Two weeks ago, I did a shuttle trip with a friend up Iron mountain and Cone Peak. Our original intention was to cross easterly on the ridgetops all the way to North peak and drop down into Echo basin, but we ran out of time and had to skip the eastern summits. They called me back this week on a perfect day.
I dropped my bike at Tombstone Pass on Highway 20, and then drove 4 miles east to FS 055 to start at the Echo basin trailhead. There is a washout about .3 miles before the TH, but it's close enough.
Funny that this "Old Growth" trail starts in a stand of reprod. But after a quarter mile, you get to see this:
 
Those are Alaska cedars, which ring the valley. The center of the basin is a moist veggie meadow full of Jacobs Ladder and Corn Lily. Not much was blooming yet, but there were tons of butterflies. Here is a congregation of blues around an elk print:
I headed straight up the east side of North peak, this was the hardest part of my trip, gaining 1000 feet in .3 miles. I went up dry rocky gullies and followed elk trails when I could. The meadows were treacherous because of the vegetation hiding all the boomer holes! The aroma of elk and artemesia was strong as I huffed up the slope. Halfway up, I got my first peak of a neary volcano(Mt Washington):
Upon summiting, the whole world opens up. I could see Hood, Jeff, Jack, Diamond, and here is a view of Three Sisters and Broken top over Browder Ridge. Last week, I was just below the saddle of the ridge- at Heart Lake!
Once reaching North peak, I started a westerly ramble towards Echo peak amid shrubby firs and blooming rock gardens. Looking back at North peak, my route was up the slope in the middle ground of this shot:
Looking back down into Echo basin:
After Echo peak, the next venue was South Peak. That's Iron Mountain to the right of it.
Rock garden on South Peak:
Cool basalt dike on the north flank of Cone peak:
From South Peak, I headed toward the spectacular lower slopes of Cone Peak to pick up the Cone Peak Trail. Huge meadows of color everywhere! Here's the trail:
Here is a map of my approximate route two weeks ago in yellow and this week in pink:
More pictures here.
If you plan to visit this fabled area for the wildflowers, I highly recommend adding some cross country rambles to escape the crowds.
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