Four in One Cone

 My goal this fall had been to try to get out on a hike each weekend. Running definitely was the more important activity for my body and my health, but the hiking was necessary for not just interacting with the same environments the whole time. I decided to do a hike to an area that I go to at least once a year. I drove up on a crisp fall morning. The weather was still expected to climb into the 70s, but the mornings were definitely cooler. It had been a while since I traveled up 242 because of the fires. There was still an active fire out on Linton Meadows, but the area that I would be hiking on the Scott Trail remained open. The fall leaves were out on the road, but I knew I would not get many leaves on my hike.

The trail that I was taking would lead me right by the Four in One Cone. This is essentially a small mountain that rises up in four different peaks that all produced lava flows at some point. I hiked by this so many times always thinking that I would go to the top the next time I came out there. The problem was that I had achieved every other objective in this area except for that. So I decided to take the day and get that done. When I got to the trailhead, I was the only car there. There was someone who had been camping there who was just leaving. I quickly threw the pack on and started out on my way. The great part about technology is that immediately I knew it was going to be around 4.5 miles to the turnoff and about 1500 feet of elevation gain.

I was in really good shape from all of the running, so this was not going to be an issue. I enjoyed the quiet trail and the forest scenery. There was definitely a hint of smoke in the air, but not enough to hamper me too dramatically. I was moving along at a swift pace averaging 3 miles an hour with ease. In my mid-thirties, my hiking pace had definitely dropped off, but now in my 40s with all the running I had been doing, I was moving pretty good. The trail took me mostly through dry woods with some occasional views when I popped out into old lava flows. Eventually the 4.5 miles came quick and I was at the junction for the hiker trail up to the top of Four in One Cone. 

It was a short excursion off of the Scott Trail, so within a couple of minutes, I was on top of the ridge. I first went over to the actual top where an old dead tree provided a place to sit for one person. I ate my sandwich and enjoyed the view. In the view I could see very clearly the remnants of the Collier Glacier. What is one of the largest glaciers in Oregon will likely be gone in less than 10 years and there is nothing I can do about it. I have watched this glacier retreat for many years without the hope of changing the outcome. I could also see the fire burning a few ridges over in Linton Meadows. Linton Meadows is so amazing and unfortunately its time to burn had arrived. The landscape is just so dynamic these days.

It was burning right in front of the Husband and I just wondered how much of the Obsidian area it would take with it. After I ate a bit, I decided to walk the entire ridge line. It was pretty cool because the side I approached on was rather gradual, but from the top of each one of these cones, you could see right down into the crater and envision what it was like when the lava was flowing out of here thousands of years ago. It was pretty cool to live so near to such a geologically active area. The route went up and down a little, but mostly just skirted the whole ridge until the cones ended. Here I snapped some photos to the north as all the peaks of Jefferson, Three Fingered Jack, Mt. Washington, and Belknap Crater were very visible even though they were a little washed out due to the smoke.

Now it was time to head back. I went back down the trail the same way I came up. I kept a pretty good pace downhill and for once I did not get impatient and run down instead of just hiking. This was intentional to try to keep my legs in shape for running at practice with the kids the next day. Unfortunately when I got back to the trailhead, I ran into an employee for the forest service that informed me I needed a permit for that trail until October 15th. I felt really bad and apologized. I had hiked that trail so many times without realizing that. She did not give me a ticket. In my wilderness days, I would not have been so kind. It really never crossed my mind because it had never felt busy to me out there. Oh well, food for thought for next time.