I took advantage of the sunshine to do a hike/snowshoe route I have never been on. I thought I would see if the gate at Muddy Fork Road (the road to McNeil campground and Ramona Falls trailhead) was unlocked yet. It was/is unlocked.
The Cast Creek hike always seemed like too much climbing to do with my wife and too likely to be crowded to do without her. I didn't expect crowds on Friday, and I was right.
The only almost-problem getting to the trailhead was when I was almost there. A taller vehicle may have trouble:
I was the only one at the trailhead when I got there at 10:30am. I didn't see anyone else all day, although off and on during the day I heard people shooting in the distance (the only real negative about the day).
It was about 45 degrees F at the trailhead, and got into the 50's in the afternoon. The trail was in good shape until the snow began. There were a few trees I had to step over, nothing difficult. The worst one, a duck-under, was right near the trailhead.
I was wondering if I was stupid for hauling snowshoes for the first hour. I encountered the first snow at about 3440 ft. elevation, over 2.75 miles into the hike.
Snow was patchy for a while. More by around 3600 ft.
By around 4000 ft. elevation I was starting to posthole more often, so I put my snowshoes on, about 3.75 miles from the trailhead.
Saw bear tracks:
I was hoping to get to Cast Lake or the ZigZag East lookout, but the trail was under snow on a steep incline, which wasn't fun to traverse. So I decided to try for the ridge above the trail. I made it after a pretty good workout digging my way up the slope.
Mt. Hood & Zigzag East (I think):
Mt. St. Helens, Adams, and Rainier (I think):
It was a lovely spot for lunch. It was sunny and clear. There was wind, but it wasn't a cold wind. Coming down, however, the sun had softened the snow more, and it was dicey. One of those times when I was thinking, "This wasn't smart. This could end badly." I started sliding once and got lucky and only slid a few feet. I do not recommend doing this, BTW.
I decided to try following the spine of the ridge down instead of trying to follow the trail like I did on the way up. That worked out well once I got a ways down from the highest section. It was much easier snowshoeing on the relatively flat snow on the ridge than it was traversing the steep slope below.
Once I got off the ridge the hike back was just very pleasant. I love the sound of the wind in the trees in the mountains.
The route:
Cast Creek Hike 4/21/17
Re: Cast Creek Hike 4/21/17
Thanks for the detailed report. This helps a lot in getting the overall snow situation in relation to familiar trails.
- naturallog
- Posts: 52
- Joined: February 2nd, 2016, 9:07 pm
- Location: Portland, OR
Re: Cast Creek Hike 4/21/17
Off topic, but how many Cape Horn place names are there???
Agreed, with Aimless. Thanks for the conditions. And you called out those volcanoes correctly (left to right: St Helens, Rainier, Adams)
Agreed, with Aimless. Thanks for the conditions. And you called out those volcanoes correctly (left to right: St Helens, Rainier, Adams)
Re: Cast Creek Hike 4/21/17
Not surprised by your snow report. I don't recall getting to Burnt Lake this early on a normal year. With the current radar showing snow falling all over the Cascades today, I'm not looking for an early hike in MHNF.