I set out for Wildcat Mountain in the hopes of getting some good Mt. Hood vistas on this gorgeous-not-a-cloud-in-the-sky day...but was greeted by a locked gate less than a mile up E Wildcat Creek Rd!!!


Determined not to let this minor setback interfere with my agenda, I decided to walk the extra 3+ miles each way and shorten the portion of the hike along the trail since there is a viewpoint about 1.6 miles from the trailhead according to the map. Max and I enjoyed the lush landscape of sword ferns and lichen-covered trees.


Portions of the road looked more like an extra-wide trail than an old gravel-covered logging road. And, there are BLM signs marking its reforestation project.


There was even a view of Mt. Hood from the road...


And signs of an early spring...


Alas, when I arrived at the end of the road, there was no trailhead sign to be seen. I walked around a bit thinking that it had been knocked down, but had no luck locating it. There appeared to be a berm built up at the end of the road. So perhaps the trailhead was moved and not re-signed? I walked back down the road a bit thinking that I had missed one of the "turns". After realizing that I had walked too far to walk back to the end of the road, I decided to eat lunch and then head back to the gate. I think that our road walk ended up being around 7 miles round-trip. When I got back to my Jeep, another car pulled up to the gate. After sharing my trip report, they had not decided what to do by the time I left. Apparently their book was just as confusing as my old edition of Sullivan's NW Hikes.

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Kam
http://picasaweb.google.com/piercekam
http://www.flickr.com/photos/arcanaphotography

Hey Kam,

If you were looking to go up McIntyre ridge to Wildcat mountain, these new directions that Tom has on the field guide to the new trail head will get you there no problem. Looks like it was nice out there anyway .

http://www.portlandhikersfieldguide.org/wiki/New_McIntyre_Trailhead

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http://adamsawyer.com/

Awesome! And, according to the map, it looks like I was right in guessing that the trailhead might be just beyond the berm at the end of the road. But I will try the new trailhead next time. Thanks for the info!

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Kam
http://picasaweb.google.com/piercekam
http://www.flickr.com/photos/arcanaphotography

I wonder if the USFS ever opens the gates early during mild winters?

Probably would make double work if some big snows came and they had to gate things back up though . . .

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Formerly known as Zerek

I was just up there yesterday with a friend. We followed the PHFG directions to the new trailhead at the end of FR 108. It was easy to get to with my trusty Swedish sedan.

The trailhead where we parked was empty, but we ran into a small group at the farthest south viewpoint along the ridge, a woman and her dog (not you though) a little farther south than that, and a couple and their dog on the way up to Wildcat Mountain. I think that might have been the couple you saw. They had Sullivan's book from 2007/2008, and they said they had a lot of trouble finding the trailhead.

Here's a picture of Mt. Hood from the first viewpoint area along McIntyre Ridge.


Here's Mt. Hood from the southernmost viewpoint along the ridge, before you duck back into the woods again.


The trail was fun, but the parking area near the trailhead was discouragingly trashy. My friend and I picked up trash for about half an hour after our hike. Way too many people went shooting out there and didn't pick up their shells or the remnants of the toilet, cans, clay discs, and whatever else they shot at.



We heard people shooting while we were cleaning. Anyway, enough complaining -- at least I got to go hiking. If you're interested, I put up a few more photos here.

Wow! Amazing that it's open up to the "new" McIntire trailhead already! A couple years ago, when I was first scouting it, there were large snow banks on the paved portions of the road well into June!



Thanks for that. Very much appreciated! I do the same when I'm up there -- damned shooters. That particular spur was somewhat less trashed than other portions of Wildcat Mountain Road in the past, but I suspect the low snowpack has made it pretty attractive to the beer-and-bullets types, while hikers are away.

Kam, the other approach is permanently closed, due to vandalism at the old trailhead. That said, I've seen hikers and equestrians come up from that section since the closure, and they're apparently locals in the Hoodland area. You don't miss much by starting at the new trailhead, plus you don't beat the crap out of your car -- the old road was horrible.

Thanks for the very early report -- wow! I've hiked up there as late as December (when snows were late), but never this early.

-Tom

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Wy'East Blog

hikeyeah - that's funny you did the same trail...looks like some great vistas. I will have to check out the new trailhead. Not sure that the couple I saw at the gate had a dog. But I can understand the appeal for hikers with dogs since we did not see anybody else the entire time until returning to the car. It was nice not to worry about bothering two-legged hikers who are not as enamored by the four-legged variety :0) And thanks for taking the time to take care of the trash left by other visitors! I also heard shooting for about thirty minutes of the three hours I was on the road. At the end of the road by the berm, there was quite a bit of broken glass but no shells. Didn't want to linger too long since I was worried Max might get a cut paw pad with all the broken glass around.

Tom - I did see a sign about vandalism and now the gate is under surveillance. Fortunately, I did not see much litter or evidence of vandalism. But thanks for the information, and I look forward to finding the new trailhead and hiking along the actual trail. The road felt like taking a walk up Lief Erickson in Forest Park, except for the hour-long drive :0) I just enjoyed the beautiful weather!

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Kam
http://picasaweb.google.com/piercekam
http://www.flickr.com/photos/arcanaphotography

Ya that gate has been locked for awhile now. thanks to all the 4x4's destroying it at least the other end of wildcat is not gated yet, but im sure its just a matter of time. that area is so nice i grew up about 10 min away from wildcat. from there u can access the eagle creek trail, McIntyre ridge, u can also get to the plaza trail awesome area.


In fact that's where my avatar photo was taken

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Sean

Very useful background information. This was my first attempt to hike Wildcat Mtn...but it won't be my last!

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Kam
http://picasaweb.google.com/piercekam
http://www.flickr.com/photos/arcanaphotography