Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, right? The Western larches seem to be at their peak right now!
Flipping between the two, I still think Allison's is the better. We certainly owe a great day to her, as well. Kam (pdxflowergirl), Brianne (a friend of Kam's), and I carpooled up to High Prairie trailhead. From US-35, turn onto nicely paved FR44 and follow it 3.7 miles. If you drank too much coffee before leaving, stop before/when turning right on gravel road FR4410. Really, the 4.6 miles of washboards are far better experienced on an empty bladder.
All-in-all, it's not that bad accessing this trailhead, even though it's 4700' above US35! (Alternatively, you could climb up from the highway.)Anyway, it's mystifying to me how High Prairie got its name. It's sort of a flat spot in the forest, with a pair of trails running through it. Would recommend taking the right-hand trail when you leave the TH, as it follows more along a series of viewpoints on the brief (500') climb up Lookout Mountain. The left fork of the loop is an old jeep trail that used to service the lookout. We came down that one, as it was both shorter and more nicely cushioned with duff for tired knees to descend.
Views of Hood open up along the short climb up Lookout Mtn. Look at all the fall color down there!
The ridge between Newton Creek (closer) and Clark Creek is pronounced with snow only on one side.
The rich, red, volcanic soils were quite striking!
In no time at all, or so it seemed (we actually stopped to admire the views a lot!), we were atop the first knoll/bump of Lookout Mountain. There were volcanoes in every direction we looked. Swinging south to north...
Broken Top and the Three Sisters
Jefferson
Hood, of course.
Rainier and Adams. And lookit that larch, too!
Saint Helens was visible too, but it somewhat paled in comparison as much of the snow seems to have melted. Washington was prominent between between Jefferson and the Sisters, and from some angles Three Finger Jack was popping up as well. Lookout Mountain is itself a bit of a ridge, which we traversed to the true summit, were we ran into some folks who'd brought up their ham radio to while away the time.
Close-up of Hood from Lookout, straight at the Newton-Clark glacier, separated from the Elliot by Cooper Spur (on right).
Visibility was just wonderful this day. There was a gentle SE wind.
From Lookout, we would follow the Divide Trail southeast, roughly along this ridge, enjoying frequent overlooks along the way.
Our destination, the Flag Point Lookout, was in sight much of the way. (Look at those larch!)
We were a bit baffled why a number of ancient White-bark pine trees had been cut down. Anyone know?
You could almost feel their pain...
As we wandered along the ridge, in and out of the forest, we had to remind ourselves to look up to see the Western larch in its full fall glory. These trees were so big, so old, that the golden glow was often 50-100' up in the air. About halfway along the Divide Trail, we passed a junction with the Fret Creek trail. Not long after that, was a placed called Palisade Point. The views here were fabulous! If you do this hike, plan to spend 30-45 minutes just exploring the many outcrops that take you to fabulous cliffside overlooks. Great place for a snack!
Look up!
Palisade Point
A dog without fear. Heh...
Looking south, Flag Point is the far high point along the ridge.
Just soaking it all in. Really, stop and savor these viewpoints.
This rock hid the overlook from the main trail. But there was a sneaky little route around.
In the last shot, Kam was pointing at these cool pinnacles below.
Hard enough to get to, it's probably safe from anyone trying to "protect" someone from it!
This old tree just drips elegance, don't ya think?
Just another of numerous viewpoints. Kam, Oliver and Max were all anxious to get out there first...
Brianne and I were close behind, though!
More pinnacles! And larch!
As we neared Flag Point, the proportion of larch in the forest only increased. And while much of it was very old, and still required looking up to see, there was more and more new ones too growing up from clearings. These are really incredible trees.
Look up!
Ooooooooh... Eye-level!
Beauteous.
The tiniest pinecone? Honestly, I could barely see what Kam was talking about, and she had to point at it for me!
We passed a good sized hole in the ground, maybe 6-8" in diameter, that seems to have once held a hornet nest.
There were a half-dozen, or more, combs lying on the ground beside it. Really weird.
Finally, the Divide Trail emerged upon a road that's used to service the lookout. We followed the road up for the last half-mile.
It's actually quite an extensive operation they have here, with several out-buildings in addition to the lookout itself.
Unfortunately, perhaps due to Congressional inaction, the place was all locked up. We still climbed up for the best views.
And, in so doing, discovered the spot Allison teased us all with just a few days ago!
Oh. My.. Goodness...
Not sure I understand putting a seismograph (in the barrel) atop a wooden tower!
We settled in upon the rocks for a nice lunch with a view.
A really, truly amazing view.
This little pika didn't stick around for long. We were definitely invading his territory!
It's really a nice tower. My only disappointment, slight at that, was in not having the opportunity to check out the inside.
The hike back pretty much retraced our previous steps. This was an odd hike in a way, in that we started high (6000'), climbed a bit, then dropped down considerably, and climbed a bit more, before turning around and repeating it all in reverse.
Click for full-sized map.
As the sun's rays shifted, different low-level larch were highlighted than what we saw on the way in.
Hard not to stop at such a sight. (Not just for the TR, TRoy!
)
Unlike most "brownish" needles, these were so delicately soft to the touch.
We had to regain over 1000' surrendered feet to get back up on top of Lookout Mountain again.
Paying more attention to the ground now, I noticed some really different fall colors down there.
As the sun slowly sank, we re-summited Lookout Mountain. There was a distinct chill in the air.
Parting shot of Hood.
What a great day to be in the woods!!! And what a great woods to be in!!! Wow... I'd never been in Badger Creek Wilderness before. (Closest probably being Camp Baldwin back in '73 or '74?) Just beautiful.
Final stats must be tempered by reverence for the views. Total of about 12.2 miles and 3000' EG. About 5:20 moving, and 2:20 stopped.
http://gpsfly.org/gps_map.php?gps_id=2845&w=645&h=440
Oh, and if we needed anymore proof of the "Portland Hikers effect", we also crossed paths with Thunder Thigh 3 on the road to the Flag Point Lookout.
(It's all your fault, Allison!
) Small world!
I know I've asked this before a few times, but... which Lumix are you shooting with again? I bookmarked it before but I lost all my more recent BM's in a HD crash a few months ago... 
