Elk meadows to elk mt.- bluegrass ridge

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El jefe
Posts: 3
Joined: October 22nd, 2016, 10:07 am
Location: se portland

Elk meadows to elk mt.- bluegrass ridge

Post by El jefe » June 26th, 2017, 9:45 am

Tried to take the trail to Elk Mt. from the meadows yesterday but it was hidden by snow from the get-go. We went up the Bluegrass Ridge trail instead, as it passes through an exposed burn and the snow is long gone. Calling it a trail is a misnomer, as it soon disappeared and we ended up bushwhacking and following game trails up to the ridge. Not too hard to do, and pretty much impossible to get lost, but a lot of downed trees to climb over. Beautiful warm day up there & fantastic views of the mountains (Sisters to Rainier) from the ridge, and really not many people on the Elk Meadows trail. No one up on the ridge.
Attachments
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Up on the ridge
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Mt. Hood from the ridge

brentygoat
Posts: 1
Joined: June 26th, 2017, 8:13 pm

Re: Elk meadows to elk mt.- bluegrass ridge

Post by brentygoat » June 26th, 2017, 8:16 pm

Thanks for the update...was there still much snow at Elk Meadow?

El jefe
Posts: 3
Joined: October 22nd, 2016, 10:07 am
Location: se portland

Re: Elk meadows to elk mt.- bluegrass ridge

Post by El jefe » June 29th, 2017, 6:14 pm

The meadow was all clear of snow. Maybe a tiny bit in the shadows.

[email protected]
Posts: 14
Joined: March 31st, 2009, 8:43 am

Re: Elk meadows to elk mt.- bluegrass ridge

Post by [email protected] » July 2nd, 2017, 1:45 pm

Do you have photos of theNewton Creek crossing. I keep hoping for a big log!!

TodF
Posts: 90
Joined: August 25th, 2013, 1:20 pm

Re: Elk meadows to elk mt.- bluegrass ridge

Post by TodF » July 3rd, 2017, 5:38 am

Wow - it is melting fast up there. I did the loop from elk meadows to elk mountain yesterday (7/2). I went the same way, up the steep trail in the burn (lots of blowdown!), but I came down on the west side where the OP was deterred by snow. The only snow was in areas shaded by trees – the exposed ridge (such as, I think, the OP's picture) is completely thawed. There was some snow at the top of Elk Mtn, but not a lot. The top of the trail down the NW side had a number of snowbanks over the trail – I got about a hundred feet off the trail at one point and had to use my GPS to get back on track, and keep in mind that this was the first time I ever did this trail – but the only issue was navigation, not hiking difficulty, and the section with snow was maybe 1/8 mile (?). The bottom 3/4 of the trail back down to Elk Meadows was totally open. I took shoe spikes, but never considered putting them on.

TodF
Posts: 90
Joined: August 25th, 2013, 1:20 pm

Re: Elk meadows to elk mt.- bluegrass ridge

Post by TodF » July 3rd, 2017, 5:40 am

[email protected] wrote:Do you have photos of theNewton Creek crossing. I keep hoping for a big log!!
If you go upstream from the usual crossing area, there is a big log with some smaller logs beside it. Very easy crossing. Here is a GPS track from the crossing area from our hike yesterday:
Newton Creek crossing.jpg
BTW, pay close attention to the rock cairns marking the trail from the creek, or pay attention to your GPS. The entrance to the trail is buried behind tall bushes, and tricky to find, at least it was for us. This area looks really different to me year to year. Or maybe it's just my increasingly bad memory!
Last edited by TodF on July 3rd, 2017, 6:02 am, edited 1 time in total.

TodF
Posts: 90
Joined: August 25th, 2013, 1:20 pm

Re: Elk meadows to elk mt.- bluegrass ridge

Post by TodF » July 3rd, 2017, 5:45 am

El jefe wrote:Beautiful warm day up there & fantastic views of the mountains (Sisters to Rainier) from the ridge
I will add, for first-timers like myself, that the sign on the top of the ridge that says "Elk Mountain Vista" is misleading. There is no view on the top of Elk Mountain - it is all trees. The view from the ridge, where the trees have all been burned, is the good one. Take your time and take it in there, because you won't get it on Elk Mountain.

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