Park Butte, Jefferson Park - 3 October 2014

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Kyler
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Park Butte, Jefferson Park - 3 October 2014

Post by Kyler » October 4th, 2014, 9:23 pm

The weather was really good this weekend, so a couple of friends and I decided to hit up Jefferson Park today.

I came up to Jefferson Park for the first time on the Whitewater Trail on the 13th last month. It was pretty busy up there but today was much better. There was a big knob-like rock formation called Park Butte that loomed over Jefferson Park to the north (Jefferson obviously does such to the south) and this time I was determined to scramble up it, which was such a good decision once we finally managed to get up it.

The morning above the Detroit area
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Scout Lake. Park Butte is that formation to the left in this picture.
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Bays Lake. One of my favorites.
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Russell Lake. Park Butte is to the right here, this was right before the scramble.
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Switching back, this was right below the PCT, which would have saved us a lot of effort if we would have actually followed that instead :P
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There was a lot of scrambling, I did manage to sneak in this shot though.
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Finally at the top!
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Whenever I have ever reached my goal destination I have always rewarded myself with an apple. I normally don't take pictures of apples but this one had a great background... and it was probably one of the biggest apples ever grown by man.
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And coming down the trail, with one more shot of Jefferson. It was a fabulous and warm day.
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If you're curious on getting up to Park Butte, know this much - it is NOT a viewpoint for the weak-minded or weak-bodied. I came up from the east side (the Russell Lake/PCT side, not the Bays Lake/Whitewater side) because the west side looked worse from my judgment. Anyway there's some steep bushwhacking and scrambling from the PCT to just below the scree that's frustrating to say the least, but it's the scree just below the top of Park Butte - the scree you can see from most nearly anywhere in Paradise Park - that is really mentally and physically exhausting. It's kind of like the finishing "red" stretch of the South Sister if you are familiar with that trail. With that said, at the top, you get to see every lake, tarn, glacier, tree, etc. in Paradise Park, Park Ridge, and on Jefferson itself. You also get a better view of the Cascades then you do from the Whitewater trail (see the first picture), as well as a view of the Warm Springs canyon and surrounding area, including the city of Madras way out in the distance. It's one of many places where a picture will never do it justice.

On a side note, I'm obviously new here, so if any of you have any suggestions on how/where to upload images, besides this forum itself, I'd love to hear, because I'm not sure how I feel about photobucket, which is what I'm using for this trip report. Also, are trip reports supposed to be about fairly recent trips per se? There are some trips that I did over the summer that I'd love to write about if writing about old trips was an accepted thing here. If not, that's perfectly fine as well
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tednottodd
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Re: Park Butte, Jefferson Park - 3 October 2014

Post by tednottodd » October 5th, 2014, 7:46 am

Nice report. I think older trips are fine, I'd personally appreciate a date (even if approximate) because many people will search terms and read old reports for trips they are planning. If you know about when someone was there, it would help you determine what you should expect.

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Splintercat
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Re: Park Butte, Jefferson Park - 3 October 2014

Post by Splintercat » October 21st, 2014, 11:50 pm

Nice report and GREAT photos, Kyler - love those panos! Thanks for posting!

Tom :-)

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kepPNW
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Re: Park Butte, Jefferson Park - 3 October 2014

Post by kepPNW » November 3rd, 2014, 5:10 pm

Nice report! We almost went out there from Park Ridge, but ended up dropping down the east side into the Park (http://gpsfly.org/g/3611). Still gotta do that "one of these days." :)

As for the time thing, I think as long as you indicate what time of year it was they'll remain useful for folks researching ideas. Really old reports can go to the Time Travels forum, if it's more historical than "useful" information.
Karl
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adamschneider
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Re: Park Butte, Jefferson Park - 3 October 2014

Post by adamschneider » November 3rd, 2014, 5:21 pm

It's pretty easy to get out onto Park Butte from Park Ridge. It's barely even "scrambling"... maybe Class 2. I did it a few years ago: http://adamschneider.net/photos/2009-08-jp/map.htm

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kepPNW
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Re: Park Butte, Jefferson Park - 3 October 2014

Post by kepPNW » November 3rd, 2014, 5:25 pm

adamschneider wrote:It's pretty easy to get out onto Park Butte from Park Ridge. It's barely even "scrambling"... maybe Class 2.
Yeah, so it appeared. We just had other plans that day. :)
Karl
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