Barrett Spur/Mt Hood - down Ladd Glacier (Jul-26-2014)

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CraigG
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Barrett Spur/Mt Hood - down Ladd Glacier (Jul-26-2014)

Post by CraigG » July 28th, 2014, 11:46 am

Greetings All -

I lead a group of 10 other hikers out to the north side of Mt Hood, starting at Vista Ridge TH. We started about 10am from the TH, through the burn area. Glacier lilies were already out:
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We hit the Timberline trail junction, making a left:
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... and went out to Dollar Lake:
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Then it was up, up, up Barrett Spur - no snow on the top of the spur. Treated to fantastic, clear view to the north:
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Looking ahead:
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Over to our left (northeast):
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Then a brief lunch break on the saddle before scrambling the upper section of Barrett Spur:
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Continuing up:
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Did I mention up?
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SamL kept "the big rock on the ridge" in check as we passed by:
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Arriving near the top of Barrett Spur!
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Yay!
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View over to McNeil ridge:
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More views of the upper section:
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OK - now time for the steep descent down from near the top of the spur, heading off the west side - everybody getting themselves reasonably good spacing:
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I took a more dicey track so as not to dump rocks on others - I still wonder if it was a good idea or not (probably not :? )?
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Everyone made it safely to the bottom - next to Ladd Glacier:
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Some folks were waiting for us, since we spread out pretty wide on our descent:
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There were at least two pair of footprints on Ladd, heading down. They MUST have been Karl's group the previous day.
Coming down Ladd Glacier, next to Barrett Spur:
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We hopped on a ridge west of Barrett Spur, on our way down to the first hidden meadow:
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Flowers just starting to bloom here:
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Looking back from where (whence?) we came:
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We met this guy in the meadow and asked if he had seen Karl's group the previous day. He just groused at us:
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A little glissading race on our way down to Timberline trail :D :
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Almost back to the trail - another meadow:
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We hit Timberline trail and headed left (west) - over Ladd Creek:
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Cairn Basin:
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Look back at Hood from near the Cairn Basin campsite:
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We headed through Eden Park - over Ladd Creek again - this time a little bit lower in elevation:
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...and then a little "up" to get back on Vista Ridge, following the sunlight back out to the TH - a fantastic day!
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GPS track view - a little over 12 miles:
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OneMoreMile
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Joined: July 25th, 2014, 5:52 am

Re: Barrett Spur/Mt Hood - down Ladd Glacier (Jul-26-2014)

Post by OneMoreMile » July 28th, 2014, 12:15 pm

That looks like a great trip. And tweleve miles, you guys were troopers! What kind of elevation gain did you face on that hike?

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CraigG
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Re: Barrett Spur/Mt Hood - down Ladd Glacier (Jul-26-2014)

Post by CraigG » July 28th, 2014, 12:18 pm

Greetings -

Here are the hiking stats from the GPS - we took a number of short breaks to enjoy the scenery:
Distance: 12.4 miles
Elapsed Time: 8:46:23
Moving Time: 6:19:30
Stopped Time: 2:26:53
Avg Overall Speed: 1.4 mph
Min Elevation: 4296 ft
Max Elevation: 7835 ft
Total Ascent: 4400 ft

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kepPNW
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Location: Salmon Creek

Re: Barrett Spur/Mt Hood - down Ladd Glacier (Jul-26-2014)

Post by kepPNW » July 28th, 2014, 2:08 pm

Interesting route! I wasn't aware of an option to get up there from Dollar Lake. (Do you post your tracks anywhere?) We went up Pinnacle Ridge, through Wy'east Basin, and then later back down via Elk Cove. It wasn't our tracks on Ladd, either, but I was hoping this might offer some clues...

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We saw, but never crossed paths with, these two fellows traversing the Ladd.
Karl
Back on the trail, again...

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mjuliana
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Re: Barrett Spur/Mt Hood - down Ladd Glacier (Jul-26-2014)

Post by mjuliana » July 28th, 2014, 2:22 pm

Very nice. I think we saw your group up on Barrett Spur. We went up Vista Ridge, looped through Eden Park, and then to Elk Cove - trip report should be coming tonight. We saw a guy with skis headed up Barrett Spur. Did you see him as well?
Thanks,
Mike J

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retired jerry
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Re: Barrett Spur/Mt Hood - down Ladd Glacier (Jul-26-2014)

Post by retired jerry » July 28th, 2014, 2:24 pm

gpx:
1tracksmthood.gpx
(214.84 KiB) Downloaded 193 times
barreteden has the trails from Wy'East and Dollar Lake - I would call those trails

there are some other routes also

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kepPNW
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Location: Salmon Creek

Re: Barrett Spur/Mt Hood - down Ladd Glacier (Jul-26-2014)

Post by kepPNW » July 28th, 2014, 2:46 pm

retired jerry wrote:barreteden has the trails from Wy'East and Dollar Lake - I would call those trails

there are some other routes also
Thanks, Jerry. Yeah, I was eyeballing that ridge in Google Earth. Your track was pretty much right were I imagined it might be. Cool, a new option for next time! :)
Karl
Back on the trail, again...

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CraigG
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Re: Barrett Spur/Mt Hood - down Ladd Glacier (Jul-26-2014)

Post by CraigG » July 28th, 2014, 3:01 pm

Greetings Karl -

I think Guy posted this route last year (or the year before - I can't remember). Here is a link to my track (uncleaned):

http://gpsfly.org/g/3520

-CraigG

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CraigG
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Re: Barrett Spur/Mt Hood - down Ladd Glacier (Jul-26-2014)

Post by CraigG » July 28th, 2014, 3:03 pm

mjuliana wrote:Very nice. I think we saw your group up on Barrett Spur. We went up Vista Ridge, looped through Eden Park, and then to Elk Cove - trip report should be coming tonight. We saw a guy with skis headed up Barrett Spur. Did you see him as well?
Greetings -

We didn't see the guy with skis, although that part of Ladd seems prime for such a descent.

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CraigG
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Re: Barrett Spur/Mt Hood - down Ladd Glacier (Jul-26-2014)

Post by CraigG » July 28th, 2014, 3:08 pm

retired jerry wrote:gpx:
1tracksmthood.gpx
barreteden has the trails from Wy'East and Dollar Lake - I would call those trails

there are some other routes also
Thanks for the tracks Jerry! I want to do that Yocum to McNeil traverse this year, listed in your posted file. Soon, soon...

-Craig

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