Larch Mountain Trail and Multnomah Basin Road 3/12
Posted: March 12th, 2017, 9:28 pm
This morning I decided to go up Larch Mountain Trail as far as Multnomah Basin Road to see what the conditions are like in that part of the Gorge. I left from the Multnomah Falls Lodge at about 9:00, with cloudy skies and only a handful of cars in the parking lot. There was virtually no snow all the way to the top of the falls and only some patches until Dutchman's Tunnel. But immediately after the tunnel was the first of two giant snow flows that completely overwhelmed the trail. Fortunately a couple sets of well-established stair steps went straight up it, bypassing one switchback and landing on the next level up with little difficulty. After that the trail was 50% snow covered, but always with good tracks to follow.
The second big snow flow was immediately after the bridge, past the Wakheena Trail junction. This one had fewer tracks, but was still easy enough to get past. But after that were several sketchier sections of snow laying across the trail at a steep angle, always with tracks to follow, but not always secure. For most of these sections, six inches of dirt was visible on the downward edge, but the dirt was very unstable and sometimes covered in a thin layer of ice, so staying up on the snow was better. (I was just using hiking boots and trekking poles.)
The biggest obstacle was the creek that flows over the trail, before the junction with the high water trail. I've never had a problem rock-hopping through this, but unsurprisingly there's a lot more water this year. While I strategized, another hiker came along, took off his shoes and socks, and picked his way across. Then a trio of trail runners came up and barreled right through it in their shoes! I took a more cowardly route, climbing down the hillside through a bit of Devil's Club to a point where the creek narrowed and a pair of fallen branches made a nice little bridge. After that, I skipped the high water trail, and there was more water on the trail than usual, but not a problem.
After this wet area, the canyon widened and the snow lay flat on the trail, so there were no more sketchy or slippery sections, although the snow was pretty deep in spots. I went as far as the Franklin Ridge junction, and went about 20 yards up that trail and it seemed pretty much the same.
I turned back, planning to go up Multnomah Basin Road toward Devil's Rest to check that out. But I had never been up that road in the other direction (toward the river), and my Green Trails map shows just a little stub of a road that way, so I decided to look at that first. It kept going beyond where my map said it should have ended, but the snow wasn't too bad to walk on, so I just kept going. And then I stumbled upon the Christmas ornament trail! I knew that existed, but had never sought it out before, so this was a pleasant surprise ... and unlike December visitors, I had it all to myself.
The forest seemed to be getting more beautiful the further I went, so I kept on going, eventually reaching the Franklin Ridge Trail again. So now I have a nice loop option for the future. For today, I returned the way I came, then continued down to the Multnomah Creek bridge and just a little way up the road on the other side. The conditions there seemed basically the same, about 6 inches of pretty firm snow laying flat on the road. I had obligations back home for the afternoon, so at this point I got back on Larch Mountain Trail and headed back to the lodge.
I did take a short detour up the Wakheena Trail to look at that, and quickly found similar conditions to the sketchiest parts of the Larch Mountain Trail: snow at a step angle, a thin strip of crumbly dirt and boot tracks of varying quality. Having seen a lot of that on the Wakheena side earlier this year, I advised two groups coming up who asked about the Wakheena loop to return the way they came if they got out of their comfort zones.
The sun had been threatening to peek through all morning, and when I reached the lodge at 1:00 I realized what a beautiful day it had become "down below." The handful of cars in the parking lot had turned into a long line of cars searching for a parking spot. And when I was 50 yards from the end of the trail, at approximately the height of the roof of the lodge, I actually heard someone say, "We're so high up!"
The second big snow flow was immediately after the bridge, past the Wakheena Trail junction. This one had fewer tracks, but was still easy enough to get past. But after that were several sketchier sections of snow laying across the trail at a steep angle, always with tracks to follow, but not always secure. For most of these sections, six inches of dirt was visible on the downward edge, but the dirt was very unstable and sometimes covered in a thin layer of ice, so staying up on the snow was better. (I was just using hiking boots and trekking poles.)
The biggest obstacle was the creek that flows over the trail, before the junction with the high water trail. I've never had a problem rock-hopping through this, but unsurprisingly there's a lot more water this year. While I strategized, another hiker came along, took off his shoes and socks, and picked his way across. Then a trio of trail runners came up and barreled right through it in their shoes! I took a more cowardly route, climbing down the hillside through a bit of Devil's Club to a point where the creek narrowed and a pair of fallen branches made a nice little bridge. After that, I skipped the high water trail, and there was more water on the trail than usual, but not a problem.
After this wet area, the canyon widened and the snow lay flat on the trail, so there were no more sketchy or slippery sections, although the snow was pretty deep in spots. I went as far as the Franklin Ridge junction, and went about 20 yards up that trail and it seemed pretty much the same.
I turned back, planning to go up Multnomah Basin Road toward Devil's Rest to check that out. But I had never been up that road in the other direction (toward the river), and my Green Trails map shows just a little stub of a road that way, so I decided to look at that first. It kept going beyond where my map said it should have ended, but the snow wasn't too bad to walk on, so I just kept going. And then I stumbled upon the Christmas ornament trail! I knew that existed, but had never sought it out before, so this was a pleasant surprise ... and unlike December visitors, I had it all to myself.
The forest seemed to be getting more beautiful the further I went, so I kept on going, eventually reaching the Franklin Ridge Trail again. So now I have a nice loop option for the future. For today, I returned the way I came, then continued down to the Multnomah Creek bridge and just a little way up the road on the other side. The conditions there seemed basically the same, about 6 inches of pretty firm snow laying flat on the road. I had obligations back home for the afternoon, so at this point I got back on Larch Mountain Trail and headed back to the lodge.
I did take a short detour up the Wakheena Trail to look at that, and quickly found similar conditions to the sketchiest parts of the Larch Mountain Trail: snow at a step angle, a thin strip of crumbly dirt and boot tracks of varying quality. Having seen a lot of that on the Wakheena side earlier this year, I advised two groups coming up who asked about the Wakheena loop to return the way they came if they got out of their comfort zones.
The sun had been threatening to peek through all morning, and when I reached the lodge at 1:00 I realized what a beautiful day it had become "down below." The handful of cars in the parking lot had turned into a long line of cars searching for a parking spot. And when I was 50 yards from the end of the trail, at approximately the height of the roof of the lodge, I actually heard someone say, "We're so high up!"