Oregon Hikers

Hello,

I am thinking about hiking near Three Fingered Jack next weekend as a day hike. I have never been around this particular Cascade, and I am excited to explore.

The loop around will be a bit much for just a day, but am now thinking about just an out and back starting from highway 22 and hiking about 7 miles along the PCT for a 14 mile RT hike. Basically just hiking the length of the mountain on the west side.

Is there any place off trail or near here that I should see? Is there a particular part of this tiny section of the PCT that I should make sure to get to?

Thanks for your suggestions!

For a hike near 3FJ, I much prefer a hike on the east side of the peak, Canyon Creek Meadows. It's a fairly short loop. It can be extended a bit w/ some easy to moderate off trail exploration (might even be a decent boot path now, I haven't been there in a while) to a moraine lake right at the foot of the peak. The east face of 3FJ is more dramatic and scenic than the west side where the PCT traverses.

I agree about Canyon Creek Meadows: most of the meadows area was not burned. Go up to the moraine or extend to the ridge. If you want more, you can detour north to Wasco Lake, etc., but that's all in burn.

Yep, here's my "me too" post: Canyon Creek is the place to go. I've been all around TFJ, and nothing else compares.

Go to Canyon Creek Meadows, then up to the moraine lake, and then up some more to the big gnarly east-west ridge. It has lots of cool rock formations on it, and a plateau on its north side that you can wander around on for a while.


(Do NOT make a loop out of it by descending into First Creek's basin and then out to the Summit Lake Trail; that's a boring-as-hell slog through a burn area.)


You could also bushwhack up from Canyon Creek Meadows to the PCT (near Porcupine Rock), then loop around to the east and south via Wasco and/or Minto Lake on real trails.