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hikeologist
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Longtime Lurker, First Time Poster

Post by hikeologist » April 12th, 2023, 8:57 am

Hi everyone!

I moved up to the Portland area a few years ago and decided to return to hiking as a pandemic sanity-keeper. I've been working on the hikes from William Sullivan's 100 Hikes in NW Oregon and SW Washington since summer of 2021 and it's going pretty well! Ask me about my spreadsheet about this haha - I'm going for completion, but I realize this is a years-long project. Of the first 100 hikes in the book (which generally have multiple hikes per location, so actually closer to 191) I have done 45 - about 23% :)

I used to hike when I was a kid but it definitely dropped off my radar until I got to college when it resurfaced. I think I'm a pretty average hiker but am up for a challenge.

Over the last couple of years these have been some of my favorite hikes:
  • Ramona Falls
  • Mirror Lake / Tom Dick and Harry Mountain
  • Cairn Basin
  • Hamilton Mountain
This summer I hope to hike South Sister, so if you have any tips please let me know! I'm thinking about hiking the following trails to try to acclimate:
  • Larch Mountain
  • Dog Mountain
  • Hardy Ridge
  • Mount Defiance
I also want to hike McNeil Point (so badly!) and visit Mt. St. Helens, though I don't know if I can get to the rim quite yet.

Anyhow, thanks for having me! I have enjoyed using the forums for research and the Field Guide when looking for info about hikes I want to do :)

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retired jerry
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Re: Longtime Lurker, First Time Poster

Post by retired jerry » April 12th, 2023, 9:16 am

Mt Defiance is often referred to as a prep for hiking big volcanoes like Mt Hood - lots of elevation gain, but any hike with multiple thousand feet elevation gain would work

when I climbed South Sister I got a fairly bad headache, which happens whenever I go above 10,000 feet. But it's just barely above 10,000 and as soon as I got back down below 10,000 I was better. Maybe bring ibuprofen which is supposed to help. If you camped overnight at elevation that would help, but hardly worth worrying about unless you went higher and longer than S Sister

if you're working your way through Sullivan's book I'm sure you'll be fine with no other prep

hikeologist
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Re: Longtime Lurker, First Time Poster

Post by hikeologist » April 12th, 2023, 9:27 am

Thank you! That's really helpful to know. I'll probably pack some extra just in case!

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retired jerry
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Re: Longtime Lurker, First Time Poster

Post by retired jerry » April 12th, 2023, 11:22 am

bring two quarts of drinking water

I normally backpack with only one pint of water which would be enough for a cool day. For a warm day I'd drink it all, then refill somewhere. No drinking water on S Sister after Moraine Lake. Although you walk by a glacier lake near the top, maybe you could refill there, I forget

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RobFromRedland
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Re: Longtime Lurker, First Time Poster

Post by RobFromRedland » April 12th, 2023, 12:44 pm

retired jerry wrote:
April 12th, 2023, 11:22 am
bring two quarts of drinking water

I normally backpack with only one pint of water which would be enough for a cool day. For a warm day I'd drink it all, then refill somewhere. No drinking water on S Sister after Moraine Lake. Although you walk by a glacier lake near the top, maybe you could refill there, I forget
Yeah there is the (lewis lake? below lewis glacier?) lake just before the final push to the top (maybe a mile before the top) that you can get water out of, but it is incredibly silty. It will plug up a filter if you take too much water out of it.

We did South Sister early last year when it was still covered in snow -that was incredibly difficult - but I was happy I was able to complete it. It took us all day long. Doing it with snow on the ground is WAY, WAY different (and harder) than doing it in August or September when it is essentially snow free.
Life is not a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a pretty and well-preserved body, but rather to skid in broadside, thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and loudly proclaiming: WOW! What a ride! - Hunter S. Thompson

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retired jerry
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Re: Longtime Lurker, First Time Poster

Post by retired jerry » April 12th, 2023, 1:27 pm

that sounds right, Lewis Lake too silty for most people

In the summer you have to walk long distance on loose scree - for each step up you slide 1/2 step back. Nice coming down though. Gaiters are good to keep the scree out of your shoes.

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retired jerry
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Re: Longtime Lurker, First Time Poster

Post by retired jerry » April 12th, 2023, 1:30 pm

another good hike although probably not in Sullivan is Mt St Helens. Pretty much just a walk up like S Sister. You have to get a permit which can be difficult to get.

The view down into the crater on St Helens is great!

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adamschneider
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Re: Longtime Lurker, First Time Poster

Post by adamschneider » April 12th, 2023, 7:54 pm

I'll say it: Mount Defiance is boring. If you want a Gorge hike that kicks your ass, do Table Mountain.

hikeologist
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Re: Longtime Lurker, First Time Poster

Post by hikeologist » April 13th, 2023, 7:29 am

Thank you both for your suggestions!
retired jerry wrote:
April 12th, 2023, 1:30 pm
The view down into the crater on St Helens is great!
Mt St Helens is in Sullivan, kind of surprisingly. But there are actually a solid 10-15 hikes for MSH, including to the rim.
adamschneider wrote:
April 12th, 2023, 7:54 pm
I'll say it: Mount Defiance is boring. If you want a Gorge hike that kicks your ass, do Table Mountain.
And that's good to know about Mount Defiance! There are two routes for Table Mountain in the Field Guide, is one better than the other in your experience?

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Bosterson
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Re: Longtime Lurker, First Time Poster

Post by Bosterson » April 13th, 2023, 6:30 pm

hikeologist wrote:
April 13th, 2023, 7:29 am
adamschneider wrote:
April 12th, 2023, 7:54 pm
I'll say it: Mount Defiance is boring. If you want a Gorge hike that kicks your ass, do Table Mountain.
And that's good to know about Mount Defiance! There are two routes for Table Mountain in the Field Guide, is one better than the other in your experience?
I respectfully disagree with Adam. :D Not that Defiance isn't "boring" (I guess), but there really aren't any other comparable trail hikes in the Gorge if you want to train pure elevation gain. (Aside from, like, doing laps on the Heartbreak Ridge Cutoff on Table Mtn, but ugh.) Realistically, you're not going to achieve fitness by doing only a single hike, so you may want to do both. For best results, you probably will want to mix in longer tallish hikes, like Larch Mountain from Multnomah, and steeper longish hikes, like Nick Eaton ridge out in the direction of Green Point. I would skip the Field Guide and just look at a map to design your own routes. Caltopo is your friend. 8-)

South Sister is longer and taller than Helens, but Helens has more scrambling and routefinding (and lava walking). Realistically, as long as you have plenty of daylight, the best strategy for them is to go slow and steady. It's hard to acclimatize yourself to the air above 8000 ft anywhere around here, and that's where you'll really start feeling the lack of oxygen. You'll want to try to maintain slow and steady breathing and a steady pace where you're not overexerting - that will make all the difference.

Table is one of the great hikes in the Gorge, though I would say the "long" version from Bonneville is a pretty terrible hike - you end up languishing on the PCT walking through a clearcut, and the extra miles don't add any extra value. The shorter (8 mi) version from the Aldrich side is the way to do it, though there are... uh... "issues" with the parking situation over there. But if you go to Table, do the 8 mi version.
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