This was my second visit to the Elkhorns, and I am now even more convinced that it's absolutely worth the drive from PDX.
Hike: Twin Lakes from Twin Lakes TH
Distance: 4.2 miles one way (from lower trailhead)
Elevation Gain: 2400' (steeper pitches 20%+ below treeline, 10% slope above treeline)
Weather: Mostly Sunny, highs around 65, lows around 45.
Access: The last 3 miles of the road are the worst, and it is marginally navigable with a low-clearance vehicle. But my GTI made it in one piece with no scrapes! The last half mile is not passable to low clearance vehicles whatsoever, and many people choose to park at this lower landing no matter the vehicle. There were maybe 5-6 areas where we had to stop and really chart out a line around ruts and rocks... 2.5 miles took 35 minutes driving in and nearly 50 minutes driving out.
Wildlife: Mountain Goats (many), Pika, Marmots, Mink, Martens, Bats, Osprey, Bald Eagles, and many interesting insects.
Bugs: Surprisingly un-buggy... noticeable in the afternoons but not landing or biting.
Saturday 6/19:
My partner and I departed Hillsboro at 9:00 AM and drove straight through, arriving at the lower trailhead at 3:00 PM.
The trail starts out with a short road walk up toward the official trailhead, and an ATV trail branches off to the right as a shortcut. From the main trailhead, the trail follows abandoned roads for the first 3/4 mile with pitches of up to 25% and then begins to level off and descend slightly over the following 1/2 mile to the crossing of Lake Creek on a single log footbridge. The trail then begins a challenging, rocky climb over the next mile directly alongside Lake Creek at an average 17% grade. At this point the trail reaches the treeline and transitions into a series of moderately-graded switchbacks (10%) for the remaining 1.7 miles to Lower Twin Lake. There is evidence of the former trail below the switchbacks, following the topography steeply up alongside the creek. As we climbed, we raced the sunset/shadow line from the adjacent ridge up the switchbacks, and arrived at the lake just as the sun was dropping behind the ridge (around 7:00 PM).
There were two other groups of two at the lake when we arrived (camped on the east shore and the north shore) so we proceeded to the spot on the northwest corner of the lake adjacent to the inlet stream and set up camp there. A tree had recently fallen through the campsite and the only reasonably flat tent area, but after quite a bit of lifting and dragging we had the site cleared out. It wasn't long before we were joined by a Mountain Goat, but it didn't approach any closer than about 25 yards and we didn't have to shoo it away. The sunset was absolutely gorgeous and we spent the remainder of the evening sitting on the lake shore watching a handful of bats feeding on insects right above the surface of the water.
Sunday 6/20:
After a slow start and coffee, we set out with a day pack up the gentle switchbacks to meet up with the Elkhorn Crest Trail. After spending some time at the trail junction/saddle watching a couple of goats, we continued west toward Rock Creek Butte.
At a saddle just northwest of Upper Twin Lake, the trail crosses from the south side of the ridge to the north side of the ridge. The trail in this area has been carved into the rock (lots of work!) for the next 1/4 mile or so to the saddle on the southeast shoulder of Rock Creek Butte. We navigated around some stubborn snowfields and got enough cell service at the saddle to make calls to our dads for Fathers Day.
We returned to the saddle northwest of Upper Twin Lake and made the decision to embody our inner Mountain Goats and descend directly down to camp instead of following the trail and the long switchbacks down. After lots of crouching and rock-gripping we made it to the shores of Upper Twin Lake, surrounded by talus slopes and the nonstop calls of Pika. It was a doable descent, but not recommended for anybody without off-trail experience like that. There were a couple points where a slip would have been very dangerous. The rest of the day was either spent napping or out floating on the lake, watching groups of Mountain Goats on the high slopes above.
Monday 6/21:
Camp was packed up and we were on the trail at 9:00 AM and arrived back to the car at 10:45 AM. The drive back down the nasty 2.5 miles of road took even longer (less visibility navigating the rocks and ruts downhill, plus a group of ATVs kicked up some fresh, sharp rocks to avoid). We drove back to Hillsboro via Highway 26 (84 just gets so boring) and stopped off at our usual spot, Tiger Town Brewing in Mitchell (definitely recommend) for some burgers and beers to cap off a really nice, chill weekend of backpacking.
Twin Lakes - Elkhorns
Twin Lakes - Elkhorns
instagram: @remyodyssey
Re: Twin Lakes - Elkhorns
Very nice. Way to snag a shot of the pika! How was the bug situation for it being early season?
#pnw #bestlife #bitingflies #favoriteyellowcap #neverdispleased
Re: Twin Lakes - Elkhorns
Barely any nuisance bugs!
We just put on a couple spritzes of bug spray in the afternoons but otherwise it was pretty much bug-free. We could've managed without bug spray entirely, I'm pretty sure.
I think we need a separate thread like the snow level one, and call it '2021 Bug Level' for quick bug reports from places.
instagram: @remyodyssey
- Don Nelsen
- Posts: 4380
- Joined: May 28th, 2008, 10:03 pm
- Location: Vancouver, WA
Re: Twin Lakes - Elkhorns
Great TR and pics, thanks! Nice to know about the bugs and I second the idea about a bug thread.
Interesting geology in your pika photo. I've never been to the Elkhorns, only driven near the area on I84. Your report makes a trip very tempting.
dn
Interesting geology in your pika photo. I've never been to the Elkhorns, only driven near the area on I84. Your report makes a trip very tempting.
dn
"Everything works in the planning stage" - Kelly
"If you don't do it this year, you will be one year older when you do" - Warren Miller
"If you don't do it this year, you will be one year older when you do" - Warren Miller
Re: Twin Lakes - Elkhorns
I was up there a few years ago and encountered this trail running race going on...
https://www.alpinerunning.co/elkhorn-crest
A couple of the runners we encountered had some pretty serious looking sun burn as they were just wearing tank tops.
Running 53 miles with an 11,000 ft elevation gain just does not seem that fun to me.
We did the opposite of what you did for Rock Creek Butte...we went up the short cut and came back on the switchbacks.
https://www.alpinerunning.co/elkhorn-crest
A couple of the runners we encountered had some pretty serious looking sun burn as they were just wearing tank tops.
Running 53 miles with an 11,000 ft elevation gain just does not seem that fun to me.
We did the opposite of what you did for Rock Creek Butte...we went up the short cut and came back on the switchbacks.
- adamschneider
- Posts: 3716
- Joined: May 28th, 2008, 10:02 pm
- Location: SE Portland
- Contact:
Re: Twin Lakes - Elkhorns
Thanks for the info on the road. Sounds like I need to convince one of my Subaru-owning friends to make this trip with me.
Re: Twin Lakes - Elkhorns
Yeah, that road is definitely suited for a Subaru and above. It’s on par with the road to Frazier Trailhead or Breitenbush Lake, in short sections at least. Some ATV riders showed up right after we arrived at the trailhead and gave us some of the most bewildered looks… I guess you don’t expect to see a small hatchback with low profile tires up at the end of a road like that!adamschneider wrote: ↑June 25th, 2021, 12:49 amThanks for the info on the road. Sounds like I need to convince one of my Subaru-owning friends to make this trip with me.
If you do recruit a friend with a vehicle that can handle roads like that, I’d recommend using the Marble Pass TH instead… same destination with half the elevation gain.
instagram: @remyodyssey
- adamschneider
- Posts: 3716
- Joined: May 28th, 2008, 10:02 pm
- Location: SE Portland
- Contact:
Re: Twin Lakes - Elkhorns
I've heard (from locals) that the Marble Pass road is far worse.
Re: Twin Lakes - Elkhorns
The road isn't bad at all if you go in from Anthony Lakes! Another 20 miles of hiking, though. Is there still a mineral feeder near lower Twin Lake? It seems to serve to keep the goats from nibbling on gear.