Hike Without a Car: Mt. Hood Express (MHX) Bus to Timberline

[OneSpeed]

I am new to this MHX bus experience, though I've known about it for a while. Wednesday was a great forecast on the mountain with tons of fresh snow, but I hate driving on showy roads. (I grew up in Tennessee and have literally never put chains on a tire!) So I took the bus to Timberline for a lovely snowshoe.

Seems a really good option, and in this blog post I mapped out some other hiking / snowshoeing options one could do with it. It's a little goofy with Covid-limited capacity, and I assume it's crazy on weekends. But I found it great to read on the way up, not get out at chain-up time, and then nap on the way back!

I wasn't able to find a lot of detail about the experience, so I wrote it up myself. I'd love other hike-without-a-car suggestions.

Next up -- and eventually for the new edition of my book -- will be "hiking without a car" in the city, the Gorge, at the coast and down south. I just realized last night there's a Eugene city bus to the McKenzie River Trail, and from there you can hike to the PCT!

Here's the bus in Sandy where I got on it:

[bobcat]

Your blog post is very useful although a mite discouraging when the possibility of a long wait is in the cards.

I updated this Field Guide page in 2017, but of course it needs updating again. It might give you some ideas, though:

https://www.oregonhikers.org/field_guid ... sportation

[OneSpeed]

Your blog post is very useful although a mite discouraging when the possibility of a long wait is in the cards.

I updated this Field Guide page in 2017, but of course it needs updating again. It might give you some ideas, though:

https://www.oregonhikers.org/field_guid ... sportation

Thanks! I didn’t realize that page existed. I’m more than happy to “donate” whatever detailed ideas I come up with.

[teachpdx]

The bus to Mt. Hood is pretty great, outside of the extremely limiting current Covid capacity caps. I've used it primarily for one-way solo hikes... because it's hard to drive two cars as one person! Here are a few of the one-ways I have done with the MHX:

From Timberline Lodge, to Paradise Park and then out the entire length of the Zigzag Mountain trail, catching the bus for return from Rhododendron (it's a long day hike, or a great backpack with nights at Paradise Park and Cast Lake).
Alternative: park at Castle Creek TH, ride MHX from Rhododendron to Timberline, and then you don't have to time your return to a bus.

Drop off at Camp Creek CG (it's not an official stop but I asked nicely), up the Still Creek and Cool Creek trails to Devil's Peak, back along Hunchback Mountain to the stop on Salmon River Road.
*Don't count on the driver letting you off away from an official stop. Ask before Rhododendron... if they won't, then alight at Rhododendron and it'll add ~2.5 miles.

Timberline Lodge south on the PCT, connecting to Jackpot Meadows trail and back out the Salmon River trail, completing either via a couple miles on the road as you mentioned, or up along Hunchback Mountain with no road walking (but a lot more elevation gain).

This is a great and thorough blog post, just one thing... Gresham TC is the second to last stop on the Blue Line.

[OneSpeed]

This is a great and thorough blog post, just one thing... Gresham TC is the second to last stop on the Blue Line.

Thanks. And thanks for all those suggestions!