20 miles of hiking • 4000' elevation gain •
Forecast was calling for hot, so it was time to get high! Started the day down low, hiking through the lush, moss-carpeted Old Maid Flats. Crossing the Sandy was about as easy as it gets, these days, now that MHNF would rather not make sure it's safe for folks anymore. Hardly crossed trails with anyone going the back way up to Ramona, along the little creek where the trolls and faeries live and play. Shared the falls with only a half-dozen or so folks in the morning, two of them from the PortlandHikers Facebook group!
From there, we went north along the Timberline Trail, until we hit the Yocum Ridge cutoff, and it was all uphill from that point on. Very nice, steady grade, though. Mostly in the shade. Maybe 25 or 30 trees down that had to be scrambled over, around, or under. Not bad!
On the way up, the rhodies had all but given up, but the beargrass was pretty near peak. We also saw some nice avalanche lily displays. The rest of the flowers were still trying to reach prime. Maybe we were two weeks early?
But the views from the first overlook totally made the trip worth it. Wow! Love it there. The headwaters of the Sandy River, draining from below snowfields below the Reid Glacier, were just as sandy as much farther down. Magnificent, multi-tiered cascades tumbling down the mountainside.
After some photos and a snack, we continued north around the ridge to the Sandy Glacier side. More magnificent views opened up before us, as we looked across the drainage to McNeil Point and the ridge it rests upon. Couldn't see the ice caves, though that may have been possible had we continued up higher. (We stopped at about 6250'.)
The trip back down was very pleasant, though Ramona Falls was awfully crowded on return. In particular, spandex-clad idiots, draped all over the basalt, taking selfies. Endlessly. Others were unable to take photos of the falls, without those clods in them. I mean, yeah, we all want a photo or three, but GET THE HELL OUTTA THE WAY once you have them, eh?
Temps were busting into the mid-80s by the time we were cruising down the Sandy again. Decided against the side trip to the Guard Shack, as we had had a pretty great day already.
