Begin lengthy narrative:
When my co-worker and friend, Joe, said he wanted to go backpacking over Memorial Day weekend, I had quite the challenge to think of a destination that would offer enough mileage for 3 days/2 nights, low enough in elevation to avoid snow, no ticks that would attack Max, and no poison oak that would attack me
Since the weather for Central Oregon didn't look that much better than the Portland area, we decided on Trapper Creek Wilderness.Plan A: Hike to Soda Peaks Lake via the west TH on FR 54. Set up base camp at Soda Peaks Lake on Friday. Do an epic day hike from Soda Peaks Lake to Observation Peak on Sunday and then hike back out on Monday. This plan was stymied by snow on FR 54 between MP 11 and MP 12. We mulled over the possibility of walking along the road to the TH. Unsure about the conditions at the lake as it was 45 degrees at 2pm, we decided to camp at a lower elevation and go up to the lake as a day hike.
Plan B: Start at the Iron Mike trailhead and do a day hike to Soda Peaks Lake from the longer eastern approach. The weather was looking good w/partly cloudy skies. We were one of two vehicles parked in the day use lot. Hoisted on our packs and hit the trail. The first .3 mi. travels along the creek through lush old growth. The shorelines were dotted with bleeding heart and delicate fiddleheads.
Then we came to a small creek crossing. Joe went first with only a small slip and remained unscathed. I started to cross and slipped as well...but I over-corrected, lost my balance, and ended up falling in the creek! Max tried to help by jumping on top of me as he thought it was some kind of really fun game. Though my boots and socks were soggy, our spirits were not dampened, and we pushed forward only to come to a much larger creek crossing where the bridge was removed. We scouted out a possible spot to ford across but there were several pools that looked waist-deep. And then Joe spied a cross-able log. Getting to the log was slightly tricky but we managed. Of course there was a branch sticking out in the middle that wasn't too much of an obstacle for us, but Max wasn't going for it. So I got him to climb up on the branch and then Joe lifted him off on the other side while balancing on the log. Luckily Max stayed calm and didn't wiggle around, allowing all of us to cross safely. Quite a bit of adventure for only having been on the trail for thirty minutes!
Continuing along Soda Peaks Lake trail toward the junction with Trapper Creek trail, we found an awesome campsite about 1/5 mile from the footbridge and quickly set up tents and tarp shelters in preparation for rain. I was thrilled to change into dry clothes and socks. But the predicted rain never showed up and we enjoyed a beautiful evening of partly sunny skies and warm air temps.
After dinner, we strolled down to the footbridge and enjoyed the beautiful creek views. I especially enjoyed being able to cross the creek without having to balance precariously on a log or slippery rocks
On Sunday morning, we decided to head up to Observation Peak instead of our original destination of Soda Peaks Lake. So we hit the trail @9am with the intention of making a loop by following two cutoff trails (1) Big Slide Trail and (2) Sunshine Trail. About 1.5 miles from the footbridge junction, we turned onto Big Slide Trail.
The trail was marked with diamonds cut out of tin and nailed onto the trees. There were also a few wooden diamonds with BST carved into them.
This cutoff trail is quite steep. But I was too distracted by all of the calypso orchids, vanilla leaf, oregon grape, salal, solomon's seal, dogwoods, and gigantic evergreens to notice.
We got to the junction with Trail #132 up to Observation Peak. Along this portion of the hike, there are a few viewpoints that look back down to Trapper Creek Valley. But visibility of nearby peaks were obscured by clouds. I also spotted a very special trillium in this section. It had a fourth petal and leaf that grew together. Quite bizarre!
Approximately 3/4 mile from the junction with Trail #132A, we hit snow. The trail is still easy to follow. Some of the areas around downed trees were tricky, but not too much sinking-in or post-holing for the most part. Around the same time we hit snow, the mist and sprinkling rain set in. Not sure what the conditions would be up at Observation Peak, we opted to take a break after traversing this snow field and eat lunch.
Shortly after lunch, we had a nice surprise when VanMarmot showed up. He hiked up the Sunshine Trail cutoff and was able to catch up with us. So we continued together to the summit. We were pleasantly surprised that Trail #132A did not have much snow!
Awesome view of the inside of a cloud at the summit!
After getting some good info from VanMarmot, we decided to continue with our plan to loop back to Trail #192. But where the cutoff trail should have been, the sign indicated a different trail #129B. Also, snow covered the entire forest floor and there were no markers or blazing on the trees. Unable to find the trail, we tried continuing along Trail #132 for about 100 yards but the snow was much deeper and softening up, sinking in every few steps.
So we opted to return along the same route and brave the steep downhill of Big Slide Trail. Along the Observation Peak Trail, we stopped off at the viewpoint for Mt. St. Helens to observe more of the inside of clouds. The entire outcropping was covered in glacier lilies. It was like a blanket of sunshine in the misty rain!
I was surprised that hiking in soggy boots worked out so well. And, even more surprised that the clothes hanging on the line dried enough to be wearable by the time we returned to our campsite at 4:30pm. So we ate some food, packed up, and started out for the 1/2 mile trek back to Iron Mike. Within about fifty yards, we came to yet another bridge-less creek crossing. This time I was prepared with Crocs and easily forded the shallow creek. After walking along the rental cabins' access road (which was quite lovely), we found the junction with Trail #132 and followed it to the creek. Again...NO BRIDGE! It looked deep and the water was moving swiftly. The promise of pizza and beer at Walking Man Brewery in Stevenson was a good motivator (along with avoiding an additional 2+ miles of walking along the road). So we followed a dried up creek bed that led to a more cross-able spot. This time, I went first. Max was tethered to me with his leash and we started across. Within seconds the water was too deep for Max and he started swimming. I think his backpack acted like water wings to keep him afloat. But the current was strong and fortunately the leash kept him from getting carried away. Toward the middle of the creek, the water went up to my thighs. We made it safely to the other side, but we were all drenched. Joe had the good fortune of dry clothes awaiting him in the Jeep. I did not. But I had the power of a piping hot car heater and pumped it up to full-blast. My pants were pretty much dry by the time we pulled up to Walking Man Brewery.
Driving along Hwy 14, heading home, we admired all of the peaks on the Oregon side of the Gorge. And as the rain started to fall, we were happy to be dry and warm. This was a fantastic trip and a fun kick-off for backpacking season!
