25 miles of hiking • 10250' elevation gain •
Ever since hearing about the Triple D (Devils Rest, Mt Defiance, Dog Mountain) I've wanted to attempt it so I decided to give it a shot today. Woke up early and drove to the Wahkeena Trailhead and started around 6:45. It was my first time hiking to Devil's Rest so I wasn't sure what to expect. I was a bit surprised when I reached the "summit" since I expected a bit more views. But the rocks are pretty cool and the hike was a nice climb.
Total time for Devils Rest was 1 hour and 58 minutes.
I started the Mt Defiance hike around 8:45 and took the Mt Defiance trail up. About a mile in I thought for sure I was going to tip over. It's one steep climb and feels like it's never going to end. I was very surprised at how much snow has melted since I was last up there. Most of the talus fields are no longer covered so it was a little easier finding my way up to the top. However, some of the rocks have a blanket of snow over them and I kept falling through to the rocks (not good for the ankles). After climbing for 2 hours and 44 minutes, I finally reached the summit!
Unfortunately I got a bit lost coming back down since it was hard to retrace my steps. I ended up on a different talus field and had to use my map and GPS to find the way back. I ended up connecting up with the trail a ways down the ridge and it added a little bit of distance. Once I hit the trail and got below the snow line I started to jog for awhile since it actually felt better on my knees than walking.
Total time for Mt Defiance was 4 hours and 41 minutes.
Next stop, Dog Mountain. At this point my legs were already feeling a bit sore but I knew I could force myself up this one. I elected to take the more difficult trail up since it's shorter. Once I got to the meadow I was amazed at all the flowers. It changed a ton since last Friday. It was super windy up there today and for the first time ever I got to the summit and didn't see a soul. I didn't get a view other than a massive cloud. It felt like it was about 45 degrees up there so I decided to get my ass back down to the car.
Total time for Dog Mountain was 2 hours and 28 minutes.
Overall, the whole thing took 9 hours and 7 minutes to complete. It was by far the most physically demanding thing I've ever done. Totally recommend giving it a shot sometime!
Comments
Justin Wright
June 9, 2011
Thanks. I'll need to check out Devil's Rest again when I'm not in so much of a hurry.
And thanks for that link, now I really want to give the Triple Defiance a shot but that would be brutal!
Roman
June 9, 2011
Congrats man! I need to get out and do at least one D this week! By the way, there is a good viewpoint just off main trail east of Devils Rest (there's an unsigned spur trail).
There is a sick group forming now on Portlandhikers for an "upgraded" triple D (triple Defiance), I thought you may be interested: http://www.portlandhikers.org/forum/viewtopic.php?f=9&t=7983&st=0&sk=t&sd=a&start=20