Saddle Mountain 3-10-18

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OldFart
Posts: 3
Joined: March 11th, 2018, 9:26 pm

Saddle Mountain 3-10-18

Post by OldFart » March 12th, 2018, 10:18 pm

My son and I hiked this Saturday. The sun was out and so were all the people. The sky was clear and it was a brisk morning, somewhere in the 30s.

Hiking upward, we could tell that there was going to be snow before we got too far. Shortly after visiting the Humbug Mountain viewpoint, we hit the first traces. It was intermittent the entire way up. With the combination of snow and many hikers - getting around problematic areas was a challenge to do safely. I would definitely recommend doing it with microspikes and trekking poles with baskets.

There were also several sections with downed trees crossing the trail. None insurmountable, but we were on a training hike with packs - so they added an extra layer of obstacle. The first summit was probably the furthest I would go without traction devices like poles or yak tracks. It was pretty exposed and had sustained heavy wind in the morning.

Relying only with trekking poles for traction and carrying a 60 lb pack, it was significantly slower going once we got to the saddle. Descending the stairs into the saddle was quite vertical and slippery. Going under downed trees in the snow on a narrow trail was challenging. Getting up to the summit was pretty vertical and the legs got a decent burn. As we ascended, the snow was melting into a small stream down the mountain. The stabilizing muscles in my legs got an extra workout!

I didn't think about the trip report until I got back. Next time I'll try to take pictures with an eye for conveying the conditions. And post them in reverse order. And reduce the resolution to something smaller the first go around. Apparently, 6000x4000 pixels will crash the posting mechanism.
Attachments
Summit sm.JPG
The view at the summit was unobstructed by weather and it was easy to see the ocean and peaks.
Standing Rock.JPG
There were plenty of places to rest on the way up and enjoy the view.
Fall down sm.JPG
Returning to the main trail, you'll have to pass deadfall and other low lying branches. There were about (4) instances that we had to deal with it.
Humbug Viewpoint Trail sm.JPG
The side trip to Humbug Mountain viewpoint is short and only gets steep once you are almost there.

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bobcat
Posts: 2764
Joined: August 1st, 2011, 7:51 am
Location: SW Portland

Re: Saddle Mountain 3-10-18

Post by bobcat » March 18th, 2018, 7:21 pm

Glad you got up on Saddle Mountain on a sunny day and with snow!

The site will not take photos larger than 2MB and it's a rather clumsy three-step process: (1) Choose file (2) Add the file (3) Place inline (which means you can place the photo anywhere you want in the text; a lot of people ignore this step).

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Chip Down
Posts: 3037
Joined: November 8th, 2014, 8:41 pm

Re: Saddle Mountain 3-10-18

Post by Chip Down » March 18th, 2018, 7:42 pm

It's never occurred to me to do Saddle in the winter. That could be amazing if snow conditions were perfect.

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Guy
Posts: 3333
Joined: May 10th, 2009, 4:42 pm
Location: The Foothills of Mt Hood
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Re: Saddle Mountain 3-10-18

Post by Guy » March 18th, 2018, 7:53 pm

Chip Down wrote:It's never occurred to me to do Saddle in the winter. That could be amazing if snow conditions were perfect.
Yes but you would of course be disqualified if you took the trail up Chip.
hiking log & photos.
Ad monte summa aut mors

pcg
Posts: 372
Joined: May 31st, 2011, 7:46 pm
Location: Chehalem Mountain

Re: Saddle Mountain 3-10-18

Post by pcg » March 19th, 2018, 6:19 am

Chip Down wrote:It's never occurred to me to do Saddle...
with a 60 lb pack.

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