19 miles of hiking • 5750' elevation gain • 1 night
My original plan was to do a long ridge hike in Middle Santiam, approached from Rt. 22 to avoid the long drive in, but because the access road was closed for repair, and the alternate was snowed in, my plan was stymied.
Thanks to my friend Bill Sullivan, I had other options. I called over to Detroit Ranger Station and got a Pamelia permit.
Right down the road from the ranger station is Tumble Creek Trail, which is the "lower" trail that goes all the way up to Dome Rock and Tumble Lake. Since Dome Rock is at over 5000' I assumed the top would be a snow project, so I hiked to the first good viewpoint of Detroit Lake, about 2.5 mi in. Not a bad hike, well graded, and worth doing on your way somewhere since it's right off of 22 going to Detroit Lake.
I picked up my permit, hiked the 2ish miles in to Pamelia, and chilled for the rest of the day. I did end up wandering past the lake to see how far up I could get without hitting snow - there was lots about 1 mile down at the inlet, but the lake itself is snow free. The crowds were reasonable - maybe 6 parties total? One guy thought to show me that he was packing heat, just in case a cougar came by. He also thought my tarp wasn't sufficient protection against the big cats.
The next morning I hiked up to the PCT at Milk Creek to get a view of Jefferson (Grizzly is likely still snowed in, even to the viewpoint, and I didn't feel like crossing the outlet to find out, because right now it's about a 30ft wide stream crossing). Lots of icy snow down the creek valley.
I got back to the trailhead around 8a, only to find a trail crew checking for permits against a list - I'm not sure if they were handing out tickets, but I wouldn't want to find out.
Lastly, I did the "other" Devils Peak - well actually just the ridge. This one is just north of Breitenbush Hot Springs, and I believe is on their property, though there are several trailheads for the creek off of 4685. I parked at the second, crossed the log and headed up, but stopped where the trail got exposed and steep with loose gravely stuff - probably fine, but not my cup of tea for today. Elk Mountain lovers would heart this trail. On my way down I ran into a mountain unicyclist planing to unicycle down the trail. And here I was worried about the exposure hiking - crazy! Anyway - I plan to go back - a really worthwhile hike.
Took the nice way home, up 46. One of these days I'm going to kayak the Clackamas - looks like so much fun.
