Now that we are ushering in a new year, it’s time to reset the miles hiked/elevation gained widget on the right. How did 2010 wrap up?

21 hikes (including 9 overnighters)
181 miles
43,900 feet

Not bad!

After a three-month hiatus (man that was painful to type), we decided to start 2011 out right! On a frigid New Year’s Day, we headed out to the Gorge to get in our first hike of the year. It was sort of a baby hike, mostly because of my irrational fear of hiking at high elevation in the winter… I think I’m coming around to that idea though. Angel’s Rest seemed like a good first step to winter hiking, since it’s a relatively short/low hike, and there was a little bit of snow but still a very visible trail. As it turned out, the snow should have been the least of my concerns. The ice-covered trail and insane gusting winds were much more likely to cause damage!

Also, I wanted to note, I’ve noticed lately that when I shrink photos down a bit for display on the blog page, WordPress is making them a bit blurry. If any photos particularly interest you, I recommend clicking on the photo to enlarge (and get a clearer view).

Angel’s Rest
Columbia River Gorge (OR side)
Total hike distance: 4.62 miles
Total elevation gain: 1,733 feet
“Summit” at:~1,600 feet

Click map for full GPS data

Did I mention it was bitter cold on Saturday?? Probably not by back-home Michigan standards, but I’m sure I’ve gotten a little soft since moving out west. Temps were hanging out right around freezing (34 degrees or so), but the real kicker was the wind. It was a constant wind, but with gusts so strong they could knock a man down. Alas, we bundled up in lots of layers and headed up. Once we got into the trees, the wind was blocked pretty well (for a while) and we were quite comfortable.

After about a half mile we came to Coopey Falls, where we had a decent view, but an even better viewpoint was just a little ways further along and down a pretty steep (but short) spur trail. This takes you to the base of Upper Coopey Falls, a very pretty cascading fall. Well worth the extra few steps, although it was a bit tricky with the ice that had formed on the trail. Gotta be careful here.


Coopey Falls from the main trail


Upper Coopey Falls (forgot my tripod – this was the least blurry of all the photos I took here)


The steep cutoff that leads back up to the main trail


Feeding the upper falls… love all the icicles!

The next bit of trail was pretty straightforward, with several nice views across the Gorge along the way. We started to see snow around 900′ or so, and at about 1050′ things got really icy.


Looking across the Gorge


Onto some snow now, and even a tiny bit of sunshine

The snowy parts weren’t too bad, but the ice was killer. I couldn’t even take any photos of the real icy parts, since it was all I could do to just keep myself upright. The wind had also picked back up since we were more or less out of the trees, throwing another obstacle in the loop.


A glimpse at our destination


Rockslide crossing, not too far from the top

While certainly slippery and windy, for the most part the hike was manageable as long as we were being careful. How quickly things changed once we got to the very top! With no trees or rock for protection, that wind just blasted the hell out of us. Add that to the fact that the ground beneath our feet was a sheet of ice, and I began to wonder if I wouldn’t just be pushed along like a hockey puck right over the edge. So I clung to the rocks and stayed low to the ground instead. Am I being a little dramatic? Maybe, but I felt a bit like I was taking a hurricane to the face. We decided not to climb to the very tippy top since that would be a little too dicey. I also didn’t take many photos at the top since I really just wanted to get down.


I regret not taking video here, but you can tell by Paul’s pants and Buckley’s ears that it was windy. That is absolutely the stance we had to take, head and body weight straight into the wind, to not be blown over.

So, we headed back down the trail. Once we got back down a little ways back into the boulder field, we grabbed some rock and took a break.




Very nice views looking west over the Gorge


Break time on the rocks


Buckley hot on his heels!


Buckles hearts the snow

After a brief break, we headed down. I thought hiking up on the icy trail was challenging… heading down was quite the spectacle! I felt like Bambi on that ice. So many wibbles and wobbles and near-falls (well, some actual falls) and flailing my arms wildly to catch myself. I caught Paul laughing at me a couple times. It was like a perfect chute of ice, dare I say Olympic Bobsled-grade. Despite my clumsiness, the hike out was relatively uneventful, especially once we got back on solid (dirt) ground. Lots of people on their way up, glad we got an early-ish start.


Another westerly shot of the Gorge


Straight across the Gorge


Not sure why this was here, but it was a pretty little thing


Whoa heavy icicles! Crossing back over the top of Coopey Falls.

While this was kind of a n00b hike, it was a good one (for me) to get back into the groove. I agree with a lot of trip reports that call this a good bang-for-your-buck hike… minimal effort but stellar scenery and views.

Looking forward to getting out there more. I recently acquired some gaiters and rain pants, just a few more pieces of equipment and we’ll probably be ready for snow camping. If anyone has any good recommendations for winter camping, please leave them in the comments!

Click map for full GPS data



Picking up our wilderness permit


The trail starts out nice and easy until crossing the Newton Creek, then the climbing starts. When deciding which hike to do, I wanted to be sure we didn’t choose one too long or intense for our guests; not an insult to them, but Michigan is awfully flat, so I just wasn’t sure what level would be appropriate! They are super into mountain biking so assured me they were up for anything. After all my worry, they ended up kicking my ass up and down the mountain (big surprise, I know… I’m always the slowest).



Buckley doesn’t need no stinkin’ bridges! Crossing Clark Creek, an easy crossing on a footbridge.



Approaching the Newton Creek crossing



Newton Creek



Cairns lead the way through the rocky creekbeds


After crossing the creek, there are a series of fairly steep switchbacks that bring you up to a 4-way intersection of trails. You can take a more direct route to Gnarl Ridge from here, but we opted to go straight on the Elk Meadow Perimeter trail for a short detour that goes around Elk Meadow – well worth the extra 1.2 miles. You get a stellar view of Hood, the beautiful meadow, and can hang out at the shelter for a snack break.



The gang at Elk Meadow



The shelter just a little ways down the trail. We plan to camp here sometime soon!



View from the shelter



Tom and Joyce



Paul played photographer for a while


After a brief break at the shelter, we continued on our way. The trail from there hooks back up with the Gnarl Ridge trail and is pretty slow and steady,  interesting but fairly uneventful as you are winding through forests without much of a view. Then after about a mile you turn onto the familiar Timberline Trail, and get to that wonderful ~6,000 foot subalpine level. At about this point you round a bend and come back into full view of Hood, not to mention the expansive view of Adams and St. Helens to your right. The subalpine zone is always my favorite when moving through elevations; I love the adorable little Hemlocks and Firs and Pines and rocky terrain and krummholz formations (stunted, twisted, and crooked trees caused by fierce winds and little shelter).



Getting into the subalpine






Actually not certain if this is a Hemlock or Fir or something else entirely…


This section of trail takes you right around Lamberson Butte (which you can scramble up if you feel adventurous), and from there you are above treeline heading straight up Gnarl Ridge.



Gnarl Ridge leading up to Hood



Looking back out behind us, you can just barely make out Mt. Jefferson in the haze (we could just barely see the Sisters as well, but the camera didn’t pick it up)



Finally… beer and lunch break!








There are several ways to get back down the mountain, aside from taking the same trail that we took on the way up. We decided to make a loop of it. Rather than taking the Gnarl Ridge trail back down, we stayed on the Timberline trail which follows along the rushing Newton Creek. We started out high above the creek, but the trail eventually makes its way down to the creek itself, where we were left to figure out how the hell to cross it!



Remains of a stone shelter crushed by avalanche



Thank goodness for cairns to show us the way


When we got down to the creek, the trail kind of disintegrated into a creek bed of boulders and sand. It was not immediately obvious where we were supposed to cross the creek, which was much deeper and wider and faster than it initially appeared. We almost made the mistake of “just going for it” before discovering just a little ways down, there were some logs thrown across the creek. Turns out there were a few pink-taped branches sticking out of the rocks to guide the way that we had initially missed. Glad we found it! Although, it was still a fairly nerve-wracking crossing. Those logs were not particularly stable and that water was not slowing down for us.




The “bridge”



We all made it, some of us on all fours



On the other side


After crossing the creek, we followed more of the brightly-colored posts to a fun scramble that gets you back up onto the trail. Someone was kind enough to tie up some rope here to help hoist ourselves up.



Pretty much a straight shot from the creek bed up to here… maybe 20 or 25 feet? So much fun!


The rest of the hike out was uneventful but beautiful. The fall colors were starting to show themselves so we had plenty to marvel at.



A little natural spring that had… well, sprung



Farewell Mt. Hood


I have to admit, now two months later, I’m probably forgetting a lot of details on this one! I do remember that is was a huffer and puffer, but just beautiful. I have no idea what kind of shape this trail would be in now… I’m guessing covered in snow?


We’ve spent a lot of time at the indoor rock gym over the last month or two, working on our bouldering. Bouldering is addictive! I’ve conquered a pretty decent handful of V0′s thus far, and Paul has gotten several V1′s under his belt. Sadly, Paul suffered a sprained ankle a couple weeks ago so it’s put a little hold on things, but here’s hoping we’ll be back at it soon. This seems like the perfect time to get some low-elevation Gorge hikes in!

Click image for full GPS data


We took off early on Saturday and made it to the trailhead around 10:30am, and were greeted by about a hundred other cars. Oy. Luckily most of these seemed to be day hikers, but it was still a pretty busy area this weekend. While picking up our wilderness permit at the trailhead, we saw that there was a campfire ban where we were headed. Bummer! We’ve camped without a fire before, but I was most disappointed for my Dad because I know he loves campfires. Sorry Dad!!





It’s about a 4.1 mile hike to the Green Lakes, but not too much elevation gain, which made for a very pleasant hike. The trail follows the appropriately named Fall Creek for the first couple of miles, which is just lousy with waterfalls.



One of the many falls along the way


After the trail parts ways with Fall Creek, it follows a smaller creek the rest of the way to Green Lakes. This part of the trail is very cool, with rock slopes full of shiny Obsidian glinting in the sun, stream crossings and tons of wildflowers.






You can see Broken Top peeking out between the trees



One of the many little stream crossings



Bright and colorful flowers everywhere


A short time later we arrived at Green Lakes! The area consists of the main Green Lake, and the smaller North and South Green lakes on either side. Next task was to find our campsite. The process of finding a site here was different than anywhere we’ve been. It’s kind of organized, but also not. There are a number of designated campsites around the lakes (I think about 28 in all), which are numbered and have corresponding post markers at each site. A map of the area with the numbered campsites is available at the trailhead.  But, there aren’t necessarily trails leading to all the sites; rather, they give you the GPS coordinates for each of the numbered sites, and you have to find your way there. Some of them are fairly obvious as they are close to the trail, but most of them take some wayfinding. It was early afternoon by the time we arrived in the area, so of course most of the sites that were relatively easy to find were already taken. Rather than all three of us wandering around trying to find a campsite, Paul took the map and GPS and set off to find our home for the night. With the GPS, he was able to find an available site (site #14 to be exact, near South Green Lake), hooray! This was one of the sites with no designated trail leading to it, and happened to be perched way up on a ridge. So, we climbed… straight up a fairly steep slope a good 100 vertical feet or so (and at that elevation, my Dad and I were huffin’ and puffin’ to get up there). Despite it not being the easiest site to get to, it actually was quite a nice spot. There weren’t any other sites within view which made it feel more secluded, and we still had a view of South Sister through the trees.


We got to work setting up camp, us in our tent and Dad in Paul’s brand new bivy sack. I think sleeping in a bivy sack makes Dad a more hardcore camper than myself… it’s basically a sleeping-bag-shaped tent with just a little head room on one end. Not for the claustrophobic.



Taking a little nap after setting up his sleeping quarters



ZZZZzzzzzzz… sorry Dad, had to post it



That’s some nice handiwork to keep this thing stable



Beer time



Buckley’s already a very tired pup


After having a little Mountain House lunch (natch), we headed out to explore a bit more. Heading down the back of the ridge that we were camped on, there was a giant meadow sprawled out before Broken Top. Lots of cute little flowers (we were careful not to trample them), a creek, and amazing views to enjoy.









Broken Top



Adorable!



All the little plants and flowers made the ground look pink



Contemplating



The wide angle view: Mt. Bachelor waaaayy in the distance on the left, South Sister, and just the peaks of Middle and North Sister on the right






On the way back down





Back at camp, we downed a few more beers/glasses of wine/pulls of whiskey with dinner. When the sun started setting, it started getting cold. We all added as many layers as we could to keep warm… and the effing campfire ban didn’t help things! We did see a couple deer running our site after dark though, which was pretty cool. At about 9pm (maybe it was 10pm? who really knows) it was time to turn in, as it was just getting way too cold. We anticipated it would get down to maybe the upper 40s but damn… it was f-f-freezing. Luckily we all had several layers, so we were all just about warm enough overnight, but a few degrees cooler and we might have had some issues.



Night night


Usually once the sun starts to come up, it instantly warms up in the tent and I can sleep a couple more hours in peace. Not this time… I swear when the sun came up, it got colder. None of us wanted to get out of our sleeping bags until it was tolerable, so we ended up sleeping in until like 8:30am! That’s late, for us. Even then, when we got out of our tents we were greeted with frost on the outside. Frost! Luckily after that point it warmed up very quickly, and we were comfortable in no time.


We decided to gather our food and cookset and have breakfast down by the water. It was just beautiful… sunshine, blue skies, and crystal clear views of the mountains. That morning made up for the entire frigid night.



Good morning, South Sister



The panoramic view over South Green lake



Paul bringing us our morning coffee


After a (very) leisurely breakfast, we slowly started packing up to head out. It was quite a pleasant hike out, very flat but the creeks and falls made up for it.






My brand new 64-liter pack (so exciting!!), before shoving everything in it



Broken Top






A trailhead beer to celebrate the close of a great trip





After heading back through Bend for lunch (at the Bend Brewing Co.), we stopped at Smith Rock briefly just to show my Dad. Still an awesome place… maybe one day we’ll be good enough at rock climbing to scale some of these walls!








Despite the freezing cold and campfire ban, we had a great annual camping trip with Dad. Hopefully he thinks so too!

Click on image for the full GPS track data


We started from the Cloud Cap Trailhead near the historic Cloud Cap Inn – after driving in on the very rocky and bumpy dirt road. The trail first took us through old-growth forest, then some boulder fields, and then through some very soft volcanic ash (talk about a calf workout). After about 1.2 miles we came to the Cooper Spur Shelter. This is a stone shelter built some 60 years ago, one of only a few shelters still standing on the mountain today. Anyone can stay in the shelter, which might not be a bad idea in a storm or something, but we opted to pitch our tent just outside the shelter.



Toward the beginning of the hike, we could barely even see Hood



Hood, Cooper Spur Shelter, and our home away from home. I think this is a suitable location. Yes.



And looking the other direction, heyo!



Mt. Adams in the distance


While setting up camp, the clouds started to lift ever so slightly, which was quite encouraging. From camp, we had approximately two(ish) miles and 1,900 feet to go to reach Cooper Spur. The trail took us right along the rugged, heavily crevassed Eliot Glacier, which is just awesome. Soon we were switchbacking up the shoulder of the spur, all the while the grade was surprisingly gentle and forgiving. One mistake that we made: the final long switchback leads right across a snowfield, with no clear trail after that. We crossed the snowfield, weren’t sure what direction to take next, so we just decided to go UP. We climbed up the snowfield until it met back up with the trail on the ridge. We found a different trail back down (along the ridge), and saw where it met up with the other trail that we mistakenly took. I think it was around 8,100 feet or so that we went straight but should have cut right (the ridge trail is a little fainter and less obvious). If you look at the GPS track close to the spur, you can see where we took different routes on the way up and down. I don’t think we took the wrong trail necessarily, that one may just have gotten buried at some point. Oh well, our way was more adventurous.



Getting ready to head up



The clouds and sun made for some very cool views along the way


Once we got about to the point where we hit snow, we were also heading straight into the clouds. It’s kind of a crazy feeling to be walking through clouds, but also see clouds high above you, and then look out behind you and see lots of clouds below you.



Looking back toward Mt. Adams



We were clearly not the first to make this mistake, judging by the existing tracks (notice we’re heading straight into nothingness?!)



Oh just a little ways to go



I know this looks very dark, scary, and cold… it wasn’t. It was beautiful.



Here we go


At about this point, the yucky clouds just sort of magically… lifted. There were still some white puffy puffs lingering around here and there, but the dingy foggy clouds were dunzo. We did have some pretty gnarly cloud formations for the rest of the night though, more pictures of that below.



The mean-looking Eliot Glacier



Looking down the other side


Before we knew it, we were on top of Cooper Spur! The view, to say the least, is absolutely breathtaking. This was also officially the closest we’d ever been to Hood’s summit. I know it’s still almost 3,000 (vertical) feet away, but it looks so close from there. Like you could just walk right up to it. The photos have a hard time capturing the depth and scale I think, but I can tell you this thing is just massive.



The boulder on the very left edge here is Tie-In Rock



Proof



On the spur, passing clouds, looking out at high desert



Looking back out toward Mt. Adams, you can actually also see the Columbia River in the bottom left


It was suddenly very chilly and windy up there, so we took it in for a minute then started heading back down. As we did, the sun started to peek out here and there. Hooray!



Gentle sunshine on Eliot Glacier



Beginning our descent


The descent was quick and painless (especially with no snow ), and we made it back to camp pretty quickly. Time for a quick dinner (Mountain House Beef Stroganoff and an MRE my cousin Bobby gave us) before the spectacular show that was the sunset.



Dinner time



Buckley just chillin’


This was easily one of the most insane sunsets I’ve witnessed. It kept us completely, completely engrossed for at least an hour, probably more. Of the hundreds of photos I took, here’s a small handful.



The sun just starting to go down, but with a final blaze across the land



A nice cozy spot for Buckley to enjoy the sunset





We did end up having about 10 minutes or so of rain, which was little more than a light sprinkle. Even with just that little bit though, the sky started doing crazy things… swirling clouds, rays of sunshine, rainbows..



Ginormous rainbow over rays of light (which almost look like they are emanating from the bottom up, don’t they?)



Now, I probably snapped this photo just a few seconds too late, but I promise you this was actually a double rainbow for a minute. Seriously! Double Rainbow All The Way!



Lenticular cloud that totally looked like a flying saucer. I wonder how many people mistake these for UFOs?



Look closely… Mt. Adams is actually in there (toward bottom right), a massive mountain completely buried in sunset.


Once the sun went down, it did get just a bit chilly out (although really, not nearly as cold as you’d think). Campfires are technically banned above treeline, although there were a few obvious firepits around (and the gang of three that decided to camp about 50 feet from us had one going). We decided to take advantage of the little fireplace built into the shelter, and got a fire going in there. It was great!  The place is small and cozy, so we just brought our little chairs and some snacks and beer in there to enjoy the fire. We thought we heard a mouse squeak once, but didn’t see anything. After a little while, we stepped out of the shelter into the completely dark night, and were just awestruck. The sky had cleared almost completely and we could see millions and millions of stars, including a 180 degree view of the Milky Way overhead, from one horizon to the other. While staring at the sky, we also heard the booming crack and roar of ice falling in the Eliot Glacier (which went on for several minutes). Epic.



Our little fire


We had decided early on that we were definitely waking up in time to see the sunrise. I set an alarm for 4:45am, and promptly dismissed it when it went off. Luckily we did wake back up around 5:30am, and after a little convincing, Paul managed to drag me out of the tent. I am so, so glad he did. I thought the sunset was epic, but this was like… double epic? We were completely above the cloudline in the morning and got up just in time for the sun to rise. Again, hundreds of photos taken, but here are my favorites.



Good morning Mt. Adams









Adams and Rainier, and even the very tippy top of St. Helens






There are no words



Dear Marmot, yes, I will sell you this photo for your catalog






Oh Buckles



Hello Mayos



Wake up!





It was a magical 30 minutes. After that, we had a leisurely breakfast and started packing up camp in regular old daylight. We started the short hike out around 9am, and made it to the trailhead just as dayhikers were starting to make their way in.



Our wilderness permit



Buckley taking it easy while we pack it up



There was tons of lupine on the way down



Ready to go home



The old dusty trail



Mini meadow



Not exactly sure what this is… some sort of Penstemon maybe?


Cooper Spur is a very special place. We’ve only done a handful of overnight trips really, but this is certainly my favorite, and I can’t wait to go back.