Shorthorn Trail - Mt Adams south side

This forum is used to share your experiences out on the trails.
Post Reply
User avatar
drm
Posts: 6133
Joined: May 28th, 2008, 10:03 pm
Location: The Dalles, OR
Contact:

Shorthorn Trail - Mt Adams south side

Post by drm » July 31st, 2011, 7:06 pm

I found myself with an unexpected free afternoon today and decided to head up to Mt Adams since I hadn't been much up the slopes yet. I knew I would run into snow, but thought I would go that far.

The Shorthorn Trail is about 3 miles long, ending on the Round the Mtn Trail. It starts off of the road to the South Climb. That road has gotten very washboarded this year, like it was a few years ago. The last few hundred yards after you turn off the South Climb road are very rough.

Initially it was typical Mt Aadams dry trail
shorth 001sm.jpg
Shorthorn trail
I started hitting snow patches at about 5300 feet, and lost the trail at about 5700 feet, 1 miles short of RTM. There was an open field, and the top of Adams looked like it was in vicious wind. These billowed into large clouds south of the summit and then disappeared.
shorth 002sm.jpg
driven snow on Mt Adams
shorth 004sm.jpg
I hung out at the spot for quite a while taking in the view in the warm and sunny weather at my altitude. I also detoured slightly to check out Morrison Creek, which had some photogenic snow bridges.
shorth 005sm.jpg
Morrison Creek
shorth 007sm.jpg
Morrison Ck
Last edited by drm on August 1st, 2011, 7:06 am, edited 1 time in total.

User avatar
Crusak
Posts: 3617
Joined: August 6th, 2009, 7:33 pm
Location: Oregon

Re: Shorthorn Trail - Mt Adams south side

Post by Crusak » July 31st, 2011, 8:58 pm

Fun stuff! When I'm out hiking with friends we never seem to get tired of finding and gawking at those snowbanks undercut by flowing water.

Encouraging news, too - you encountered solid snow at 5700', which means snow levels in some areas are getting a little higher.
Jim's Hikes

Solvitur Ambulando

dayhiker
Posts: 95
Joined: July 22nd, 2008, 4:48 am

Re: Shorthorn Trail - Mt Adams south side

Post by dayhiker » August 1st, 2011, 8:41 pm

Looked like a fun day thanks for the post.

Post Reply