Carpenter Mountain Lookout - 7/4/14

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justpeachy
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Carpenter Mountain Lookout - 7/4/14

Post by justpeachy » July 6th, 2014, 7:54 pm

On the 4th of July I packed the car and drove to the McKenzie River area, snagging a campsite at McKenzie Bridge Campground. Then I started heading to the Horsepasture Mountain trailhead.

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Doh! Guess that's not going to happen. Turns out that just that morning the Willamette National Forest had posted on their website that this road was closed due to a rockslide. So I changed plans and headed north. I wove my way through the H.J. Andrews Experimental Forest to the Carpenter Mountain trailhead. Got a glimpse of the lookout perched way up there as I drove up.

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There was quite a lot of beargrass blooming at the trailhead and along the first 0.1 mile of trail. (There were at least half a dozen different kinds of wildflowers blooming along the trail, which I wasn't expecting.)

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There were a few open spots on the trail providing tantalizing views to the south.

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But it was mostly shaded, which was a good thing on this hot day.

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This was along the trail. Anyone know what it is?

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Almost there!

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Made it!

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I met Rob, the guy working at the lookout for the summer. I was also pleasantly surprised to run into Don Allen, from the Sand Mountain Society. He and I have corresponded a bit about the work of the SMS so it was a real pleasure to finally meet him. We sat and chatted about lookouts for awhile. Kind of fun to nerd out with a fellow lookout enthusiast. :D

The views up there are fabulous! Here is the tippy top of Mt. Hood:

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Mt. Jefferson had some groovy clouds above it:

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Mt. Jefferson, Three Fingered Jack, and Mt. Washington:

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Three Sisters:

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Wolf Rock:

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The pointy peak just left of center is Iron Mountain. The brown peak right of center is Cone Peak. The more distant peak at center is Battle Ax.

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The quirky-looking summit of Tidbits Mountain, where I would hike on Sunday:

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Diamond Peak:

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After lingering for quite awhile I was getting hungry and it was a long drive back to the campground, so I reluctantly tore myself away and headed back down. Great little hike; highly recommended!

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greglief
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Re: Carpenter Mountain Lookout - 7/4/14

Post by greglief » July 6th, 2014, 8:23 pm

Thank you for the trip report and wonderful photos! Excellent views!

The odd device is some sort of data logger, manufactured by Onset. Perhaps a weather station or something similar?
Greg Lief
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Waffle Stomper
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Re: Carpenter Mountain Lookout - 7/4/14

Post by Waffle Stomper » July 6th, 2014, 8:29 pm

A lovely series of photos. You go to all the best places. :)
"When we try to pick out anything by itself, we find it hitched to everything else in the Universe." - John Muir

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Waffle Stomper
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Re: Carpenter Mountain Lookout - 7/4/14

Post by Waffle Stomper » July 6th, 2014, 8:29 pm

"When we try to pick out anything by itself, we find it hitched to everything else in the Universe." - John Muir

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GoneHiking
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Re: Carpenter Mountain Lookout - 7/4/14

Post by GoneHiking » July 6th, 2014, 9:27 pm

There is an alternate route to the Horsepasture Mountain Trailhead. I reported this to William Sullivan last year and he placed an update on his website...

"-- #67 Horsepasture Mountain -- This trailhead became more difficult to access in June 2013 when a landslide closed Road 1993 on a steep slope part of the way between Horse Creek Road 2638 and the trailhead. The Forest Service has signed an alternate route to the trailhead, but it's 11 miles longer, mostly on gravel. To find it from Highway 126 at McKenzie Bridge, follow Horse Creek Road 2638 for 8.6 miles (including 9 miles of gravel). At a pointer marked "Horse Pasture Trailhead 11", turn right on gravel Road 356 for 5.2 miles uphill to a T-shaped junction. Then turn right on Road 1993 for 7.6 mostly paved miles to the Horsepasture Trailhead on the left."

The Forest Service has actually signed this new route so it's a mystery why they don't update their information.

As for the odd looking device on the trail to Carpenter Mtn Lookout - it's equipment used to study how much sunlight reaches that area over time. I ran into the researchers last year while hiking that route.

Always love your trip reports!

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kelkev
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Re: Carpenter Mountain Lookout - 7/4/14

Post by kelkev » July 7th, 2014, 4:31 am

Neat place for sure - I hiked up there last year on the same trip that I hiked up to Olallie Mountain Lookout. Funny, we also tried Horsepasture but ran into the same "road closed" signage. We actually drove up to the slide, thinking perhaps it was negotiable, but NO....road 1993 was hit by a serious landslide. Very cool that you got to chat with Don Allen!

Kevin
"Going to the mountains is going home."
— John Muir

justpeachy
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Re: Carpenter Mountain Lookout - 7/4/14

Post by justpeachy » July 7th, 2014, 6:14 am

Very interesting about that little device. Good to know!

As for Road 1993, I had no idea it has been closed that long. On the WNF website the closure information is dated July 4, 2014.

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