2 summit Trick-or-Treat (Chinidere & Indian Mtn) Oct-24-2014

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CraigG
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Joined: April 29th, 2013, 8:06 pm

2 summit Trick-or-Treat (Chinidere & Indian Mtn) Oct-24-2014

Post by CraigG » October 25th, 2014, 6:51 pm

Greetings All -

This year for Halloween I decided to dress up as a trail runner and go Trick-or-Treating in the Gorge. The goal was to hit three peaks in the Oregon Gorge - Chinidere Mtn, Indian Mtn, and Tomlike Mtn. I took off Friday from work since Friday seemed to be the "best" weather day over the weekend.
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Myself, gene mc, and a friend Lou headed out from Herman Creek trailhead at about 7:20am Friday. We zipped up the PCT after passing over the bridge above Herman Creek:
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We zoomed up the PCT and got a couple of views on our ascent. Rainier in the background:
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Swirling clouds below - no rain (yet):
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In my (over) zealous attempt to impersonate a trail runner, I tried to jog (run?) uphill a good portion of the way on the PCT, the first 10 miles. genemc gently suggested in conserve my energy for jogging level and downhill areas as we still had quite a ways to go. Well done, gene mc, for letting me down easy! :D
We powered past the mighty Teakettle Spring: :)
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Then past numerous displays of fall colors and views to the north:
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Mt Hood peeked at us from around the corner:
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We came upon our first trick-or-treat stop:
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The views were fantastic (treat) - clouds swirling around, but it was cold and windy at Chinidere Mtn summit (trick).
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Wathum Lake would be our next stop:
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gene mc took the reins for the next 26 miles - engage!
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BTW - no snow nor frost on Chinidere Mtn.
We took the Chinidere Cutoff down to Wathum Lake. gene mc strikes the "legend" pose at the head of the East Fork, Herman Creek:
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The view out to Wathum Lake - we seemed to have it to ourselves:
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We took a very brief lunch at one of the Wathum Lake campsites, but it was too windy/cold to stay a moment longer. We still had a lot of ground to cover for our next trick-or-treat stop - Indian Mtn:
We headed up Wathum Lake road, towards Indian Mtn:
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The wind have been coming out of the east in the morning. The wind shifted and clouds started to move in from the north and west:
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The PCT trail junction that lead us to Indian Mtn:
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Oooh! Very, very, very, very big mushroom! :)
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Last trail junction to Indian Mtn summit!
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I believe this is Buck Peak in the distance? (edit: Sean says it is Tanner Butte - thanks!)
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Clouds below:
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Still another 6/10 of a mile to Indian Mtn summit. The clouds were quickly moving in:
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Through a little bit of forest that protected us from the increasing winds:
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Almost to Indian Mtn summit! (No snow nor frost BTW)
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We are here! Indian Mtn summit register!
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Must have been a Starbucks here in the past? :?:
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It was cold, cold, cold (and windy!) on our way down from Indian Mtn summit:
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Then onto the PCT heading back to Wathum Lake as a steady and cold rain set in:
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I did my best to keep up with gene mc and Lou - real trail runners:
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Back to Wathum Lake, where my left leg was starting to get a little creaky, but I was a trail runner today, right? ;)
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We agreed to table our debate about visiting our third summit, Tomlike Mtn until we got closer. There was a steady cold rain and we only had 2-3 hrs of daylight left.
PCT/Herman Creek Trail junction:
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The debate over the third summit was swift and decisive. In fact, it wasn't even a debate but a quick vote: 0 votes "for" the last summit, 2 votes "against" the summit, and 1 "abstain". Lou and I were the ones who submitted our votes. :)
As we headed up (north) on the Herman Creek trail, we could hear the roar of the wind above the Tomlike Mtn junction. I felt good we would save Tomlike summit for another day. I was starting to get a little tired and found it a little more difficult than I thought to stay warm, but I was a trail runner today, right? ;)
We continued on Herman Creek trail. Gene heading across the Herman Creek fork as it began to get dark:
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We were so wet that we just walked across the creek crossing. It was safer than trying to walk across a wet log.
BTW - The jumble of fallen trees just north of the creek crossing on Herman Creek trail near 7.5 mile camp is cleared! Thank you!
We hiked the last two hours in the dark with our headlamps on, following gene mc. The rain had stopped, and it turned out to be a pretty mild evening. Back to the car at 8:09pm. I was tired, but glad we made it back safely in spite of no Halloween candy. Hitting 2 out of 3 peaks ain't bad:

Distance: 34.9 miles
Elapsed Time: 12:52:04
Moving Time 11:51:43
Stopped Time: 1:00:21
Overall Speed: 2.7 mph
Avg Moving: 2.9 mph
Max elevation: 4905 ft
Total ascent: 8262 ft

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Last edited by CraigG on October 25th, 2014, 9:53 pm, edited 1 time in total.

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Sean Thomas
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Re: 2 summit Trick-or-Treat (Chinidere & Indian Mtn) Oct-24-

Post by Sean Thomas » October 25th, 2014, 9:22 pm

Nice job guys, that sounds like a fun one! Good to see the old register seeing some visitors too. The mystery Peak labeled as Buck Peak is Tanner Butte across the Eagle Creek Valley.

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CraigG
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Re: 2 summit Trick-or-Treat (Chinidere & Indian Mtn) Oct-24-

Post by CraigG » October 25th, 2014, 9:51 pm

Sean Thomas wrote:Nice job guys, that sounds like a fun one! Good to see the old register seeing some visitors too. The mystery Peak labeled as Buck Peak is Tanner Butte across the Eagle Creek Valley.
Greetings Sean -

Thanks for the reply! I will fix the report and relabel the peak. I thought I was facing in more in a southerly direction but it was too cold/windy to do anything else but guess and move on. Thanks!

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Peder
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Re: 2 summit Trick-or-Treat (Chinidere & Indian Mtn) Oct-24-

Post by Peder » October 26th, 2014, 7:57 am

Impressive effort - you guys are very fit! I would also have voted "no" for Tomlike, it is a tough and time consuming mile to get there. That said, it is one of my preferred spots in the Gorge with Munra Point, Archer Mountain and Wauneka Point.
Some people are really fit at eighty; thankfully I still have many years to get into shape…

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CraigG
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Re: 2 summit Trick-or-Treat (Chinidere & Indian Mtn) Oct-24-

Post by CraigG » October 27th, 2014, 10:02 am

Peder wrote:Impressive effort - you guys are very fit! I would also have voted "no" for Tomlike, it is a tough and time consuming mile to get there. That said, it is one of my preferred spots in the Gorge with Munra Point, Archer Mountain and Wauneka Point.
Greetings Peder -

The word "fit" may be one adjective for it, I have heard other, more colorful adjectives used for this adventure. :D

The soreness on my legs was worse the second day after the hike (trail run?) than the first day after. I am almost walking normally again. I believe this will be easier in late June 2015 when it is nicer out, with more daylight. The summits would also be more enjoyable (flowers, views, etc).

My interest now turns towards Buck Peak. This summit seems to far south to approach from Herman Creek this time of year. I guess one could start from Top Spur and take the PCT north? It seems there are a number of other summits (Hiyu Mtn, Sentinel Peak, Devil's Pulpit, etc) along the way, less than a mile from the PCT. It is understood these summits are very close, if not markers, for the watershed boundary.

-CraigG

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acorn woodpecker
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Re: 2 summit Trick-or-Treat (Chinidere & Indian Mtn) Oct-24-

Post by acorn woodpecker » October 27th, 2014, 3:53 pm

CraigG wrote:My interest now turns towards Buck Peak. This summit seems to far south to approach from Herman Creek this time of year. I guess one could start from Top Spur and take the PCT north? It seems there are a number of other summits (Hiyu Mtn, Sentinel Peak, Devil's Pulpit, etc) along the way, less than a mile from the PCT. It is understood these summits are very close, if not markers, for the watershed boundary.
If you start on the PCT from Lolo Pass rather than Top Spur, Buck Peak is "only" 15-16 miles roundtrip. This is more than half the distance than if you went to Buck Peak from Herman Creek (mid 30s in miles). Buck Peak is also the highest point in Multnomah County. I think all those other summits you mentioned are in the Bull Run Watershed so watch for the winter-clad Bull Run commandos (now that there's snow at that elevation) if you venture off trail!
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(Photo taken from this classic trip report by VanMarmot)

Even though Devil's Pulpit isn't even in the Bull Run Watershed and if you stay on the east side of the summit and ridges of Hiyu and Sentinel you won't even technically be in the watershed (but within the boundary where OT travel is prohibited), but I digress...
Peder wrote:Impressive effort - you guys are very fit! I would also have voted "no" for Tomlike, it is a tough and time consuming mile to get there. That said, it is one of my preferred spots in the Gorge with Munra Point, Archer Mountain and Wauneka Point.

I have to agree with you on all those Gorge spots as some of my favorites, Peder! I find I keep returning to them year after year.

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CraigG
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Re: 2 summit Trick-or-Treat (Chinidere & Indian Mtn) Oct-24-

Post by CraigG » October 27th, 2014, 9:30 pm

acorn woodpecker wrote:I think all those other summits you mentioned are in the Bull Run Watershed so watch for the winter-clad Bull Run commandos (now that there's snow at that elevation) if you venture off trail!
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(Photo taken from this classic trip report by VanMarmot)
Oh dear! Such a well dressed and well color-coordinated squad! As always, I shall endeavor to be a good citizen. This is all in theory, of course! :)

Starting from Lolo Pass seems like a very good idea, although I may have to wait on Buck Peak until next year. Thanks!

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