Maxwell Butte

Summer is here! After the many awards banquets, dance recitals, graduations, finals, and check out procedures, we could all finally relax for a few months. That means time for some hiking. I had already been taking nearly every weekend to get out, but now I can spend a little more time hiking. My knee had been holding up pretty well despite the meniscus tear I had experienced a few months earlier. The surgery that I was supposed to get had not happened, but I was getting around just fine. I hadn't started running yet, but hiking seemed to go fine. Today I was off for a trail that I saw many times from the road, but I had not taken the time to actually hike it. It was the Maxwell Butte trail and it was rather close to me. I just had to take 126 up, make the first turn to the left toward Albany, and park at what was essentially the high point of that road. 

I turned into a big parking lot, but was able to travel a little bit further down the road to a small parking area near the trailhead. Here I started my hike. The weather had not been particularly great lately which was actually kind of ideal. The longer that the wet, overcast, rainy moisture stayed in the area, the better the chance that our forest would not catch on fire this summer. Today it was chilly. It would possibly rain on me and I was wearing gear for chilly weather in June. The trail was used as a cross country skiing trail in the winter so it was pretty much a straight shot uphill. It was gradual uphill, so it didn't feel challenging, just sort of leisurely. The first two miles were forest hiking with not much more to look at than the trees. It was a nice forest, though, so I appreciated the hike. After that, I made it to a junction. One trail went over to Duffy Lake area that I had been to before.

The other went up Maxwell Butte. I was taking the trail up Maxwell Butte. The trail went right by a lake that on the map said Twin Lakes, yet it looked like one lake to me. It was a nice lake, not too big and not too small. It would be a pleasant lake to take a dip in on a warmer day. This was not that day. Incidentally, I saw the only other group of the day or that is heard the only other group of the day. They were at a campsite near the lake. I didn't bust into their campsite just to say hi, so I passed them right by. Then I continued on the trail. The weather was getting worse and it began to rain. Soon, the rain turned to snow. Snow in June! That was crazy. I was enjoying it. I could see Maxwell Butte coming up with its high cliffs covered in forest. 

That is when unfortunately I ran into snow on the trail. Early season snow is no bueno and it could put a damper on my day. Luckily my Garmin Fenix 6 would keep me at least near the trail. It was cold enough that I wasn't breaking through, but I had to spend quite a bit of time hiking over a thick snow pack. I knew that I could not last if I wanted to make it to the top of the butte. Either the snow pack was going to have to go away or I was going to have to turn around. As I came around a corner, I got my answer. The snow seemed to only be on the north side of Maxwell Butte and as I made my way over to the east side, it disappeared. Now it was just steep switchbacks in the wind and the snow. It was definitely pretty chilly for June, but I persevered until I was coming around the last switchback and finding myself on the top of the butte.

I would love to tell you it was a fantastic view. I am sure that it is on a clear day. On this day, though, all I saw were clouds. It was a short hike of only 4.2 miles to make it to the top of Maxwell Butte, but with the wandering through the snow it was more like 4.7 miles. With a vertical gain of 2500 feet, it was still a pretty good workout. I was pleased with how the knee held up and getting to the top of something made me feel accomplished. Still, mostly what I had a view of were trees and volcanic rocks. I didn't spend a ton of time at the top because it was cold. I would rather be moving. I got on the move and one thing that I made sure to check out was the actual crater of Maxwell Butte. All of these little peaks in Oregon are actually volcanos, so there was a crater. 

The crater itself looked like a winter wonderland. There were feet of snow still left there. I was glad that the trail did not go that way. I could see it pretty easily from the snow free trail, but it was thick. Now it was down the trail. This was pretty quick because it was lots of switchbacks with scree. As I hit the snow, it was not as big of a deal to make my way through this because I could follow my own footsteps. By the time I got to the lake, the only other people I saw during the day were gone. I made it back to the car after just under 4 hours of hiking and almost 9.5 miles. It was a very enjoyable hike and I planned to go back there again once the snow was gone and I had a clear day to soak in what would probably be a most spectacular view.