Recent Hikes

July 17 to July 19, 2015 Stacey Timberline Lodge T2 49.5 miles 8,000 feet gained 2 nights

Weekend on the PCT: Friday - Timberline Lodge to Sandy Guard Station Saturday - Sandy Guard Station to Wahtum Lake Sunday - Wahtum Lake to Cascade Locks

July 17 to July 19, 2015 Kyle Meyer Bays Lake 14 miles 2,000 feet gained 2 nights

This time, it was a beautiful weekend in Jefferson Park. We lucked out with an equally beautiful campsite and did a lot of swimming, day-drinking, and exploring.

July 17, 2015 Mileage Mike Tamanous 9.9 miles 1,750 feet gained

My wife was helping teach in summer school so I hiked solo today. I was just hoping to meet any PCT hikers and again handout Oreo Cookies. I only met one couple (Southbounders with no trail name) at the intersection of the PCT and the Tamanous trail. The Greenleaf Creek water flow was weak, at best, into Gillette Lake. The clearcut past Gillette is quite a s...

July 17, 2015 Mountainkat Nash Lake 11.99 miles 1,250 feet gained

I hiked a loop from Sisters Mirror Lake TH out to the lake, then along Wickiup Plain, and back down.

July 17 to July 19, 2015 JM Old Maid Flat 19 miles 4,250 feet gained 2 nights

Hiked up to 6800', pretty sketchy section around 6200' that traverses a steep rock and scree field above a perilous dropoff. No snow in sight. Camped below the trail on the ridge, awesome sunset, lots and lots of black flies.

July 16, 2015 Mountainkat Teardrop Pool 11.74 miles 5,000 feet gained

I hiked to the top of South Sister from Devil's Lake TH. It was a first time for me. I got a very late start and had a quiet walk up to the lake below Lewis glacier, where I found a number of other hikers. Clear skies, great views at the summit. It was great to finally do this one, but I was disappointed to not have my husband there to enjoy it with me!

July 16, 2015 Father Guido Sarducci Lost Cabin Mountain 9.27 miles 2,250 feet gained

Some light hiking with the family up on Hurricane Ridge. Drove to Obstruction Point & did some hiking on Grand Ridge. Than drove back to the visitor center & over to the Hurricane Hill TH & hiked to the top of Hurricane Hill.

July 15, 2015 Mileage Mike Olallie Meadow Campground 10.3 miles 1,500 feet gained

We love this area, and it didn't disappoint! I wanted to see if we could meet some PCT through hikers. We always carry small packs of Oreo Cookies to hand out on the PCT, and it was a good decision to take the whole box! We met about 7 Oregon only hikers and 2 full PCT through hikers. I would have loved to keep hiking but the drive here is close to 2.5 hours...

July 15 to July 16, 2015 Jen Black Point 4 miles 750 feet gained 1 night

Primitive camping is allowed on the north shore of Mono Lake, you can walk in from a gate off the cemetary road. We were the only humans around this bleak but beautiful place. After a calm night on the lunar-like surface of the lakeshore, we trudged up nearby Black Point which is a volcano that long agos was submerged under the lake. When it erupted underwat...

July 15, 2015 Father Guido Sarducci Point Defiance 4.8 miles 750 feet gained

July 15, 2015 Woodswalker Park Lake 12.91 miles 2,250 feet gained

My first time up to Jefferson Park. Absolutely stunning. No bugs. Blue sky. Perfect temps.The flowers are mostly done but still a few nice patches. Saw quite a few people on the trail, but up at the actual lakes it was pretty quiet. Everyone seemed to disappear to their own little spots.

July 14, 2015 Mileage Mike Jetty Lagoon 9.5 miles 500 feet gained

A hot day in Portland, but not on the coast. We decided to hike the Oregon Coast trail at Fort Stevens State Park! The parking lot was almost empty, which suited us just fine! We initially headed south to the Peter Iredale. We have lived here 35 years and never seen it! Very nice wreckage, but also very crowded. We headed back north toward the northern termi...

July 13, 2015 Mileage Mike Salmon Falls 9.3 miles 1,750 feet gained

We hiked this trail several years ago and somehow remembered it as being fairly level, but it's not completely the case! The first half of the trail is quite gnarly with plenty of roots and rocks and scree. It also climbs up and then drops back down before hitting the more level area we remembered. There are a couple of great views from rock outcroppings, an...

July 13, 2015 Rhonda Egg Butte 13.5 miles 3,000 feet gained

Took our first trip to Goat Rocks. Fell in love! We dealt with clouds most of our trip but it did not take away from the beauty of this area! Can not wait to go back.

July 12, 2015 Mileage Mike 10.3 miles 500 feet gained

My wife wanted to stay close to home as the previous two days were long drives. This is a nice paved trail (which killed my feet) but it's still nice to get out. Plenty of bikers, as you'd expect!

July 12 to July 15, 2015 Jen Nelson Lake 24 miles 6,000 feet gained 3 nights

Wonderful family trip: 3 adults, 4 teenagers, almost all off trail. Spectacular alpine campsites at Nelson and Echo Lakes. Solitude until we hit the JMT for the last few miles out.

July 12, 2015 Chris Obsidian Falls 11 miles 2,250 feet gained

July 12, 2015 Mountainkat Soda Peaks Lake 10.12 miles 2,750 feet gained

A friend was joining us on this hike and we were hoping to find a quiet, moderate trail with few people. We thought Trapper Creek wilderness would be a good area on a Sunday. I did see Karl's post on this hike, but did not have the time to read it. So, we were a little surprised by the steepness of parts of the trail! It was ok, though, since we only saw one...

July 12, 2015 Karl Sturgeon Rock 14 miles 3,750 feet gained

Finally made it up top on Sturgeon Rock! Tried a few times before, but have been stymied by icy or windy conditions, neither of which would make that a fun experience. Didn't get to Grouse Vista until around noon, and headed immediately down the Tarbell Trail so I could do Sturgeon first. I think that made a difference, too, as it's more often an afterthough...

July 11 to July 12, 2015 acorn woodpecker 6 miles 2,500 feet gained 1 night

A friend and I visited another friend in Portland, Maine and he took us backpacking to a remote lake and mountain a couple hours north. The forest is reminiscent of the Pacific Northwest but the higher elevation has a different feel. More granite and features are more rounded yet still rugged due to the geologic age of the area. Got clobbered by a rainstorm ...

July 11, 2015 Mileage Mike Cottonwood Canyon 9.2 miles 250 feet gained

Quite a long drive to get to Cottonwood Canyon, but it was well worth it! We had purposely boarded the dog for the week so that we could venture much further than usual. There were several occupied campsites at the TH, and we were surprised considering it was a very warm day. This hike reminds me of the Deschutes River scenery, but without quite the grandeur...

July 11, 2015 Mountainkat Tilly Jane Campground/Day Use 8.41 miles 3,000 feet gained

With the clouds and weather, we waited around trying to decide what to hike. We had already nixed our intended hike. Finally, at 3:00 pm, we decided to just hike from Tilly Jane trailhead to Cooper Spur shelter. It was a good choice, and we had sunshine and views of Mount Hood the whole time. When the Tilly Jane trail first breaks out of the woods into the b...

July 11, 2015 JM Cape Horn 15.5 miles 4,000 feet gained

Full on cloudy day, but I wasn't complaining! It's been far too long since we had a break from muggy misery. Berries were a nice (early) touch in the meadows beyond Cast Lake on the trail. Lots of climbing up Cast Creek trail but it's nicely graded. Horseshoe Ridge is too and it made for nice walking. The latter trail was almost like late spring conditions, ...

July 11 to July 12, 2015 BeaverDawg Cairn Basin 12 miles 2,750 feet gained 1 night

We packed in from the Top Spur TH to Cairn Basin and beyond for some exploration above the basin. Wildflowers are still quite nice, weather was cooler and refreshing, and most amazing of all, there were NO mosquitoes!!! It was breezy all day Saturday and into the evening unfortunately the clouds stopped moving after sunset and we were fairly socked in overni...

July 11, 2015 Pablo Fish Creek Mountain 9.5 miles 2,750 feet gained

Explorations around Fish Creek Mtn.

July 10, 2015 Mileage Mike Birth Of A Lake 11.6 miles 3,000 feet gained

This was the first day of a 10 day vacation, and being Friday, we decided to stay in Washington to avoid the Portland rush hour traffic. The weather was a bit warm, but it was a cloudy day so it cut down on the direct sun. The grasses were quite long and we were constantly brushing them aside while on the trail. In fact, the grasses were so high, on the down...

July 10, 2015 Mountainkat Paradise Park Loop 14.62 miles 3,500 feet gained

The Timberline Lodge cameras showed mostly blue skies, so we decided to hike from there to Paradise Park. We saw many people on the trail, including some large groups. Once in Paradise Park, we headed up the trail that goes up near Mississippi Head first, had a moment to enjoy the view, and then continued on back down to do the loop. The flowers are moving o...

July 10 to July 12, 2015 Kyle Meyer Bays Lake 17 miles 3,000 feet gained 2 nights

Friday's weather sucked. We hiked over Park Ridge in a freezing cloud of wind and suck, being able to soak in none of the beauty of the area. It cleared up a bit in the morning, but then proceeded to mostly suck the rest of Saturday as well. Sunday was beautiful. But man, when this place is clear, it's stunning.

July 10, 2015 Karl Soda Peaks Lake 13.5 miles 3,500 feet gained

Late start! The day started cloudy. Got to the trailhead at 2pm, and it was all of a sudden 81° and stinky humid. Thought a rainforest might be a decent refuge. What I'd neglected to find out, maybe I'm the only one who didn't know this?, is that the Soda Peaks Trail is akin to the Defiance Trail for long runs. Ai yi yi...! Thank goodness Harleigh was there ...

July 9, 2015 acorn woodpecker 6 miles 250 feet gained

Had a 24 hour time window in Denver on my way out to Maine. My dad picked me up at the airport and went to this little gem close by. Lots of birds and water.

July 9, 2015 Woodswalker Tilly Jane Campground/Day Use 5.74 miles 1,750 feet gained

I decided to let my car do some of the elevation gain since it was a hot day so I drove up to the Cloud Cap trailhead. A young stag walked right up to me just as I started up the trail and things just got even better from there. The flowers are still going but a lot of the lupine are looking tired in places. The heat got to me at a certain point and I decide...

July 8, 2015 Father Guido Sarducci 6.25 miles 1,500 feet gained

This place was a tourist trap when I was last here 20 years ago & it's even worst now. Even so it is worth a trip to the area as it is Germany's most famous castle & on a nice day the scenery is beautiful. Unfortunately for us it was rainy & cloudy. Lots of hiking trails in the area as you are @ the foothills of the Bavarian Alps.

July 5, 2015 Mileage Mike 9 miles 2,500 feet gained

The last day of my week off and we need to stay close to home since our grandson hasn't been born yet. This trail is a mixture of clear cuts and forested areas, but still fairly nice for a close-in hike. Obviously, we didn't get any phone call since our grandson was born the following day.

July 5, 2015 Mountainkat John Pierce Waterfall 9 miles 1,500 feet gained

It was going to be another hot day, around 96, so we decided to hike a trail near one of the lakes. We parked at Ross Dam TH, hiked down to the dam, crossed it, hiked to Ross Lake Resort to check on canoe prices, hiked the Big Beaver trail, hoping to get to a point to see up Ross Lake. We realized that we weren't going to make it to any such point, and turne...

July 4, 2015 The Angry Hiker Salmon La Sac Campground 15 miles 2,500 feet gained

July 4, 2015 Rich Council Crest 10 miles 1,250 feet gained

July 4, 2015 Mileage Mike Bonney Meadows 10.5 miles 2,750 feet gained

After resting on Friday from our Bend/La Pine trip, we headed out to the Bonnie Meadow trail. The last time we were here was before I had meniscus surgery, and the pain in my knee was challenging. Happily, this time my knees felt great. We were going to try and make a loop on the ridge trail at Bonney meadow, but it was a bit further than we wanted to go. Th...

July 4, 2015 Mountainkat Nugget Lakes 20.42 miles 3,750 feet gained

We had other hikes in mind, but, they had some large elevation gains, and we didn't want to do them in above 90 degree weather. So, we decided to day hike the PCT and on up the spur to Snowy Lakes. We had been to Cutthroat Pass once before when there was snow on the trail. It was great to see it without snow and with wildflowers blooming, especially heather....

July 4 to July 5, 2015 Roman Red Top Meadow 9.5 miles 1,750 feet gained 1 night

A few miles up forgotten trail. Then 500' vertical offtrail on a hardly discernible boot path - to the most quiet lake on this busy holiday. Really special place...

July 4, 2015 Karl Sherrard Point 8.5 miles 1,750 feet gained

Bored with A/C, and having just heard about the [fire on Mount Adams](http://inciweb.nwcg.gov/incident/4360/), I decided to head up to Larch Mountain for a quickie. The immediate good news was, there was no visible plume rising up in the Trout Lake area! There was a thin layer of smoke across the northern horizon, though. Anyway, it was a weird hike, startin...

July 4, 2015 Rhonda Flagline 9.5 miles 1,500 feet gained

So my 4th did not go entirely as planned. I had watched the weather all week for South Sister and It was looking pretty good so we decided that it what we would do on Saturday. Woke up Friday with a scratchy throat, not a good sign but I was hoping it was just a fluke and we headed out anyway. Woke up at 4:30 am on Saturday with plugged ears and swollen sinu...

July 4, 2015 Father Guido Sarducci 10 miles 2,500 feet gained

While my daughter & her husband decided to take the Sound of Music bus tour...gag, my 8 year old Grandson & I purchased "Hop On, Hop Off" bus passes & explored the city. One of our destinations was to climb to the Hohensalzburg Fortress which overlooks the city. Climb to the fortress is approx 1750' & on a 95 degree day it was nice to get to the top & some c...

July 4, 2015 Pablo Nesmith Point 5 miles 3,000 feet gained

Short loop hike up Nesmith Ridge with a return on Nesmith Point Trail. A pile of busted window glass in the parking lot. Started early and did not see a single person all day although the parking lot was full when I returned - must all have been headed for Elowah Falls. McCord creek is just a dribble like late-August conditions.

July 3 to July 5, 2015 Kinkilla Broken Top 36 miles 6,000 feet gained 2 nights

July 3 to July 5, 2015 Stacey Bismark Mountain 16.5 miles 4,000 feet gained 2 nights

July 4th weekend slackpacking trip to Panhandle Lake.

July 3, 2015 Mountainkat Sahale Mountain 12.24 miles 4,250 feet gained

We hiked this trail on Friday, hoping crowds would be thinner than the last time I hiked the trail, but they weren't, really. This is a great hike, though, and worth giving up the solitude. A good portion of the crowds do drop off after Cascade Pass, and as you continue up Sahale Arm. No snow on the trail that I can remember. Views from Sahale Glacier Camp a...

July 3 to July 5, 2015 JM Scott-Obsidian Tie 20 miles 4,250 feet gained 2 nights

Holiday weekend excursion to Obsidian LEA on the NW edge of the Three Sisters. We circumnavigated Little Brother, drank some beers creekside and stayed under a merciful cloud layer on Saturday after getting roasted on Friday. This area is really spectacular! It looks sparse, but it's very detailed and beautiful, so many colors and with the wildflowers hangin...

July 2, 2015 Mileage Mike Douthit Spring 8.5 miles 1,250 feet gained

It was a very hot day and the burn area in Mt. Jefferson Wilderness afforded no shade. However, as we ascended north on the PCT the wind offered some relief. We stopped often to hydrate. The burn area followed us up the PCT for about the first three miles, and then we reached the treed area. The treed area and wind was amazingly cool and felt wonderful. Ther...

July 2, 2015 Sarah Cornett 5.5 miles 500 feet gained

Fun hike with Jack. Glad we didn't take Penny though, would have been too much.

July 2, 2015 Father Guido Sarducci 5.5 miles 500 feet gained

City if Regensburg is known for its largely intact medieval city center which is dominated by Regensburg's St. Peters Cathedral & the 12th century Old Stone Bridge which spans the Danube River