Again, I left Corvallis about 530 AM. I stopped in Springfield for food and gas around 630, and got up hwy 242 to the trailhead by about 830ish. It was a later start than I preferred, but at the same time, without car camping at the trailhead, or missing out on sleep in town, its hard to get there much earlier.
The first mile, mile and a half, is just crossing the lava flow. Its not fast, but its not terrible. The environment feels alien to my verdant valley sensibilities. But once you pop out over by Lava Lake into the forest, the going is pretty quick. I got to South Matthieu lake 100 minutes after I left my car, smiled at the water, then kept trucking. The next couple miles were again, pretty generic. Not bad, but just like sandy dusty rocky trail without much else. The giant gravel cone (google tells me its Yapoah crater) - was about the point where the hike turned interesting. Almost immediately after the cone, you work your way into a magical alpine meadow with vibrant wildflowers, and soft grass. Then you start climbing and climbing, and get great views.
I stopped for a snack around Minnie Scott Spring, wiggled my toes, and then got moving again. The following stretch had some of the best exposure I had seen in a while. Hiking up a ridgeline, being able to look north and see Washington, Jefferson, 3FJ, Hood, Adams all in a line. The wind was very noticeable here, and that was fantastic, as climbing that much elevation definitely warmed me up. The high point was around Opie Dilldock pass - at about 6900 feet, about 1700 ft above the start at hwy 242. The views were great, and as much as I grumbled about having to go up so much, its always worth it. The descent from the pass towards the Obsidian LEA went quickly. But I didn't realize that it was like 2.5 miles more until my midway point, I had mentally assumed it was only another like 1/2 mile, so as it kept going and going, I got frustrated at the thought of backtracking all this, and questioned why I really had to go touch the sign.
But, by the time I got to glacier creek where the trail's meet, I felt so rewarded for my efforts. I washed my feet in the creek, got fresh water. Ate a sandwich. Took some pictures, and laid down for a minute. It was about 1 PM when I got there, so I figured it was about 5 hours in, 5 hours out.
This stretch between Opie and Glacier also had a tremendous wildflower bloom. I think they're lupines, but I am willing to be corrected.
The hike back up to the pass went quicker and easier than I was expecting it would. I didn't feel tired, and I felt excited to be on my way back now. Half of hiking is a mental game to convince myself to not turn back, so by the time I get to turn back, it always feels easier. The trip back was pretty unremarkable and easy. I was back at the meadow with the Scott Lake Trail junction by about 330. I stopped for about 5 minutes to eat some food, and the mosquitoes swarmed. I hadn't noticed them anywhere else on the trip, so I decided I could eat and walk, and thats what I did. The gravely hike up Yapoah was the last real climb and then I knew it was coasting back to the car, so it felt difficult, but really wasn't.
Around 5, I stopped at South Matthieu for a short swim, and cooldown. As I knew if I was there at 445, I would be back at the car before 7, and back home before 10, so the pressure was off. I opted not to take the Matthieu lakes trail, and stayed on the PCT, because I was just in cruising mode and it seemed easier to keep going where I'd been. Hit the lavafield a little after 6, and was back at my car by about 645. Drank some water, swapped my shoes, and got out of there. All in all, the day was about 22 miles.
I like climbing up trails like that though, so if you're that sort of person too, I say yes. But if I had to recommend this hike to someone else, I would say maybe don't do it exactly like I did. I'd say for most people starting at Lava Lake Camp rather than the hwy 242 trailhead, and stop at the top of Opie pass. That would shave ~1 mile of lava hiking off the beginning, and ~2.5 off the end, which would lower the overall mileage from ~22 to 15ish. You'd still get almost all the same views, and you wouldn't have to climb down the pass just to climb back up it at the end, and you'd have 2 fewer miles of carefully picking your steps through rocks.
Gratuitous Pictures Photo Album https://photos.app.goo.gl/sTUa8wT8BJRxox8GA
