Mount Hood Timberline Trail Loop - Some Time in September

[Naymond78]

I want to do the Timberline Trail Loop and am basically planning my summer around preparing myself for it (hikes with similar elevation gains, conditions, distances per day, etc) and haven't quite decided when I'm going to do the main hike.

I've vaguely planned some time in September, but I am flexible as far as when. For those who have done it before, do you have any recommendations? I want to do it before the temperatures start to drop very much, but with plenty of time to prepare myself and my equipment before the trip.

Right now what I'm leaning towards is to do my long, prep hikes on the weekends of August 9th and Labor Day weekend with a rest weekend before taking off to do Timberline the weekend of September 13th. All the weekends in between would be shorter hikes, usually with friends who aren't as ... motivated as I am. From what I've read, this should be pretty ideal timing, but with the wealth of knowledge here I knew I could get some good advice.

By the way, my main training hikes will probably be the Coyote Ridge Loop and Tanner Butte via Dublin Lake, both of which are in One Night Wilderness, which I've been using to make my first summer living in Oregon a lot more interesting. If anyone has any recommendations for weekend trips that they think could get me prepared, I'm all ears.

Anyone know of any good guidebooks for the Timberline Trail? Or places where I can read specifics about temperature and weather expectations, etc? I'm of course reading every guide and trail log here and elsewhere on the internet, but I'm a person who studies and plans, so the more the better.

[retired jerry]

weather: http://weatherspark.com/#!graphs;a=USA/ ... nment_Camp

have you read the field guide - click on "field guide" at upper left - possibly too much detail

Sept 13 - perfect - check weather reports ahead of time, occasionally it rains a lot, be prepared to push out a week

[renegadepilgrim]

You don't need a guidebook...the trail log on here that Jerry mentioned is fine. The Elliot Glacier crossing can be tricky so allow yourself plenty of time to do that. We did it in 4 days/3 nights last August...camped at Ramona Falls, Elk Cove and Newton Creek. Otherwise, the trail is pretty straight forward...not a lot of surprises. You'll be fine.

[Naymond78]

Thanks for the advice! The guide here seems really, wonderfully complete but this is definitely a bigger undertaking than I've ever done before so the more preparation I can do, the better.

I'll just keep reading the guide over and over, then.

[Lumpy]

Now you've got me thinking about it. I might get laid off from work in September.

[narwhaltusk]

I read report incessantly to try and prep as well. I ended up just printing off the field guide on this website and some good maps. I also downloaded an offline topo map for my iphone that worked with GPS. I was glad to have it, but the trail was pretty straightforward as people said. I found the field guide report to be pretty helpful though, especially since it lays out things by the mile, which helped me visual the hike a lot better.

My biggestest suggestion is to just go check out the Elliot Crossing beforehand to see it for yourself. It helped me a lot once I got to that section. Since I had been before, I knew where to look for the ropes and where the trail was and decent places to cross the creek. Like others said, leave plenty of time for that section. We got there close to sunset and I would have been much more anxious about time/light/etc if I had not already checked it out.

[Lumpy]

My biggestest suggestion is to just go check out the Elliot Crossing beforehand to see it for yourself. It helped me a lot once I got to that section.

A very good idea. I have already decided that I will not do that crossing in a hurry, I will try to camp nearby and hit it in the morning so I know I have all day to deal with it, ropes, sherpas, luggage belt, helicopter, or not.

[Naymond78]

My biggestest suggestion is to just go check out the Elliot Crossing beforehand to see it for yourself. It helped me a lot once I got to that section. Since I had been before, I knew where to look for the ropes and where the trail was and decent places to cross the creek. Like others said, leave plenty of time for that section. We got there close to sunset and I would have been much more anxious about time/light/etc if I had not already checked it out.

That is a fantastic suggestion. I think I have a day trip in mind now ...

I had already planned to make my route take a long trip through Elliot into account, but actually going and scoping it out so I know what to expect is pretty brilliant (and so simple I feel dumb for not thinking about it).

I bought the National Geographic map of the area at Powell's and intend to collect another couple of resources before then (including printing and maybe laminating a copy of the field guide). It's good to know they've worked well for others.

[Naymond78]

I'm looking for a good time to go check out the Elliott Creek Crossing (maybe the weekend before my hike, even though I had that as a "rest weekend" in my google calendar), but in the mean time I just booked the time off from work to do this from September 11th through the 14th.

Thanks so much for the advice here ! If I have any last minute questions I'll be back ...

[sparklehorse]

By the way, my main training hikes will probably be the Coyote Ridge Loop and Tanner Butte via Dublin Lake, both of which are in One Night Wilderness, which I've been using to make my first summer living in Oregon a lot more interesting. If anyone has any recommendations for weekend trips that they think could get me prepared, I'm all ears.

Are you talking about day-hikes or overnight trips? Either way Mt Defiance would be a great training hike. You can day hike it, or camp at one of the lakes near the summit (Warren Lake or Bear Lake).

http://www.portlandhikersfieldguide.org ... _Loop_Hike

G.