Tanner Butte fail

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mrblisterdundee
Posts: 31
Joined: April 14th, 2017, 8:24 pm

Tanner Butte fail

Post by mrblisterdundee » May 22nd, 2017, 9:28 pm

After doing Larch Mountain with ease, I decided on Sunday that Tanner Butte would be a nice challenge. I took the route from Wahclella Falls, past Wauna Point. The trail was a pretty quick, uneventful slog until with a mile or two of Tanner Butte, where I realized just how much I had underestimated the snow. The beargrass marking the trail soon disappeared under large drifts, along which I followed the boot tracks of those before me:
Tanner Butte 4.jpg
The trail turned into drifts of snow, along which I followed older boot tracks.
Eventually, I couldn't see any tracks under the foliage on the ground and decided to turn around:
Tanner Butte 1.jpg
I eventually ran out of boot tracks to follow.
I started heading back down, before running into Jack and Laura, two Gorge fanatics with GPS who had been up Tanner Butte before. Jack took out his camera, and I instinctively asked if he was doing a trail report. We built our own rapport, and the couple allowed me to tag along. We made our way past what I think was Beargrass Alley, caught site of the butte and then headed into some thicker forest, where the drifts were up several feet high.
Postholing and trying to stay on top of increasingly slushy, sun-warmed snow drifts in my Merrell Ventilators and gym shorts, I eventually decided to turn around for another day. Jack and Laura, with better boots and hiking pants, soldiered on. On the way back, I caught a nice little view of Mount Hood in between the fir branches:
Tanner Butte 3.jpg
A short break in the trees reveals a nice view of Mount Hood.
Down near a point where I had transitioned from trail to roadbed somewhat randomly coming up, the boot tracks in snow suddenly stopped again. I tried a few different routes, with no luck finding boot tracks. I was getting a bit upset at myself, lost on the trail, my shoes soaking and a large blister forming on my heel. Then good 'ol Jack and Laura came along with their GPS. We hiked back to where they split off for the Eagle Creek Trailhead, and me for Wahclella Falls. In the end, I think I got a healthy 4,000 feet or so in elevation gain. I used NWhiker.com for the trail description, which said 17 miles round trip from Wahclella Falls. With all my backtracking, figure I at least reached that.

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Jack
Posts: 325
Joined: November 22nd, 2011, 3:36 pm

Re: Tanner Butte fail

Post by Jack » May 23rd, 2017, 8:18 pm

Great meeting you up there MrBlister. :) Those were some good sized snowdrifts, alright. Which is why we turned around not that much further up, even with boots. Had about a mile to go, but settled for the lower viewpoint. What a beautiful day!

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mrblisterdundee
Posts: 31
Joined: April 14th, 2017, 8:24 pm

Re: Tanner Butte fail

Post by mrblisterdundee » May 24th, 2017, 7:01 am

Jack wrote:Great meeting you up there MrBlister. :) Those were some good sized snowdrifts, alright. Which is why we turned around not that much further up, even with boots. Had about a mile to go, but settled for the lower viewpoint. What a beautiful day!
It sure was. I ended up going to Mount St. Helens Monday, and trying South Coldwater Lake to Harry's Ridge. But I wussed out again after running into some precariously small-looking steps kicked in along a steep portion of Coldwater Ridge. The snow was all slushy and unstable again from the sun, and the ridge fell at least several hundred feet down to Coldwater Lake. I didn't feel like chancing it, especially by myself.

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sprengers4jc
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Joined: October 22nd, 2013, 11:35 am
Location: Vancouver, WA

Re: Tanner Butte fail

Post by sprengers4jc » May 24th, 2017, 12:14 pm

Nice trip report! Any idea at what elevation the Beargrass started and how long it lasted?
'We travel not to escape life but for life to not escape us.'
-Unknown

JT1
Posts: 6
Joined: May 24th, 2017, 3:00 pm

Re: Tanner Butte fail

Post by JT1 » May 24th, 2017, 3:07 pm

Nice trip report! Any idea at what elevation the Beargrass started and how long it lasted?


The Beargrass starts around 4,000 and lasts for about 1 mile or so. You go on an old roadbed, through the narrow Beargrass, back onto a roadbed and back through more Beargrass.

JT1
Posts: 6
Joined: May 24th, 2017, 3:00 pm

Re: Tanner Butte fail

Post by JT1 » May 24th, 2017, 3:12 pm

I'm so glad to hear I wasn't alone in getting lost. I was the other solo hiker trying to get up to Tanner Butte that day. I turned around shortly after running into the GPS couple and hearing they even wimped out. I was fine coming back on the roadbed but then realized I was totally lost and went into a blind panic. I carry a whistle with me, which I had never used until Sunday. I must have blown my whistle as I stumbled around trying to find the trail for over 10 minutes. It was to no avail because there wasn't another soul within 5 or 6 miles. I finally started back the way I had come hoping to find the roadbed, which I eventually did. As I got to the end of it, I was more careful in watching where I was going to try to stay on the trail. I know the trail very well as I hike it at least once a year if not twice. It sure looks a whole lot different in the snow!

mrblisterdundee
Posts: 31
Joined: April 14th, 2017, 8:24 pm

Re: Tanner Butte fail

Post by mrblisterdundee » May 25th, 2017, 10:48 am

sprengers4jc wrote:Nice trip report! Any idea at what elevation the Beargrass started and how long it lasted?
I would say it started somewhere around 3,500 feet, although I can't be sure because of all the snow.

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