Cooper Spur

Eliot Glacier Ice Fall

Cooper Spur is on the northeast side of Mt. Hood. For a long time it was the standard route to the summit. You can climb from the Cloud Cap Inn directly to the summit. It is the most direct route but more dangerous and difficult than the south side route. I climbed it in early October before any snow fall. I went up past tie-in rock to about 8600'. You can see the crevasses in the Eliot Glacier.

Mt. Hood from Cooper Spur Trail

Looking back at Cooper Spur from above, Tie-in Rock is directly in front of the spur.

Crevasses in Eliot Glacier

Mt. Jefferson Wilderness

Marion Lake

Temple Lake

Last weekend I went camping at Temple Lake in the Mt. Jefferson Wilderness. Temple Lake is southwest of Mt. Jefferson and near Marion Lake. The weather was excellent, just the right temperature and clear. The area has experienced two large wildfires in the last decade, the B & B fire in 2003 and the Puzzle fire in 2006. We climbed to the top of Marion Mountain and had a beautiful panoramic view from Mt. Jefferson to Three Fingered Jack.  The gray areas of trees are the burned areas.

Three Fingered Jack

Mt. Jefferson

Vista Ridge

Mt. St. Helens

Vista Ridge is on the the northwest side of Mt. Hood. The trail goes from Perry Lake (pond would be more appropriate) to the Carin Basin. The trailhead is in the midpoint of the trail after a long drive over gravel roads. I took the north route away from the mountain to Perry Lake. From the trail there are some boulder piles where you get great views of the north side of Mt. Hood and also St. Helens, Adams, and Rainier to the north. 

Mt. Rainier & Mt. Adams

Mt. Adams

Perry Lake

Mt. Hood

Mt. Hood North Face

Mt. St. Helens, Mt. Rainier, & Mt. Adams

Middle Sister . . . Sort of

I was set to climb Middle Sister on the August 22 but it was not to be. I hiked into the basecamp between the Middle and North Sisters at about 6700 feet. The Mountaineering Boots I rented did not get along with my feet and I had to abort the climb due to several blisters. 3 of the blisters were the size of quarters. I hung out at camp while six of our group climbed and summited the Middle Sister. The one good thing was they had a 3:30 AM start and I got to sleep in. The base camp was beautiful and but extremely windy. I took photos of Broken Top, the Three Sisters, and the climbers roped up on the Hayden Glacier. The photos of the Sisters are from North to South.

Roaring River Wilderness

The Roaring River Wilderness is the largest of the new Oregon wilderness areas designated in 2009. The area is contiguous with the Salmon Huckleberry wilderness and contains multiple alpine lakes. I started at the Shellrock lake trailhead and hiked to Shellrock lake. I then walked around west side of the lake to a rockfall. Instead of following the trail up to Frazier turnaround, I climbed the rockfall, bushwhacked, and climbed a series of rock falls to the Grouse Point Trail just below the summit of Frazier Mountain. I took a series of photos from the top of the rockfall which I turned into the panorama . The view is Mt. Hood in the north through the Cascades to Mt. Jefferson in the south. I then hiked to Middle Rock Lake. I swam in the slightly cold water from one side to the other. The photos are of Shellrock Lake, the rockfall, and Middle Rock Lake.

Oneonta Gorge

I didn't take a camera but if you want to cool off on a hot day Oneonta Gorge is a great place to do so. You travel between a quarter and half mile up Oneonta Creek to the lower falls. There is no trail you just hike up the creek. About half way you reach a log jam which you need climb over. It is currently pretty big. Then you travel up the creek, through a waist deep section and you are at the falls. The canyon is close and beautiful and the pool at the base of the falls is deep enough I didn't touch bottom. The water is cold, so go on a hot day.

McNeil Point

McNeil Point is on the Northwest flank of Mt. Hood off the Timberline Trail. The Timberline Trail circumnavigates Mt. Hood and is a classic 40 mile hike. Currently the section between Cloud Cap and Elk Cove has a washout, which means you cannot traverse the trail as a closed loop. Back to McNeil Point, it is a beautiful 10+ mile hike from either Top Spur, McGee Creek, or Lolo Pass. Top Spur is the easiest and fastest route. You hike about a half mile to the PCT and then join up with the Timberline Trail further on. The hike has a great view of the summit block of Mt. Hood and the Muddy Fork of the Sandy River. You also pass meadows, streams, and various wild flowers.