17 miles of hiking • 4500' elevation gain •
Dear trail friends warned me, "Boriest. Trail. Ever." Well, I'm not entirely sure about that, but you do walk uphill for 5 miles before catching a view. Once up top, though, wow! I just love wandering around on Zigzag Mountain. Took the Cast Creek Trail up from Riley Horsecamp, to the junction with Zigzag Mtn Trail, where I veered east to go have lunch on top of East Zigzag. Beautiful views in all directions, including the usual bevy of volcanoes (St Helens, Rainier, Adams, Hood, Jefferson, and Tree Finger Jack - a little too hazy for the Sisters), Burnt Lake below, foothills in all directions, even familiar Gorge peaks such as Silver Star, Defiance, Dog, etc. Man, what a view! Luxuriated in that for some time before heading west again, and looping Cast Lake, which was still surrounded with snow on the south side. That should've been a hint. After that loop, I got back on Zigzag Mtn Trail and kept going west, aiming to descend on the Horseshoe Ridge trail. Well... It took me over an hour to get just ONE MILE across that north-facing slope on West Zigzag. The snow drifts were still 5-15' deep, and the trail was probably 90% covered. Ugh! I kinda-sorta knew where I was going, though, and was confident an end was near, so I pushed on. So glad I did! There's a viewpoint near the next trail junction that's just superb! And at this time, thunderboomers were forming over the Oregon volcanoes. Really beautiful. I reluctantly turned down the Horseshoe Ridge trail, finally, and made it the 5.5 miles back to Riley to complete the loop. Honestly, I didn't find either the climb up or down to be all that boring. Pretty darn nice day in the woods, all in all! :-)
Comments
Karl
June 2, 2014
Thanks, Roman! I was a bit disappointed actually, to only find two rhodies in bloom - one of them at 3100' and the other 2100'. Saw some other "wild" ones blooming along US26 as I passed through the Brightwood-Zigzag area, too.
JM
June 2, 2014
Karl,
you make even the "boring" trails look fun!
Karl
June 2, 2014
I'd never warn someone off this loop, myself, but getting Cast Creek out of the way first might be a good bet. Been on lots of hikes where I walked 5-6 miles through the woods for a single viewpoint, but on this one fully a third of it is up high and you bounce from view to view. Might be an every-other or every-third year type of thing. :-)
Allison
June 10, 2014
I said that the Cast Creek Trail is the boringest trail ever, not this loop. Horeshoe Ridge has phenomenal Oxalis, and the views from Zigzag are unbeatable. But it's that 5 mile slog through not-very-nice forest that makes it boring.
Karl
June 10, 2014
Wasn't gonna "out" you, but true... It was definitely that Cast Creek stretch you were on about. On the way up, it was looking like the most exciting bits were going to be the big mushrooms. But then, hey, saw a now-forever-famous standing hollow log and managed to get under the feathers of a pair of woodpeckers! How's that for making the most of it? ;-)
Karl
June 10, 2014
I should add, another good trail friend told me she found the Horseshoe Ridge section exceedingly tedious, as well. That was much farther off the mark, IMO, than your characterization of Cast Creek. In the end, though, this hike is definitely all about that time spent up top on Zigzag Mtn!
(I might consider going up Burnt Lake Trail and back down Horseshoe Ridge Trail next time I feel the urge to wander this route! That might be the most ideal loop option there.)
Roman
June 1, 2014
Nice pictures Karl, love the thunder clouds. At what elevation rhodies bloom now?