Another adventurous escape on the Timberline Trail
We thought we were in the clear, that the last mile or two of the 41-mile Timberline Trail that encircles Mt. Hood wouldn’t put up much of a fight. Sure, the crossing of Eliot Creek is notoriously daunting. After four days on the trail, we knew it was still coming. But reports from other hikers passing us in the opposite direction were optimistic.
It’s not bad, they said.
There’s a rope, they said. Even a log bridge.
And they were largely right. Actually crossing the mighty stream that plows its way down from the mountain’s largest glacier of the same name wasn’t that bad. Getting down to it, however, was a slippery, bouldery, precarious trial that had me fretting that our 40-mile streak of safety was about to break.
But it didn’t. All six of us – a cadre of friends who’ve shared years of outdoor adventures together – made it down, albeit slowly, across the creek and back up a steep, long slog to the Cloud Cap Saddle Campground on the northeast side of Hood where we’d left a car four days and 41 miles earlier.
It felt fantastic to be back, but also to have been away. Four days backpacking on the Timberline Trail had been an immersive escape. We saw blue alpine skies and nonstop drizzle. We crossed grassy meadows that double as prime ski terrain in the winter. Fortuitous planning – we’d started on the north side of the mountain rather than the south – found us indoors at the historic Timberline Lodge for the rainy second night, where we refreshed in the mountainside hot tub and pool, ate pizza and dried out. And we picked huckleberries, shared the trail with a stubborn grouse, marveled at the luminescence of Ramona Falls and on and on and on.
We had left behind any troubles and escaped to Mt. Hood, if only for a spell. It’s something that the mountain provides – an escape. A glorious respite from the real world. A chance to truly focus on the present and worry not about work or responsibility, troubles or heartbreak; to contemplate instead just how you’re going to cross that next river or how spiritual it is to come upon a luminescent waterfall in the forest and simply sit down in front of it and wonder.
The Timberline Trail and Mt. Hood are always perfect for that.
Some great Mount Hood reading
Fans of Mount Hood and the written word have much to be thankful for with the release of three (that I know of) new books this year.
One’s from a true fan of Timberline Lodge who writes about how the lodge and the mountain have taught her valuable life lessons.
Another’s from a hardcore skier who’s skied from the summit of Mount Hood more than 300 times.
And the third is from a seasoned search-and-rescue veteran who’s saved more than a few lives on Hood and who knows some of the best tales from the mountain’s storied and adventurous past.
All are highly recommended.
In Timberline’s Embrace: What an Old Lodge Taught Me About What’s Worth Keeping – Jean L. Waight.
This one came to me randomly about a year ago when Jean Waight, a Bellingham, Washington-based writer reached out to me in search of a blurb for her book all about her many years of escapes to Timberline Lodge. A huge fan of the lodge myself, I was fully on board from the get-go. She captures the lodge’s charm, what it’s like to have the place to yourself late night and how the wildness of the mountain is never far away.
Here’s the blurb for her book:
“As a fellow Timberline Lodge enthusiast, I connected with Jean Waight’s intriguing tales of the lodge and her time on the mountain. Timberline is the kind of place where you feel as if you alone are experiencing its singularity and creating new memories just for yourself. And yet at the same time, you want to share Timberline with everyone so they, too, can appreciate its unique grandeur. Waight’s book captures those sentiments and so much more.”
11,239: A Skiing and Snowboarding Guide from the Summit of Mount Hood – Asit Rathod
I’ve heard about Asit Rathod for many years. He’s a bit of a legend when it comes to Mount Hood, skiing from its summit and pioneering the annual solstice party at Illumination Rock.
For many years, there’s been talk of a book – part guidebook, part personal recollections – about the seven major ski descents from Hood’s summit mixed with some of Asit’s wilder stories. This year, the book finally came to fruition – with the help of a good friend and fellow writer of mine, Ben Jacklet, who has long been an advocate for Asit making the book a reality.
Skiing from the top of an 11,000-foot mountain is beyond my comfort zone, but for those who aspire to – or can – pull it off, Asit’s book is the place to start.
Crisis on Mount Hood: Stories from 100 Years of Mountain Rescue – Christopher Van Tilburg
I’ve interviewed Christopher Van Tilburg, a Hood River-based physician and backcountry adventurer, a few times over the years, including when his book, “The Adrenaline Junkie’s Bucket List: 100 Extreme Outdoor Adventures to Do Before You Die,” came out in 2013. He’s written 12 books, climbed, hiked and skied all over, and works for both Portland Mountain Rescue and the Hood River Crag Rats.
I first tried to buy this latest book at one of my favorite bookstores in the Gorge, Waucoma Bookstore, back during a Father’s Day spent on the mountain, but they were sold out. My son, Spence, and I returned last week and they had them – autographed copies at that – in stock. Stoked to get into it.
Mount Hood is closed
Thinking of getting up to Mount Hood for a hike? A night under the stars? A paddle across an alpine lake?
The coronavirus has two words for you: Think again.
Today, the Mt. Hood National Forest announced that it has temporarily closed all campgrounds, day-use sites, trailheads, Sno-Parks, fire lookouts, OHV areas and other developed recreation sites on the Mt. Hood National Forest.”
The reason, of course, is COVID-19 and the effort to contain it. In the Forest Service’s words, the closures aim to “support state and local measures directing people to stay home to save lives.”
The closures will be in effect until at least May 8, 2020.
Until we can get back out there, a few photos from some favorite Mount Hood sites.
Kids on Cooper Spur — again
Four years ago, we saddled up and took the kids, then six and two, up to one of our favorite spots on Mount Hood — Cooper Spur.
Back then, Madeline was a little less jaded about uphill hikes, and Spencer? Well, he had it pretty easy at the time, hitching a ride on my back and cruising in relative comfort.
This summer, we decided to head back to our spot on Cooper Spur. It might have been a little harder on Madeline, and Spencer may have had to motor up on his own two legs, but they did it just fine. Like I noted when we did it the first time around, it wasn’t always easy. But the weather, the views, the company, and the fact that Spencer hiked with me all the way to the end of the Cooper Spur day hike made anything that seemed at all hard all the more worth it.
We’ll be back to Cooper Spur, I’m sure.
A rare sunset shadow cast on the cloud layer above, which almost makes it seem like the mountain might be erupting.
Spence making his way up Cooper Spur with a smile.
Topping out at about 8,500 feet on Cooper Spur.
Down we go.
Doggie Dogs at Timberline Lodge
In his 11-plus years with me, Oliver has been all over Mount Hood:
Along the Sandy River . . .
Up to Paradise Park . . .
Through the snow of White River . . .
All the way around the mountain on the Timberline Trail, up to McNeil Point and right up to the icy chill of Dollar Lake.
But the one place he’s never been allowed to come along so far is Timberline Lodge. Save for the quasi-resident St. Bernards, Heidi and Bruno, Timberline has largely been off-limits to the four-legged among us.
Not any more.
Though they’re not yet marketing it full-on, Timberline has modified its pet policy to allow some rooms to be pet-friendly. At present, you have to call to get more information, but it is now an option, according to Jon Tullis, the lodge’s director of public affairs.
If he could understand that, I’m sure Oliver would be thrilled.
Rerouting the Timberline Trail at the Eliot crossing
Anyone who’s hiked the Timberline Trail in its entirety in the past eight years or so knows that crossing the Eliot Creek on the north side of the mountain can be a bit dicey. That’s because a massive debris flow in November 2006 wiped out the established crossing, which for years had been susceptible to the mountain’s fancies anyway.As a result, the Forest Service closed the crossing, officially, if not exactly completely, rendering an uninterrupted circuit of the mountain impossible.
The closure, however, didn’t stop people from crossing the creek; it just forced them to find other ways to get across, usually heading high up onto the Eliot Glacier or dropping way down one side of the unstable moraine, crossing the icy cold creek, and then heading back up the other side.
It’s doable if a bit dangerous. We did it in 2013 and found the approach to be the most difficult part. Crossing the actual creek was frigid, but all in all it wasn’t any more difficult than some of the other creeks and rivers along the 41 miles of the trail.
Now, however, the Forest Service is looking for a fix. Original plans called for a pretty substantial suspension bridge across the Eliot, but those have, thankfully, been dropped. Plan B is a reroute of about 1.5 miles of the Timberline Trail. The new leg would head west from the Cloud Cap Saddle Trailhead and switchback down to the Eliot. There are no plans for a bridge at this new crossing, so hikers would still have to find their own way across the creek. The lower elevation of the crossing, however, would theoretically make for a better if not safer crossing than higher up.
As part of these plans, the Forest Service is also proposing the removal of existing segments of trail that have for years led to the washout crossing on both sides of the moraine. The eastern portion of that trail is actually a fantastic alternate route for going up or coming down the Cooper Spur Hike, as it affords incredible views out over the Eliot and up the north face of Hood. To lose that option would be unfortunate, even though it would probably still hang around as an unofficial footpath.
The Forest Service is currently accepting comments on its plans for the Timberline Trail, but only until 5 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 30, so if you have thoughts to share, now’s the time to do it. They can be emailed to Casey Gatz in the Hood River Ranger District at cgatz@fs.fed.us. More information about the project is also available here.
On MOUNT HOOD 