Oregon Hikers

So glad to see you got "above it all!" I looked at the VolcanoCam a couple times Saturday, and wasn't sure you would. (It was pretty socked in below 4000'!) This loop deserves a spot on my to-do list. Looks like you had a great day!

Great report & photos guys! Love the idea that there is now an unopened bottle up their waiting to be found!

That should increase trail traffic a bit. maybe this would be the answer to increase traffic on trails that are disappearing for lack of use, pepper them with Alcohol ..

pablo wrote:How does what you did fit into the scramble class rating system?

All the climbing around was just goofing off for fun - none of that is actually part of the hike itself. I thought about going up those gendarmes the last time I was out there, and the rock turned out to be really solid. (Ben teased me about how hard up for good rock I was since I kept gushing about behing on granite.) It's probably 3rd/4th class, but high up the fall would be bad.

There were a couple of spots on the Whittier ridge (eg, just north of the gendarmes) where you use to have to scramble a little, but it appears all of those spots have been rerouted into switchbacks with rock steps. (Whether or not this is an improvement depends on your idea of fun.) It's really a great ridge.

Bosterson wrote:... all of those spots have been rerouted into switchbacks with rock steps.

My impression is that the rock steps date back to when there was a complete trail; I do not think that any of them are new. There were just as many rock steps the first time I did the trail.