It is also a little steep at times but we'd been up Mt. St. Helens last weekend so it didn't seem so bad. A couple miles in is Wild Cheat Meadows which a nice change up. There were a few flowers holding out and some fall color starting to show on the edge of the meadows.
Meadows on the way back in the afternoon.
We turned left on the Triangulation Trail at the end of the Cheat Creek Trail. This section of the Triangulation Trail had some fairly overgrown and narrow spots as it curved along the ridge toward Triangulation Peak. As you come around the views improve and we got our first good look at Mt. Jefferson and Three Fingered Jack. We could also see Mt. Washington's spire and the top of the Middle & South Sisters. It was a bit hazy to the south, most likely from the Deception Complex fires near Oakridge.
There was also one spot where we got a nice view of our goal - Boca Cave.
The trail then switched from the south side of the ridge to the north side and some views of Mt. Hood
We didn't see any other hikers until we reached the Triangulation Peak Trail when we met a couple of guys coming down who'd spent the night. One was barefoot which made me think of Splintercat's recent trip report http://www.portlandhikers.org/forum/vie ... =8&t=19994.
Despite the little bit of smoke we were pleased with the views up on top.
The trail down to the Cave was easy to spot. It was marked by a rock cairn and led past a couple of good tent spots before heading down fairly steeply toward the cave.
Our Son decided it was one of his favorite things we've visited on a hike.
The wife and kid entering Boca Cave
After thoroughly checking out the cave we headed back. On the way back down to the Triangulation Trail we passed two more groups of hikers heading up, but they had come up from the other end of the trail and once we were back on the Triangulation Trail we didn't see anyone else.
