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:
Up the road I go:
Lots of nettle-leaf giant hyssop along here:
Beardtongue:
I passed the junction where the road swings right to the lookout and I kept going straight on an old jeep track:
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:
I crossed the wilderness boundary. I wish that meant no cattle, but alas grazing is allowed in designated wilderness:
I continued across the huge meadow. That’s Cornucopia Peak on the far side:
An almost-dried-up pond:
The trail starts entering an area of trees:
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.”
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:
Looking back down where I’ve come from:
Continuing to climb. It’s steeper than it looks:
Finally I found the old trail tread and I started following that:
It’s in surprisingly good shape and easy to follow considering it hasn’t seen any official maintenance in 80 years:
I reached a viewpoint and took a breather:
Continuing up:
Looking back:
Following the ridge to the summit:
Made it!
Looking down on Little Eagle Meadows:
Summit Point Lookout to the south:
View to the north:
Can you see Pine Lakes down there?
Looking east:
Looking southeast:
Looking west:
Cable and glass remnants from the lookout:
I was surprised and delighted when some mountain goats showed up:
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:
Back on the main trail crossing the meadow there were dozens of cows mooing and kicking up dust:
Looking back:
The summit of Cornucopia Peak is the part sticking out in the background:
Several “looking back at where I’ve been” shots on the hike out:
I got a glimpse of Summit Point, my next stop:
I turned onto the spur road that leads to the lookout. There were a few lingering paintbrush along the road:
Hiking the rough rocky road:
The toilet:
The lookout is staffed in summer but no one was there when I arrived:
View of Cornucopia Peak from Summit Point:
Looking back down the road:
Looking northeast:
Looking southeast:
View to the south with a goldenbush in the foreground:
A butterfly came and hung around for a moment:
That distant point is Big Lookout Mountain where a BLM lookout stands:
I had several hours of driving ahead of me that afternoon, so I headed back to the car. A parting wildflower shot:
Gaia stats: 9.25 miles, 2,650′ elevation gain
