9.5 miles / 2,500 feet gained
A great little hike. A little bit of snow made for a little work and nice views up top.
Chris
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Hikes by Chris in 2012
8.5 miles / 2,750 feet gained
The usual loop plus a side trip up to Nesika Lodge to check out Christmas ornaments.
6.5 miles / 1,750 feet gained
Mt. Hood never came out despite the nice weather. About 1-2" of snow on the ground made for a nice hike.
3.5 miles / 750 feet gained / 1 night
A quick trip to the adirondack shelters in Ecola. It rained like crazy, and the shelters were a nice respite given the extreme wetness. Woke up to a slug on my sleeping bag.
2.5 miles / 250 feet gained
31.5 miles / 8,750 feet gained / 1 night
I found this hike by accident while browsing the internet for a different Marmot Lake (in ONP). A little bit longer of a drive than I wanted (about an hour outside of Seattle)—but it looked interesting, so I thought I'd check it out. It seems that many discount the hikes around the Stevens Pass/Snoqualmie Pass area, but this turned out to be a great one. I s...
14 miles / 3,000 feet gained
After hearing all the reports about the Breitenbush Trailhead, I decided to do a trip from Olallie Lake area down toward Jefferson Park. I parked between Monon and Horseshoe lake and then cut over to the PCT and then down. The weather this time of year is my favorite—just cool enough and no bugs. Went up to the ridge above Jeffy Park, ate my lunch, and then ...
21 miles / 5,250 feet gained / 1 night
Did this classic loop this weekend. Now I see why it's so popular. Far more interesting than the southern half of Goat Rocks, with some really beautiful views. And wow, the crowds. I thought surely this late in the season the backpackers would be out in fewer numbers, but I still must have seen over 100 people out there—I can't imagine what it's like during ...
14.5 miles / 3,000 feet gained
Started at the Hummocks trailhead, went up to Johnston Ridge and back down. Was going to make a big loop around to Coldwater Peak, but I just started too late in the day, didn't do the mileage calculations beforehand, and was going to end up hiking in the dark. Johnston Ridge Observatory still had tons of people, even this late in the year.
50.5 miles / 14,500 feet gained / 3 nights
What a great little trip this is. The Spider Gap - Buck Creek Pass Loop is in the eastern half of Glacier Peak Wilderness, east of Seattle. Thursday evening, I took the 5ish hour drive up to the Trinity trail head. Beware - the last 13 or so miles are gravel, but they are fine so long as you have a decent truck or take them slow. Day 1 - 15.0 mi., 5000' I go...
13 miles / 2,750 feet gained
Did the loop. Lots of flies out there, but decent fishing. It was nice to have some cooler weather for a change.
11.5 miles / 2,750 feet gained
Nice day. Bugs weren't too bad, and the crowds were manageable. The flowers are just about at their peak. Started up the spur a little for a better view.
13 miles / 4,250 feet gained
A nice trip to Lower Lena Lake. Was planning on staying the night, but it ended up being very buggy, so I made it a day hike. Did a little bit up towards Upper Lena as well. The trout fishing was pretty decent—no state fishing license required in ONP!
4 miles / 1,500 feet gained
22.5 miles / 3,250 feet gained
Even with so-so weather, this ended up being a nice day hike. I took the longish ride up to Wahtum Lake to see how many small peaks I could cover in a day. Not getting there until 10:30 or so, I had my work cut out for me. First was Indian Mountain. I decided to walk the back road over to the PCT and then head up the short cut toward the little peak, but hea...
8 miles / 2,500 feet gained
Went up to Silver Star to watch the fireworks. They're pretty tiny from up there, but it was pretty great being able to see just about every firework in the Portland area. The sunset was fantastic. Trekked back to the car around 10:30 in the dark, with many deer eyes glowing in the light of my headlamp.
6 miles / 3,000 feet gained
A nice late day hike up Dog. We stopped at a nice riverfront spot in Stevenson on the way back, but it wasn't Walking Man.
9 miles / 3,250 feet gained
A quick trip up Observation peak on a nice day. Great views of the Wind River valley. Took the lesser used trail from Big Hollow.
41.5 miles / 10,750 feet gained / 4 nights
I had a few days to get away in May, and the Sierra was having a record low snow year, so it was an easy choice for where to go. I packed up the car and made the trip down to Mammoth Lakes for a quick sleep in the campground. (hint: if you arrive real late, camp in a campground where the host collects the fee, and then leave super early…) The next morning, I...
8 miles / 1,500 feet gained
Went out to Falls Creek Falls and did a little exploring up by Paradise Campground.
10.5 miles / 1,750 feet gained
A quick trip up Siouxon Creek Saturday morning. This still is one of my favorite places in the area. The river crossing to Wildcat Falls was chest-deep, and I almost got carried away with the current on my first attempt, but I was able to find a crossing a little farther down that was only waist-deep which was a little safer—kind of exhilarating.
4.5 miles / 750 feet gained
A quick late afternoon trip up to Wahclella and Herman Creek, looking for something, during the high water day.
5.5 miles / 750 feet gained
Did a little exploring along the Riverside Trail, on a fork of the Clackamas north of the Ripplebrook ranger station. This is a nice little-trodden section which gets some of the pre-alpine forest.The snow was just about gone around 2000ft.
5 miles / 750 feet gained
I was looking for a nice trail run and this area was recommended. About 8 miles of trails in the park, and then the trail that follows Lacamas Lake goes on for a few miles. Great for being so close to home—a nice alternative to Forest Park.
2 miles / 500 feet gained
Wandered around the Eagle Creek canyon for a while. Explored the use trails down to the creek, rather than hitting the falls.
2 miles / 500 feet gained
Tried to snowshoe toward Twin Lakes from Frog Lake Snopark but the snow was too deep—each step with snowshoes postholed 1.5 ft into the concrete. Decided to drive towards the Gorge instead.
10 miles / 2,500 feet gained
The plan was to do Table Mountain from BHS. Like all my plans, it didn't happen. The weather got absolutely miserable the farther you got back from the Columbia—fifty and sunny at the river, in the low thirties, sleeting and a mud slick at the "Table trailheads." Given that there would be no views at the top, I decided to make a loop out of it and swing by G...
6 miles / 2,000 feet gained
You say Maxwell Butte, I say Potato Hill. I was planning on doing Maxwell Butte Friday, but the snow just wasn't going to cooperate. Started at Maxwell sno-park, but the snow was borderline concrete—super melty—and there were no tracks to make it any easier; I bailed after about a mile. Instead, I booked it on up Potato Hill. This little hike starts at the P...
5.5 miles / 1,250 feet gained
Plan A was to try and snowshoe in to Falls Creek Falls. The snow was complete concrete, and after 1/2 mile in, I decided it wasn't worth my while. Then I thought I'd try and get up to the Old Man Pass sno park to do a little exploring, but it seems the road hadn't been plowed since the weekend before, so the snow got thicker than I trusted my car to get out ...
5.5 miles / 1,750 feet gained
At 30 minutes away and just 1/8th tank of gas, I don't know why I don't do this hike more often. A great option when you have just two hours, even with all the people. The usual crowds, thinned a little from the rain and snow. Also, ran into EP.
5 miles / 1,000 feet gained
Decided to go up to St. Helens to check out the north side in the winter. The road wasn't too bad—maybe a little slushy, but the winds were picking up and a storm was coming in. I did the Hummocks loop and went up a little ways on the Boundary Trail, but packed it up when it started to rain. I didn't see a soul. Lots of ducks, a herd of elk, and some beautif...
5.5 miles / 1,750 feet gained
A quick trip up Boy Scout Ridge. Once you get past the first 1/2 mile of madness, things were very quiet—no snowshoe tracks past the bowl you climb up to get to the ridge. Went down the ridge on the way back, which was really nice after the new snow. The ski traffic was insane, so I turned around and went back the Hood River way.
3 miles / 500 feet gained
5 miles / 1,500 feet gained
Maybe I'm becoming a softie. Did Angel's Rest because only had 2 hours to hike, I didn't have the wherewithal to find something new, and frankly, it just sounded nice. Aside from the usual crowds coming down, not bad.
5.5 miles / 1,500 feet gained
Having just a few hours (sorry again Eric!), we decided to do a little exploring in the Archer Mountain complex. Did a little getting lost, found a lot of blowdown—especially starting at where the base of Archer converges (where I tagged the pin)—which slowed things way down. With 1000 ft of gain + a blowdown every 20 ft ahead of us, we decided to pack it in...
7 miles / 1,500 feet gained
I had just a few hours today, and I wanted to take a quick walk, so I picked June Lake. Marble Mountain is 1 hour 15 minutes from my house, just about the same as the Hood sno parks, but I always forget it's so close. As long as you can live with the snowmobile noise for the first 1/2 mile or so, the area is far less crowded. The snow was so packed in on the...
6 miles / 2,000 feet gained / 1 night
[This.](http://wenthiking.com/users/1-kyle-meyer/hikes/1331-gumjuwac-saddle-campout) (More photos to the right.)
4 miles / 500 feet gained
More takin' it easy, trying to get the knee back to normal. Since the creek levels were supposed to be super high, I decided to visit some of the local waterfalls. Elowah and Multnomah were roaring. I also thought to go down to Starvation to see if Warren Creek falls was doing anything. Just a little sprinkling, but Cabin Creek and Hole in the Wall falls wer...
4.5 miles / 750 feet gained
A quick trip to Newton Creek to start off the year and try out some new snowshoes to make sure they worked right. What a nice spot! I'm never going to White River ever—ever again. The car thermometer was reading 44 at the Teacup Sno-Park and things were nice and sunny. Everything was pretty consolidated, so snowshoes really weren't necessary, but this weeken...
