Mt Adams: Horseshoe Meadow and Lookingglass Lake

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drm
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Mt Adams: Horseshoe Meadow and Lookingglass Lake

Post by drm » July 7th, 2013, 5:28 pm

After the Fire: Lookinglass Lake and Horseshow Meadow

Over July 5/6 I visited Horseshoe Meadow and Lookingglass Lake on the southwest side of Mt Adams, via the Stagman Ridge Trail. I also saw people had hiked up the PCT.

At the trailhead, burn is spotty, with alternating green trees. Above the turnoff to the lake, burn is about 100%.

The entire perimeter of the lake is burned as is a lot of Horseshoe Meadow.

There was no snow at all getting to Horseshoe Meadow, though if you try going either way around the mouontain from there, you hit full snow pretty soon.

There were no mosquitoes or other bugs - for now.

Near the Stagman Ridge trailhead
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You get more views of Mt Adams with the foliage gone
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Grassy Hill
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Complete burn for a while on the Stagman trail dogleg
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But it gets green again at the bottom of the dogleg and stays mostly so to the meadow at 5300'
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Above the turnoff to the lake, heading up to the PCT junction
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Horseshoe Meadow has some green trees remaining
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From camp near the meadow, I headed over to Lookingglass Lake, about half of which was on snow. First view:
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From near the largest camp
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Pan from the lower end of the lake
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The falls on Cascade Creek, just left of the lake
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My camp was just south of Horseshoe Meadow
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Sunset on Mt Adams
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awildman
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Re: Mt Adams: Horseshoe Meadow and Lookingglass Lake

Post by awildman » July 7th, 2013, 7:33 pm

Nice, Dean! A nice night for stargazing, too.
Rambling on at Allison Outside

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retired jerry
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Re: Mt Adams: Horseshoe Meadow and Lookingglass Lake

Post by retired jerry » July 7th, 2013, 8:10 pm

amazing how the area looks after being burned

I was there a few years ago

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fettster
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Re: Mt Adams: Horseshoe Meadow and Lookingglass Lake

Post by fettster » July 7th, 2013, 9:15 pm

Nice meadow view. That area really got scorched. Are there any areas on the south side that aren't so bad? I heard the Cold Springs trailhead is no more?

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drm
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Re: Mt Adams: Horseshoe Meadow and Lookingglass Lake

Post by drm » July 8th, 2013, 6:52 am

fettster wrote:Nice meadow view. That area really got scorched. Are there any areas on the south side that aren't so bad?
Maybe down low, around Mt Adams Horse Camp. I haven't visited the south side yet. Not only was the fire more intense on the south side, but parts of that area just burned a few years ago. All your gear gets covered with ash and black char from logs when you hike and camp in this area. If you want to hike up at the level of the Round the Mtn/PCT trails, avoiding burn on Adams now mostly means heading to the north side.
fettster wrote:I heard the Cold Springs trailhead is no more?
I know some infrastructure was damaged but as far as I know that is still the climb trailhead.

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Re: Mt Adams: Horseshoe Meadow and Lookingglass Lake

Post by mandrake » July 8th, 2013, 6:59 am

Thanks for the report! I've been curious to see what's become of the area up there.

How were the trails in general? Is there a lot of blowdown (burn-down?) from the fire. They look pretty open / clear of obstructions in your photos.

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drm
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Re: Mt Adams: Horseshoe Meadow and Lookingglass Lake

Post by drm » July 8th, 2013, 7:12 am

awildman wrote:Nice, Dean! A nice night for stargazing, too.
Definitely. I was up there Friday night, but it was cold. Got down to the upper 30's! And it's hard for me to stay up late enough for complete darkness this time of year (though I did so this time). At least my camp got good sun in the morning and warmed up quickly.

Mandrake: Some trails have been cleared part way up, but they told me that some of their trail crews were called out-of-state to fight fires. There are definitely down logs on many trails, and anything that touches them is pitch black from charcoal. Hikers heading up into the fire zone should expect trail blockages. But with the open space, they usually are easy walkarounds.

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