond:

Cornucopia Peak Hike

Cornucopia Peak Hike

The trail starts entering an area of trees:

Cornucopia Peak Hike

A trail once went all the way to the summit of Cornucopia Peak to service the fire lookout that was built up there in 1922. A short piece in The Oregonian on April 19, 1922 said “A lookout station will be established this summer on Cornucopia mountain, in the northeast part of this county, to watch for forest fires. Forestry work this year will include the improvement of two roads to the top of Cornucopia mountain and the fire station on the top of this peak be the only one in this district which can be reached with a horse and vehicle. A telephone line is now being built to the summit.”

Cornucopia Peak, 1924

Not sure why, but the roads never materialized. After the fire lookout up there was removed in the 1940s the trail was abandoned. The upper portion is still very much intact, but the bottom portion has been reclaimed by nature so you have to go cross-country. I picked a random spot and started heading up the slope:

Cornucopia Peak Hike

Looking back down where I’ve come from:

Cornucopia Peak Hike

Cornucopia Peak Hike

Continuing to climb. It’s steeper than it looks:

Cornucopia Peak Hike

Finally I found the old trail tread and I started following that:

Cornucopia Peak Hike

It’s in surprisingly good shape and easy to follow considering it hasn’t seen any official maintenance in 80 years:

Cornucopia Peak Hike

I reached a viewpoint and took a breather:

Cornucopia Peak Hike

Continuing up:

Cornucopia Peak Hike

Looking back:

Cornucopia Peak Hike

Following the ridge to the summit:

Cornucopia Peak Hike

Made it!

Cornucopia Peak Hike

Looking down on Little Eagle Meadows:

Cornucopia Peak Hike

Summit Point Lookout to the south:

Cornucopia Peak Hike

View to the north:

Cornucopia Peak Hike

Can you see Pine Lakes down there?

Cornucopia Peak Hike

Cornucopia Peak Hike

Looking east:

Cornucopia Peak Hike

Looking southeast:

Cornucopia Peak Hike

Looking west:

Cornucopia Peak Hike

Cable and glass remnants from the lookout:

Cornucopia Peak Hike

Cornucopia Peak Hike

I was surprised and delighted when some mountain goats showed up:

Cornucopia Peak Hike

Cornucopia Peak Hike

Cornucopia Peak Hike

Cornucopia Peak Hike

Cornucopia Peak Hike

As I was photographing the goats I was surprised again: two hikers arrived on the summit. Yes it was Saturday, but I definitely wasn’t expecting to see anyone else up there. They were locals and they said they had been up there before. Shortly thereafter I packed up and headed back down:

Cornucopia Peak Hike

Back on the main trail crossing the meadow there were dozens of cows mooing and kicking up dust:

Cornucopia Peak Hike

Cornucopia Peak Hike

Cornucopia Peak Hike

Looking back:

Cornucopia Peak Hike

The summit of Cornucopia Peak is the part sticking out in the background:

Cornucopia Peak Hike

Several “looking back at where I’ve been” shots on the hike out:

Cornucopia Peak Hike

Cornucopia Peak Hike

Cornucopia Peak Hike

I got a glimpse of Summit Point, my next stop:

Cornucopia Peak Hike

I turned onto the spur road that leads to the lookout. There were a few lingering paintbrush along the road:

Cornucopia Peak Hike

Hiking the rough rocky road:

Summit Point

The toilet:

Summit Point

The lookout is staffed in summer but no one was there when I arrived:

Summit Point

View of Cornucopia Peak from Summit Point:

Summit Point

Looking back down the road:

Summit Point

Looking northeast:

Summit Point

Looking southeast:

Summit Point

View to the south with a goldenbush in the foreground:

Summit Point

A butterfly came and hung around for a moment:

Summit Point

Summit Point

That distant point is Big Lookout Mountain where a BLM lookout stands:

View from Summit Point

I had several hours of driving ahead of me that afternoon, so I headed back to the car. A parting wildflower shot:

Summit Point

Gaia stats: 9.25 miles, 2,650′ elevation gain