Cape Horn Loop, 13-Jan-2013

[kepPNW]

Gonna rip off a quickie here, to get it in before the loop is closed down for nearly six months. Cape Horn offers a great 7.5 mile hike, with a fair bit of elevation change, that's just perfect for a half-day adventure! But, the portion below SR-14 is pretty much closed off from February 1 through July 15. This is, ostensibly, to avoid trampling the sensitivities of a falcon nest and its occupants. A map and directions are available online, as well as more information about the trail and its surroundings.

Point is, if you have a spare morning or afternoon during this fabulous streak of fine weather, this great option is only there for the next week and a half!


Near the railroad overlook on loop segment to be closed February 1.


The trail was almost totally clear of snow and ice, with a few semi-frozen sections in the permanently shaded areas, but nothing that required added traction of any sort. Near the trailhead, the great work of Ryan and his crews is very obvious! But winter did bring down another easily-traversed obstacle.


Casualty of winter, near the trailhead.


A little over a mile in, you'll have the option of traversing along the cliffs on top of Cape Horn for some spectacular views into the gorge.


SR-14 winding around Cape Horn.


Larch Mountain and Sherrard Point.


The real point of this report, though, is to bring attention to all the "stuff" that's going on out there on this trail. Just before the Nancy Russell Overlook, there's an old hay field being transformed into an Oregon White Oak habitat, as mitigation for some work being done on SR-14.


Mitigation site.


Below SR-14, one of the sturdiest bridges I've ever seen over a little creek!


The part that could cause some alarm, though, is where there's an apparent re-route underway. The new trail has been constructed, but has tape across it to indicate it's still not supposed to be used. I've added pins to the gpsfly track for this hike, showing where the next two photos were taken.


Eastern end of new trail.


Western end of new trail.


Some of the viewpoints this new route will avoid...


Admittedly, the current trail is rather exposed. Especially for kids or dogs!


Looking east into the gorge.


More of the views that will be inaccessible while the falcons are roosting...


Railroad tracks just before they enter the tunnel through Cape Horn.


Cigar Rock


Lower Cape Horn Falls


Lower Cape Horn Falls


The new bridge crossing below the waterfalls has removed the option of crossing under the falls itself...


New bridge that takes away under-falls option.


Old trail was pretty icy, as it crossed behind the falls!


The last mile-plus follows a little road back up to the park-and-ride. For a road walk, it's pleasant enough, but it's not a trail.


View of Cape Horn, and SR-14, from below.


Sunset along last (road) stretch of loop.


One last view of a very fiery Larch Mountain.


http://gpsfly.org/gps_map.php?gps_id=2041&w=645&h=440

Great hike! Recommended when you have an afternoon to kill!

[payslee]

Thanks for the update, Kep, gorgeous pics as always.

I had only half a day free this weekend and almost headed up there but figured it was likely to be too icy. I ended up just cruising around Forest Park, which was definitely too icy! At least 7 hikers took spills within my sight, although all the trail runners seemed just fine. How do they do that?

-payslee

[kepPNW]

Thanks for the kind words!

I had only half a day free this weekend and almost headed up there but figured it was likely to be too icy.

On the north side of the gorge, this trail is just soaking up all those rays whenever they bust through, I suppose? There was a bit of an frozen patch, on the back side of the loop, but it wasn't at all treacherous. Otherwise, the only ice at all was at the base of the waterfalls. I was actually disappointed there wasn't more, after seeing so many great photos in other TRs.


Perpetually shaded road on northernmost segment of loop.

[MarsIsCobra]

thanks for the pics. I need to do Cape Horn again this weekend before it closes for the Falcons.

[kepPNW]

thanks for the pics. I need to do Cape Horn again this weekend before it closes for the Falcons.

Yep, this is it! Lower part of the loop closes on Friday.

[Ryan Ojerio]

The part that could cause some alarm, though, is where there's an apparent re-route underway. The new trail has been constructed, but has tape across it to indicate it's still not supposed to be used. I've added pins to the gpsfly track for this hike, showing where the next two photos were taken.

Thanks for the trip report, Karl. Indeed the change in the trail here isn't going to be popular with everyone. Our crews completed the viewpoint reroute last week and deconstructed part of the trail across the cliff edge. The new reroute provides an option to go out to see the view of the Gorge upriver.

The backstory here is that during the planning process the Forest Service wanted to move the trail entirely away from the cliff edge and even further back up the slope. WTA, the Cape Horn Conservancy and Friends of the Gorge all pushed really hard to preserve the viewpoint there and the compromise that emerged is the reroute that we recently finished that includes a spur trail that access the "Oak Viewpoint" and the big Fir tree that is a nice spot for lunch on a windy day.

In addition to concerns about safety at the cliff edge, there used to be a thick carpet of wildflowers (mostly camas) that spread across the cliff edge. Over time the area of soil that is compacted has widened and we're hoping that the flowers will spread out again now that you'll be able to enjoy them from the viewpoint without having to walk through them.

[kepPNW]

Not the worst possible compromise, Ryan. I'm glad someone's fighting to preserve the views. Those efforts, as well as all the maintenance work, is very much appreciated!

(I am continually amazed at the amount of time, money and effort that goes into that trail.)

[arundodonax]

Nice!

What about that one little sketchy spot between the waterfall and the road rock—the crumbly drop off about a foot wide? Are they going to fix that as well?

[romann]

The backstory here is that during the planning process the Forest Service wanted to move the trail entirely away from the cliff edge and even further back up the slope. WTA, the Cape Horn Conservancy and Friends of the Gorge all pushed really hard to preserve the viewpoint there and the compromise that emerged is the reroute that we recently finished that includes a spur trail that access the "Oak Viewpoint" and the big Fir tree

Good you mentioned this, Ryan. It was really sad seeing all those re-routes on the lower trail this Sunday, including trail through Oak viewpoint; now I see WTA did take an argument with the FS for preserving those viewpoints. I better like how it was done on the upper trail - with two parallel trails, new one by-passing the rocks while the old one going right by those old viewpoints. Hope Railroad viewpoint by the tunnel will be preserved the same way...

BTW the work on the gravel section in the beginning is awesome! It was by far the muddiest section last winter.

- Roman