Race Tracks Lakes Trail to Red Mountain & PCT

10.4 miles of hiking • 2000' elevation gain •

We finally made it to Indian Heaven Wilderness, and the car survived the drive!

Surprisingly, we were the only car parked at the Falls Creek Horse Camp, and we were the only car parked when we returned! Only one couple was seen during the entire day, and it was an outstanding wilderness hike with almost complete solitude!

The Bear Grass is in full bloom and is all over the place, and there are plenty of other flowers to photograph.

We hiked the Race Tracks Lakes trail and used it to access Red Mountain. It was a fairly warm day, but I'm sure quite a bit cooler than in Portland. The view from Red Mountain was nothing short of outstanding, and we saw five volcanoes from the deck of the tower. The pictures I took just don't do the view justice. For some reason, the deck of the watch tower had very high winds, and it was great for cooling our sweaty bodies. We spent a bit of time just enjoying the view from Red Mt. before heading back down to the Race Track Lakes.

We then took the cutoff trail over to the PCT and then took the PCT south. It was on the PCT that we met the only hikers seen the entire day! The hikers were backpacking and heading to the Race Track Lakes, and we passed them by while heading back to the car.

The mosquito's were not a problem, which we were grateful for!

Fantastic day in the perfect Wilderness. I can't wait to come back!

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