Bird Creek Meadows to Iceberg Lake (Mt. Adams)

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Naturebat
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Bird Creek Meadows to Iceberg Lake (Mt. Adams)

Post by Naturebat » October 16th, 2014, 9:36 pm

Our very last hike of the year was on Labor Day, so this isn't too recent I'm afraid. :? But it was a great hike nevertheless; and it's definitely my favorite Mount Adams hike that I've done so far. And it just might be my favorite hike of the summer too!

Opening Picture:
Mount Adams from Bird Creek Meadows
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It is a truly beautiful place, and I definitely recommend it as a first time hike on Mount Adams, for those who haven't hiked on Mount Adams yet. This was my first time coming to this side of the mountain, and I was certainly impressed by the beauty and scenic diversity. Few places combine so many elements together so perfectly. Glaciers, meadows, waterfalls, lakes, mountain vistas, canyons, and mountain goats. We decided to save the actual meadows area of Bird Creek Meadows for next year, during the wildflower bloom. This time we had a craving for alpine scenery, so we decided to head up above treeline, and save the meadows for another time.


We started out at the Bird Creek Meadows Trailhead.
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The trail started out nice and wide. Older maps show that this was an old road to the Bird Creek Meadows Picnic Area.
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Then we took a right onto Trail #20, to Hellroaring Overlook.
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So after a short ways, we came to our first viewpoint, and oh what a view! Little Mount Adams stood out across the valley, and Bench Lake lay below.
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The clouds still hung over the mountain. We hoped that the clouds would part later (which they did!).
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This little patch of lupines were pretty much all the lupines we could find.
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The trail:
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We came to many viewpoints. This was one of them:
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Hellroaring Falls was impressive.
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We reached Hellroaring Overlook. We didn't linger there, but continued on up the trail, hoping to get to Iceberg Lake.
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The view down the Hellroaring Overlook, to Bench Lake.
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We continued up the trail, now called Trail #20. It is marked as unmaintained on the map, and eventually goes to Sunrise Camp at over 8,000 feet.
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Looking back down the trail:
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Panorama:
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As we started to climb out of the trees, we began to see mountain goats. And lots of them! I think we saw at leas 30 that day.
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More mountain goats:
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A better close-up. I was able to get reasonably close to them. They were roaming below from my vantage point, and didn't run away.
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Another view down the valley:
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The fall colors were starting to show.
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The trail was never too hard to follow. We started to climb up a moraine in front of us.
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Here is the view looking west, while climbing the moraine.
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And looking south to Bird Creek Meadows, and the burned forest from the Cold Springs Fire.
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Finally the clouds started to clear up over the mountain. We started to pick up the pace so we get there before the clouds start to close in again.
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The trail reached a "saddle" on the moraine. It split up from here. One trail headed to the right, and down. It goes to Iceberg Lake and eventually to Sunrise Camp. The trail to the left headed up the moraine to an awesome viewpoint. We chose to head to the left, up to the viewpoint.
Unless I'm mistaken, this X marks the junction, where you have to head to the right to get to Sunrise Camp.
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The trail to the left, up to the viewpoint:
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It's hard not to stop and look behind you when this is the view.
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A panorama just below the top of the moraine.
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This is the view we got when we reached the top: Mount Adams icy summit looming above ice-choked Iceberg Lake. What a sight it was!
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A closer view of Iceberg Lake:
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Looking down the way we came up the moraine. Little Mount Adams is that red volcano. To the right of it is Bench Lake, and in front of the lake is Hellroaring Meadow. Klickitat Canyon can be seen in the distance, as those brownish cliffs. And the deserts of Eastern Washington could be seen as well.
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This is the view south towards Oregon. In order of front to back, you can see Bird Creek Meadows, the Cold Springs Burn, Glenwood Valley, and the deserts of Eastern OR/WA.
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And looking southwest. Trout Lake Valley can be seen here.
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One more awesome view of Mount Adams.
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One of the many tough trees above treeline.
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After enjoying the views up there, we started to head back down.
This was one of the many views of Mount Adams as we headed down the trail.
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On the way back, we stopped to enjoy this little meadow.
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Another beautiful view of the meadows and Mount Adams:
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Another beautiful view:
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On our way back, we took a little time to look at the view from Hellroaring Overlook. This was our last big look at the mountain, and our last hike of the year. Out of all the places in the Northwest, I would choose Mount Adams for the last hike of the summer. There is something special about this mountain that draws me back every year.
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A close up of the mountain.
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And to finish this trip report off, two more photos of that meadow again:
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It was a great hike, and just might be my favorite hike of the summer.
Last edited by Naturebat on December 30th, 2019, 1:48 pm, edited 2 times in total.
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Waffle Stomper
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Re: Bird Creek Meadows to Iceberg Lake (Mt. Adams)

Post by Waffle Stomper » October 17th, 2014, 6:21 am

Beautiful trip report, and who knew that ponies could be found at those elevations. :)
"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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miah66
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Re: Bird Creek Meadows to Iceberg Lake (Mt. Adams)

Post by miah66 » October 17th, 2014, 6:53 am

Yes, those are some great pics! I love hiking on Mt Adams, too. I was there on Labor Day, but on the other side of the mountain, near High Camp & Killen Creek. I knew you could hike above Hellroaring Viewpoint to Iceberg Lake, but have never done so. Good to know there is an established trail, or "X". :)
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Re: Bird Creek Meadows to Iceberg Lake (Mt. Adams)

Post by drm » October 17th, 2014, 7:58 am

Nice. Though I've been to Sunrise Camp, I did not go via that glacial lake. There appear to be two routes to Sunrise Camp. The high route goes like you did and turns right to go right by the lake and then continue north that way. The low route, that I did, turns right at the base of the moraine (there was a trail there when I did this). It continues right, passing just above the top of the main waterfall there, and then goes up the ravine that defines the left side of the upper part of Hellroaring Ridge. There was no trail (or even cairns) during much of this route, though a defined trail did appear near the top of the ravine. But knowing that you have to follow the left side of the ridge makes the route-finding fairly straightforward. The Green Trails map has a dotted line following the low route, but most people I've talked to tend to do the high route.

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-Q-
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Re: Bird Creek Meadows to Iceberg Lake (Mt. Adams)

Post by -Q- » October 17th, 2014, 8:52 am

I saw a ton of goats (20+) in that area a few weeks back when I also hiked to Iceberg Lake, but from the South Climb TH. I chose the summit of the moraine instead of the lakeshore just like you did. Fantastic place!! Great goat habitat around Hellroaring Canyon

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RobinB
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Re: Bird Creek Meadows to Iceberg Lake (Mt. Adams)

Post by RobinB » October 17th, 2014, 11:14 pm

Wow! Great TR, and, as always, it's nice to see the ponies spreading their magic.

How was the road? I seem to remember someone telling me it was kind of rough, but they may have been in a passenger car.

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Naturebat
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Re: Bird Creek Meadows to Iceberg Lake (Mt. Adams)

Post by Naturebat » October 18th, 2014, 8:10 am

RobinB wrote:Wow! Great TR, and, as always, it's nice to see the ponies spreading their magic.

Thanks, Robin!

As for the ponies, I'm trying to set a pattern here. :lol:

How was the road? I seem to remember someone telling me it was kind of rough, but they may have been in a passenger car.
The road was incredibly washed out. A passenger car can make it to the reservation boundary, but after that it gets deeply rutted. We saw two cars make it up there, but I'm not sure how they did it. I assume they scraped bottom several times on the way up. Even with a truck, it is slow going.

Nevertheless, the sluggish drive is totally worth it! The scenery is amazing there! :)
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Naturebat
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Re: Bird Creek Meadows to Iceberg Lake (Mt. Adams)

Post by Naturebat » October 18th, 2014, 8:28 am

Waffle Stomper wrote:Beautiful trip report, and who knew that ponies could be found at those elevations. :)
Thanks!

Well, their capitol city is built on a mountainside. :roll: The City of Gondor Canterlot, that is.

Now that I think about it, Atlantis the Crystal Empire is built in the Frozen North region. They protect their city from the cold with a magical protection shield, powered by the ZPM Module Crystal Heart. :geek: (I know too much about a certain show about ponies! :lol: )
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Re: Bird Creek Meadows to Iceberg Lake (Mt. Adams)

Post by -Q- » October 20th, 2014, 1:09 pm

FluttershyIsMagic wrote:
RobinB wrote:Wow! Great TR, and, as always, it's nice to see the ponies spreading their magic.

Thanks, Robin!

As for the ponies, I'm trying to set a pattern here. :lol:

How was the road? I seem to remember someone telling me it was kind of rough, but they may have been in a passenger car.
The road was incredibly washed out. A passenger car can make it to the reservation boundary, but after that it gets deeply rutted. We saw two cars make it up there, but I'm not sure how they did it. I assume they scraped bottom several times on the way up. Even with a truck, it is slow going.

Nevertheless, the sluggish drive is totally worth it! The scenery is amazing there! :)
The first time I drove to the Bird Creek Meadows TH (around 2008) I saw a full size coach bus up there :o
No clue how a bus could make it up that road.
I am talking a full size, 80 passenger coach bus.
Weird

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kepPNW
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Re: Bird Creek Meadows to Iceberg Lake (Mt. Adams)

Post by kepPNW » November 3rd, 2014, 5:50 pm

Also one of my most favorite hikes this summer! (I went on 8/8.) Just beautiful up there.

I just wonder, with how you clearly you love the outdoors, why quit hiking in early September?
Karl
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