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Burnt Lake and East Zigzag Mountain 7-4-07

Posted by Paul (2007-07-04)

Yup, another one. Big Smile

I've been wanting to go to Burnt Lake on Mt Hood for a few weeks now, but since 1825 is closed I haven't. Then I saw retiredjerry's Field Guide Entry for the trail to East Zigzag Mountain from South Burnt Lake trailhead, I decided to go for it today. One discrepancy I encountered, was the directions to the trailhead off 26. The directions say 2627, but I only saw Rd 27. All of the rest were spot-on.

One thing I did find was that the road may be one of the worst trailhead roads I've ever been on! When driving up to this trailhead higher-clearance cars and trucks are recommended, or at least some careful driving. It can be muddy, too.

My 20 month old pup Gaius and I started out at about 10:30, on the hottest day of the year so far, Temps were to be up to 92 degrees f down in the valley. I expected lower temps, plus there looked to be plenty of opportunities for Gaius to cool off in creeks on the way up. Starting elevation was 3300 feet.

On the way up:

Flowers were out in multitudes.

After 3.7 miles and 1300 feet of climbing (about 4600 ft elevation) we reached the Zigzag Mountain trail up on a ridge, and this came into view. "Wooaah." Big Smile

It was a nice surprise.

From there we turned east a little until we met the cutoff north down to Burnt Lake, about 0.7 miles.

View from Burnt lake.

Gaius doing his cool-off thing.

After lunching there and cooling off for a while, we headed back up to the Zigzag Mountain trail. This is a little steep.

Looking back down at Burnt Lake

We continued on the Zigzag Mountain trail over East Zigzag Mountain, following that down to Devil's Tie to Burnt Lake trail.

Looking back up at East Zigzag Mountain

Happy dog.

Some more pictures: http://www.pbase.com/pcoplin/burntlake

Re: Burnt Lake and East Zigzag Mountain 7-4-07

Posted by Grannyhiker (2007-07-04)

Great pics! I got a good laugh out of Gaius in diving mode--do you have a fishing dog there? It looks as though this is a great time for flowers.

I haven't been there for quite a few years--last time I went was the weekend after Labor Day and I not only grazed my way over East ZigZag but dumped out all my water (after drinking my fill) and took home 2 quarts of huckleberries, picked in only about 15 minutes.

Re: Burnt Lake and East Zigzag Mountain 7-4-07

Posted by retired jerry (2007-07-05)

Paul:
Yup, another one.

I've been wanting to go to Burnt Lake on Mt Hood for a few weeks now, but since 1825 is closed I haven't. Then I saw retiredjerry's Field Guide Entry for the trail to East Zigzag Mountain from South Burnt Lake trailhead, I decided to go for it today. One discrepancy I encountered, was the directions to the trailhead off 26. The directions say 2627, but I only saw Rd 27. All of the rest were spot-on.

Thanks, I fixed it.

I was up there just a month ago and I agree, that's a difficult road. I added some more warning about the difficulty of the road : )

Re: Burnt Lake and East Zigzag Mountain 7-4-07

Posted by joerunner (2007-07-05)

This one might be in my near future. Thanks for reporting. I'd like to bring my dog but he is kind of a hot weather sissy (golden retriever) but he would do ok if there are lots of streams to cool down in.

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