Eclipse hikes - Dome Rock & Sardine Mountain

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Don Nelsen
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Eclipse hikes - Dome Rock & Sardine Mountain

Post by Don Nelsen » August 22nd, 2017, 11:13 am

I wanted to get as close to the center of totality and up high enough to see in all direction for this event. Ever since the eclipse bust in Portland in 1979 (Early morning, February, very cloudy) I've planned to do better for the next one. Everything worked out perfectly!

We set out for Detroit on Friday afternoon to try to get a good car-camping spot as near to Dome Rock as possible.

Dome Rock in Saturday's alpenglow:

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Arriving at the TH on FR 2223 at sunset, there were already a couple dozen cars. Continuing on, every possible relatively flat spot was taken for the next mile and a half where we finally found where we could park on a more-or-less flat spot. A few rocks under the tires did the trick to level the SUV and we settled down for the night.

Sunday morning we headed up the short 1.25 mile trail to Dome Rock:

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By the time we got to the summit pinnacle, the sky was looking great with barely a hint of smoke from the fires near Mt. Jefferson:

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However, a closer look at Jeff revealed this:

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Looking NW from the summit of Dome Rock:

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We could see at least a dozen campsites along the short trail to the summit and realized a lot of other folks had the same idea. Only a mile and a half to the west we could see Sardine Mountain. The map showed no trail to the summit but experience told me there is almost always at least a game trail so we decided to investigate.

Sardine Mountain from Dome Rock:

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It turned out there was a mostly good boot path trail and this was less than half the distance as the Dome Rock trail and much closer to where we camped.

A few pics of Sardine Mountain:

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Sunset, Sunday evening:

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Monday morning on top of Sardine Mountain:

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Many of these folks had also planned to be on top of Dome Rock but changed plans as we did:

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Looking back at Dome rock we could see we made the right choice: We could see over 40 people just in profile and who knows how many more were crowded on the foreground and beyond that we couldn't see!

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When totality arrived the views in all directions were spectacular. Mt. Hood was exactly 50 miles away and getting only abut 1% sunlight but still stood out:

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The view to the west:

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This was truly an event of a lifetime!

dn
"Everything works in the planning stage" - Kelly

"If you don't do it this year, you will be one year older when you do" - Warren Miller

Rather B Hiking
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Re: Eclipse hikes - Dome Rock & Sardine Mountain

Post by Rather B Hiking » August 22nd, 2017, 12:17 pm

You were able to go up Dome Rock? I thought there was a fire there. I had my backpack all ready to go on Saturday, and had decided to settle for Battle Ax. But then I did one last check, saw there was a fire near Detroit, and did not want to chance anything accessed via French Creek Road, for fear of being trapped, evacuated, or socked in by smoke.

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Christminster
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Re: Eclipse hikes - Dome Rock & Sardine Mountain

Post by Christminster » August 22nd, 2017, 1:05 pm

I took a picture of you from Dome Rock

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Don Nelsen
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Re: Eclipse hikes - Dome Rock & Sardine Mountain

Post by Don Nelsen » August 22nd, 2017, 1:14 pm

Rather B Hiking wrote:You were able to go up Dome Rock? I thought there was a fire there. I had my backpack all ready to go on Saturday, and had decided to settle for Battle Ax. But then I did one last check, saw there was a fire near Detroit, and did not want to chance anything accessed via French Creek Road, for fear of being trapped, evacuated, or socked in by smoke.
Yes, no problems at all. There was a sign saying "fire activity ahead" at one of the side road junctions off French Creek Road and there was a tape across the road but we could see no smoke or any activity.

We were very lucky to be on the very edge of the smoke that blew back in over night from the fire near Jefferson. It had filled the valleys to the south and east but did not diminish what we experienced in the least.

dn
"Everything works in the planning stage" - Kelly

"If you don't do it this year, you will be one year older when you do" - Warren Miller

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Don Nelsen
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Re: Eclipse hikes - Dome Rock & Sardine Mountain

Post by Don Nelsen » August 22nd, 2017, 1:14 pm

Christminster wrote:I took a picture of you from Dome Rock
Neat- please post it!

dn
"Everything works in the planning stage" - Kelly

"If you don't do it this year, you will be one year older when you do" - Warren Miller

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Christminster
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Re: Eclipse hikes - Dome Rock & Sardine Mountain

Post by Christminster » August 22nd, 2017, 1:16 pm

I went up Sardine Mtn. on Sunday to check it out, but decided to gamble on Dome Rock. It wasn't too crowded at all, plenty of room to move around, and the people were actually a lot of fun. A guy was making pancakes and handing them out. No fire except the one on Jefferson.

It's been years since I posted a photo here, I'm figuring out how to do it all over again arrrgh

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Don Nelsen
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Re: Eclipse hikes - Dome Rock & Sardine Mountain

Post by Don Nelsen » August 22nd, 2017, 1:32 pm

Christminster wrote:I went up Sardine Mtn. on Sunday to check it out, but decided to gamble on Dome Rock. It wasn't too crowded at all, plenty of room to move around, and the people were actually a lot of fun. A guy was making pancakes and handing them out. No fire except the one on Jefferson.

It's been years since I posted a photo here, I'm figuring out how to do it all over again arrrgh
If you e-mail the photo to me, I'll post it for you. Send me a PM and I'll give you my e-mail address.

dn
"Everything works in the planning stage" - Kelly

"If you don't do it this year, you will be one year older when you do" - Warren Miller

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Christminster
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Re: Eclipse hikes - Dome Rock & Sardine Mountain

Post by Christminster » August 22nd, 2017, 1:33 pm

There you are! That one pixel. :lol: This was around 9 o'clock
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Last edited by Christminster on August 23rd, 2017, 3:45 pm, edited 2 times in total.

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Christminster
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Re: Eclipse hikes - Dome Rock & Sardine Mountain

Post by Christminster » August 22nd, 2017, 1:50 pm

Same time, looking north-nothwest
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Don Nelsen
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Re: Eclipse hikes - Dome Rock & Sardine Mountain

Post by Don Nelsen » August 22nd, 2017, 1:59 pm

Christminster wrote:There you are! That one pixel. This was around 8 o'clock
Thanks!

BTW, that pointed peak to the right of Sardine Mt. in your photo is Rocky Top, 3.5 miles to the WNW of Sardine Mt. Must have been a real party time up there too. Here's a telephoto shot of it:

Image

dn
"Everything works in the planning stage" - Kelly

"If you don't do it this year, you will be one year older when you do" - Warren Miller

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