Rhododendron Ridge runs north-south and separates the Collawash and Clackamas drainages on the southern border of the Mt. Hood National Forest. The area used to see much greater human activity than it does today. Native Americans hunted the meadows and harvested the bountiful berry fields. Then came the trappers and prospectors, followed by the sheep men. A guard station was built at Rho Meadow and lookouts were constructed at either end of the ridge. The Skyline Trail took advantage of the entire ridgeline. Bigfoot
(Simia sasquatchensis) families were sighted and loggers
(Homo sapiens lignor) cut in squares and strips . . . and then, a decade or two ago, all became rather quiet.
Hikers are attracted to the ends of the ridge: Hawk Mountain in the south and Mt. Lowe in the north. The Rho Ridge Trail, about 11 miles in length, connects them, sometimes deviating from the Skyline’s original route. I dropped off my bicycle at the northern trailhead and then drove FR 4670 and then FR 6350 along the east side of the ridge to park at Cachebox Meadow.
Beginning with Cachebox, new trail signs greeted me in several places; the only point unsigned was at the northern trailhead. The trail is designated “multipurpose,” meaning ATVs can use it, but there was no sign that dirt bikes had attempted to leap the 40-50 fallen trees along the route. Other than the windfall, it was a fairly clear tread most of the way.
I hiked up through a bear-grass clearcut, almost immediately getting expansive views to Olallie Butte, Mt. Jefferson, and the other volcanoes lined up to the Three Sisters. I then entered unlogged montane forest and looped around a shady bowl before heading up a creek. I passed a springbox and spout which delivered ice cold refreshment – how I wish this had been at the end of the hike rather than the beginning! Then I came to Round Meadow, blooming right now with shooting stars, marsh-marigolds, and buttercups. I took the side path up to Hawk Mountain, where a 60-foot lookout tower once stood with a magnificent view to Mt. Jefferson. The cabin here remains, all shuttered up.
Back on Rho Ridge, it was a long, undulating jaunt to Graham Pass. At first, I was still in unlogged forest, passing above lush Fawn Meadow and then a massive and magnificent noble fir, the biggest tree on the trail, before entering the first of several clearcuts. There are also several decommissioned logging roads to cross: some of these had still been open to vehicles the last time I hiked this trail many years ago.
Once at Graham Pass, I hiked about 50 yards up FR 4670 and took the trail where it proceeds east of the road. This is the most indistinct part of the route as it runs mostly through a regenerating clearcut. I reached 4670 again and walked up it about 225 yards. Where the old spur road to the Rho Ridge Guard Station peels off to the right, the Rho Ridge Trail heads up to the left. This northern section of the trail is the least traveled and has more debris on it. Some stretches, however, are quite wide and lined with rocks, some of the old Skyline construction. Until the vicinity of Mt. Lowe, the woods are unlogged although there are a couple of windfall corridors.
It is rare that a layperson gets to add to the scientific record, but the Oregon endemic Crater Lake currant
(Ribes erythrocarpum) flourishes between Graham Pass and Mt. Lowe, two counties north of its supposed northern limit (Clackamas County vs. Jefferson County) depicted in the North American Plant Atlas. Summer blooms are coming on in clearings, while early spring blooms, such as trillium and glacier lilies, manifest in cool pockets in the forest. At one point, the trail comes within a few yards of the 4670 road, offering more views, before ascending the clearcut southern slope of Mt. Lowe.
I hiked along the rocky ridgeline getting my first glimpses of Mt. Hood. The summit of Mt. Lowe has more memorabilia of the lookout days than most of these sites, including stone steps, rusting metal sheets, window glass carefully collected and put in cans, and part of the stay cable. A couple of wind shelters face north towards the views over the Collawash. The Cascades, from Mt. Hood to the Sisters, are laid out, but there were some better views north from the spine as I hiked the one mile to the northern trailhead where I had left my bike.
Ironically, rhododendrons are not particularly common on Rho Ridge, but now is the time of their bloom and they were adding color here and there.
Then it was the pedal back. From Mt. Lowe to Graham Pass, it was a short uphill and then a long, freewheeling downhill done in about 25 minutes. From the pass to Cachebox meadow was more of a chore as it was mostly uphill or flat, which was a lot of pedaling on loose gravel.
Distance: 12 miles hiking, 12 miles biking back
Time: 5 hours hiking; 1 ½ hours riding and pushing the bike
You can continue north on the route of the Skyline Trail by heading left on FR 6310 and then making a right above Saddle Springs towards Burnt Granite (I reported on this
now abandoned route last year).
To the south, the trail continues from Cachebox Meadow over Collawash Mountain and then veers east over Bald Butte. I have seen a sign for Bald Butte from the FR 46 Road, but have not been able to dig up any information on this section of trail.
