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.

MacDuff Mountain

A beautiful Sunday in October with so many choices, some of which are on fire, but you know, still so many choices. I went back and forth, but really I just wanted a good trail with a nice view and some wonderful hiking. I thought about a bunch of options, but finally settled on MacDuff Mountain. I ran on the King Castle trail frequently and often times I would take the  trail and run down the road. I knew the road was good up to the junction with the Castle Rock trail and I had only been on that section that connected to the O'Leary trail once. It had been many years, so I thought maybe I would go for it today. I got a nice early start and was beginning the drive up the dirt road when my low pressure light for the tire came on. I thought about turning around and even went back to the beginning of the road. Then I thought about it. The tire was not incredibly low and I knew I was in need of new tires. I decided to risk it and went back up the road. I made it to the trailhead and the tire was a little low, but I figured part of that was just the cool morning that we hadn't had for quite some time. I hoped that my tire would not be flat when I came back. The trail was actually pretty flat for the first couple of miles. I was not expecting that on the Castle Rock trail. 

I thought that maybe this would be a good place to bring the cross country runners because it was a clear path through the forest. The terrain was rather level and the trail was cleared without any big logs or brush along the trail. The forest was nice with some big trees. The only real highlight of this section is crossing Cougar Creek that I would then be following up the mountain for the rest of the day. The crossing was easy enough and soon I was at the junction with the O'Leary trail. From here, my workout got a little bit more intense. The trail switchbacked quite frequently as I followed the ridge uphill. These were some of the steepest switchbacks around so I was really getting a good workout today. 

I had been on this trail a couple of times before, but not for a few years. It climbed steeply through the woods crossing some dirt roads a couple of times. It also used the road a few times as the trail. In one of these instances, I missed the turnoff for the trail and had to cut uphill through the woods to get back onto the trail. It wasn't too difficult, though, and before long I was popping out into a clearing where I could see the top of MacDuff Mountain come into view. It was only a short jaunt off the trail to the top of the peak where a plaque for the former forest supervisor was waiting for me. MacDuff must have been a good man to get a plaque and a mountain named after him. 

The views were a little less spectacular than normal with all the smoke. It had been borderline unhealthy hiking up, especially in the lower elevation places, but up high was not too bad for smoke. Still, I could barely see the Sisters peaking out of the smoke. The hike itself had taken 7.5 miles to reach this high point with over 3000 feet of elevation gain. Definitely a good workout, but when it came time to find my way down, I was feeling a bit impatient. I decided to just run it. My little pack that I had on was actually pretty good for running and I was in good enough shape to do it. So I slowly ran down the mountain. My watch gave me an estimated time of arrival at my car and it was fun to see the minutes really start to tick away with only going at a rather slow speed. 

I felt pretty proud of myself for being in good enough shape to handle something as intense as running 7.5 miles down a mountain with a pack on and 3000 feet of vertical to drop. It was actually rather easy and I wondered how many more long hikes that I could do like this where I am half running and half hiking. These were my two favorite activities that I wanted to do nearly every day. I made it back to the car with over an hour taken off of my estimated time of arrival. That made me feel pretty good. I also was back in time to watch part of the Seahawks game which was exciting also. All and all, a great day in the mountains.

First Creek Meadows

 On most summer days, this would be a bad idea. I decided to hike the Old Summit Trail which I haven't hiked before. I think it used to be part of the old Skyline Trail before it became part of the PCT. The trail started at Santiam Pass. There were many cars at the trailhead. I wonder where they all go. I know it was easy access to the PCT, but really where are all these people. I saw some of them on the trail when I was leaving. They looked like the people who enjoy backpacking if they only have to go a couple of miles in and they could bring as many of their worldly possessions as possible. More power to them! It was just great to have people getting out. The more people out and about, the more people that would want to protect these places. 

The trail followed the PCT for only a short time and then it cut off and went in an easterly direction. Their were good views out to Hogg Rock and Mt. Washington. I was listening to the Seahawks game while I hiked, but as soon as I came over the top of a point and was heading down to the lake, I lost it. The lake was called Square Lake. It wasn't actually that square but it looked like a great place to do an easy backpack and hang out at the lake for the day. The trail went right past the lake and then the elevation started. Like I said before, this would have been a bad choice for the middle of summer. The hike today was all through an old burn and in the summer there would have been no break from the relentless heat of the sun.

I picked a good day today though as it was cooler than usual and there were even a few clouds in the sky. It was one of the few choices of places to pick that was not near an active fire. I had to drive right by the fire on Boulder Creek to get up here and I could still smell a bit of smoke, but for the most part this was a perfect day. The hike continued uphill until I went past Booth Lake. It was just another lake that was probably really beautifulsa at some point surrounded by a thick forest, but now it was still recovering from a fire maybe 20 years ago. I continued on the trail thinking that I would just hike all the way to Jack Lake, but instead I saw a place come on my map on my watch that said First Creek Meadows. 

This seemed like one of those places that not very many people visited, but was probably an amazing spot. I decided that was going to be my goal for the day. I found the best place where the trail crossed First Creek and went right up from there. It was a lot of hopping over logs from dead trees while going uphill. I had Three Fingered Jack in my sights the entire time, so it made the hike easy with the goal always in view. There were many places where I could have said, this is good enough, but I kept going always trying to find a better view.

This led me finally through a section of unburned forest that was rather thick until I popped out into the boulder field below Three Fingered Jack. Here I had lunch. It was a steep scramble from here if I wanted to keep going. I was pretty content with this though. The view was unique and I was sure not many people made it this far. When I headed back down, I finally found First Creek Meadows. Since it was fall, it was all yellowed out, but I am sure it was really pretty in the early summer. I also found a large toad in the meadow and figured this was a pretty good place to be an animal as there was water around and it was fairly quiet. I figured not many people made it up to here. 

From where I turned around, I took a slightly different route back. There was a much easier way through the burned woods back to the trail that would take some time off. It was nice having a watch that helped me know where I was at all times as finding the actual trail was not that difficult. I was back on it and then it was downhill. I had this mostly to myself until a trail runner came by. He said he was doing the "loop". I wondered what loop that was but most likely it was about 20 miles of running. Good on ya buddy. I continued on past Booth Lake and then by Square Lake once again. I was back to the car in not too long having enjoyed a really good hike. First Creek Meadows felt like a unique place where not many people visit and I was glad that I took the time to get off the trail to visit it. Another great Sunday hike that was only about an hour from my home.