FINALLY: The Timberline Trail

Timberline Trail

Mt Hood Wilderness

~42 miles, 10000 ft elevation gain

August 27-30, 2018

I finally made it happen.

Mount Hood has been in my backyard since I moved to Portland in 1996, and I have been in love ever since. For all the day hikes, for all the overnighters, for all the trails and nooks and crannies and wanderings on its various flanks, I’ve never put the whole mountain together.

Mostly because unbridged glacial creek crossings scare the heebies out of me, and my balance beam gymnastics on sketchy log crossings are abysmal.

Day 1: Cloud Cap to somewhere past McNeil tarns, ~8-9 miles?

I started at Cloud Cap around 1pm on Monday, choosing to start there and go counterclockwise, namely due to two crossings: the Eliot and the Coe. I’ve never crossed either successfully before, always turned around by big water and nerves. The Newton isn’t a piece of cake either, and the Sandy and Muddy Fork can be difficult as well.

I also had both dogs with me on this trip, and if I couldn’t get Pepper past the Eliot and Coe safely, I just planned on making it an overnighter. I got thru both as wet crossings (brought water shoes with me) because carrying a pug across slippery logs is a recipe for disaster. 

Eliot Crossing. No, I did NOT use that sketchy log. Crossed just upstream of this photo

Coe Branch crossing

I can’t speak to whether the new Eliot crossing is better or worse than the old one.  I never tried it before the Eliot ripped out the Timberline Trail in 2006, effectively *closing* the trail for nearly a decade. The new reroute is well-built, if long. That said, the north side of Hood between the Eliot and McNeil is just breathtakingly beautiful. 

Compass Falls and pug, area between the Eliot and the Coe

past Elk Cove, on the way to Cairn Basin (Dollar Lake Fire)

the recovery of life in the burn zone (Cairn Basin)

I didn’t stay in Elk Cove or Cairn Basin, gambling to push past McNeil instead, which ultimately ended up being a mistake. Hoofing it down past McNeil, I discovered the campsites I wanted already occupied. From experience I knew there was nothing else from here all the way to the Sandy, which left me eeking out a small, cramped and sloped spot in the trees. It was a damp and very, very cold night. 

vestiges of light, just past McNeil

Day 2: Somewhere past McNeil to Paradise, ~12-13ish miles?

I got an early start this day as I was already damp and miserable and just wanted to get moving. The sun came out and things warmed up, and the first half of the day down to Ramona Falls flew by. I very much so dislike the forested walk between McNeil and the PCT/Timberline split, finding it to be uninspiring and dry forest.

I chose to take the PCT proper from there instead of the actual Timberline Trail, mostly just because I wanted to explore as I had never taken that portion of trail. It drops at breakneck speed with multiple switchbacks, but it is lovely forest- dappled and green and full of big trees. Lots of thru hikers, all of whom found Pepper to be hysterical, her big heart and little legs carrying her thru the miles. 

PCT towards Sandy River

We took a long lunch break at Ramona in a patch of sun, airing out soggy gear. The Muddy Fork crossing had proved interesting, me up to my thighs in silt gray water, hoping I didn’t drop the dog. Dory didn’t appreciate the swim either. [GRIN]. The next crossing at the Sandy River, proved, overall, to be uneventful. I did think I could possibly manage a dry crossing but, in the end, decided against it with Pepper.

Most people choose to do the Timberline Trail clockwise instead of counterclockwise as I was doing. The next section is a big reason why.

a) It’s nice to park at Timberline lodge. Easy access and you are right on the trail.

b) Day 1 is *mostly* downhill, and you can put in some big miles that way. I don’t think you have easier or more difficult climbs necessarily in either direction (for instance, the climb out of the Sandy to McNeil is awful, and looong). But it’s nice to feel accomplished on Day 1.

c) I can’t say this for certain, but I think water and campsites and mileage line up a little better going clockwise.

For me, on this day, the climb out of the Sandy to Paradise was brutal. Yes, it’s well-graded and thank god, shaded. But it was nearly 4000 feet of elevation gain over 4 miles to where I camped in Paradise, and it was exhausting as the end to my day. 

At least the climb out of the Sandy is beautiful

This was a dry year, so no flowers and not very much water. Still, Paradise is one of my favorite places on the mountain and I’ve never actually had an overnight here. I set up camp in a barren, slightly sheltered spot and hoped the night would be uneventful. 

Although exhausted, I'm always happy in the wilderness

crapped out dogs

exquisite evening light in Paradise

Day 3: Paradise to Newton Creek crossing, ~13-14ish miles?

The mountain gods were kind. The wind overnight was gentle, my only company two snoring dogs, and the looming face of Hood awash in moonlight. Today, my goal was at minimum to hit Meadows, and I would hit both very familiar sections of trail (Paradise to Timberline) and unfamiliar areas (Timberline to the White River).

I don’t know how warm it was this day, but I had concerns about the pug crapping out on me, especially on the exposed section between Timberline Lodge and the White River. (Honestly, she really only gets too bad if she can’t cool off in water or if the sun bakes her from above. Otherwise, she’s definitely a unique one for her breed).

We continued in the theme of early starts, on trail by 7ish and cruising into the tourist hoards around Timberline by 11ish.

(By this time, my phone had essentially come close to crapping out on me, so I have no pictures of this day on the trail, as I was trying to save my battery life. I had only brought my phone camera as keeping up with Dory the Destroyer is a second job in and of itself on trail.)

I was definitely glad to be hiking downhill into the White River Canyon as opposed to uphill. This looks like a torturous end the Timberline trail (which it is, if you are going counterclockwise and start at Timberline). Basically, hiking uphill on beach for several miles, all sun exposure and one step forward, one half slide back. The only saving grace is that Hood is up front and in-your-face the entire time, and cold beers beckon from the lodge.

We crossed the White River without incident, then spent some time recovering the trail through cairns and false leads on the other side. Apparently, the trail here regularly reroutes itself, so finding it can be a bit of a challenge.

We made it to Meadows by 2 or 3pm, and although I was tired, it felt too early to call it a day. So, onward we marched. Which probably wasn’t the smartest decision since it was another 4 miles to where we ended up camping. When you’ve already put in a 9 mile day, adding another 4 can end up being pure torture.

I love this area. I had a really amazing, long day hike in here, somewhere in 2016 or 2017 (when I wasn’t blogging at all, trying to get back into it), exploring the area between Gnarl Ridge and Meadows. I was able to make a dry crossing of Clark Creek, and then spent the next little while cursing while climbing out of the canyon in baking hot sun. The ridge between the Clark and Newton crossings is beautiful- full of huckleberries, wildflowers and gnarled white pines. It’s also a constant and undulating up, then down, then up, then down, so by the time I made it to Newton, I was done.

I found a good campsite just before the Newton Crossing, filtered some water, ate, put the dogs to bed by 6pm (they didn’t move until I forced them out the tent the next morning) and went to bed at hiker midnight, ears filled with the white noise of the glacial creek below me.

Day 4: Newton Creek to Cloud Cap, ~6 miles

Last day and I am ready to be home and clean. I am on hiking autopilot in an area of Hood I know like the back of my hand (love wandering up here). The climb up Gnarl passes quickly, the weather cool and cloudy. High up, past Gnarl, I don additional layers, watching the clouds play peek-a-boo with Hood. Lambertson Spur, the high point of the Timberline Trail at 7300’, comes and goes, a few lingering snowfields still present. Dory takes off down a ravine after a marmot, her pink backpack becoming microscopic with the distance…all I can do is sigh, wait, then leash her for the rest of the trip. 

cresting Gnarl Ridge

Lambertson Spur. If you look closely, you can see pug butt

72 hours from our start time, we cruise into Cloud Cap, dusty and tired, ready for showers, beers and scooby snacks. 

Cooper Spur and Eliot Glacier

almost all my layers

Although I have day hiked Hood extensively, there was something very, very satisfying in putting the entire trail together. Challenging and exhausting and strangely content, on par with how I felt on the Northern Loop.

Maybe I’ll make it an annual thing. Maybe I won’t. Regardless, time to be home. 

All paws in at the finish