Vista Ridge to McNeil Point (Sept 23)
Posted: October 7th, 2021, 5:53 pm
It's crunch time for fall hiking up on the mountain! Low snow levels came early this year, and while we'll still likely have some more snow-free hiking in the weeks ahead, this (my favorite!) time of year moves quickly!
Started at the Vista Ridge TH and hiked to McNeil Point via Cairn Basin a couple weeks ago -- fresh snow on the mountain and summer temps, the very best hiking conditions! Some photos from the trip:
Mount Hood from Cairn Basin:
Some big Mountain hemlock that came down in the September 2020 windstorm -- tough to lose these giants after they survived the 2011 Dollar Lake Fire:
Glisan Creek and Mount Hood from just off the McNeil Point trail:
Fall color in one of the hanging valleys along the McNeil Point trail -- look closely and you can see one of the blowdown areas from the September 2020 wind storm at the center of this photo:
Mount Hood and some Whitebark pine skeletons above McNeil Point:
Close-up view of Mount Hood's summit from McNeil Point:
Close-up view of the Sandy Glacier headwall and upper reach of the glacier from McNeil Point:
The Sandy Glacier caves are still intact -- the cave on the left even has an ice arch at the entrance!
I stopped at Lolo Pass on the trip home for some sunset/alpenglow photos -- always a gorgeous view of the mountain from a humble logging road:
...a few minutes later...
This was also my inaugural (and late) first trip with a new 40 liter "summer" pack that's quite a bit lighter than my main day pack -- picked it up on Amazon for $35! It held up nicely and was a noticeable relief for my old bones, as it forced me to edit some of the junk I'd been carrying around in my old 50 liter pack...
-Tom
Started at the Vista Ridge TH and hiked to McNeil Point via Cairn Basin a couple weeks ago -- fresh snow on the mountain and summer temps, the very best hiking conditions! Some photos from the trip:
Mount Hood from Cairn Basin:
Some big Mountain hemlock that came down in the September 2020 windstorm -- tough to lose these giants after they survived the 2011 Dollar Lake Fire:
Glisan Creek and Mount Hood from just off the McNeil Point trail:
Fall color in one of the hanging valleys along the McNeil Point trail -- look closely and you can see one of the blowdown areas from the September 2020 wind storm at the center of this photo:
Mount Hood and some Whitebark pine skeletons above McNeil Point:
Close-up view of Mount Hood's summit from McNeil Point:
Close-up view of the Sandy Glacier headwall and upper reach of the glacier from McNeil Point:
The Sandy Glacier caves are still intact -- the cave on the left even has an ice arch at the entrance!
I stopped at Lolo Pass on the trip home for some sunset/alpenglow photos -- always a gorgeous view of the mountain from a humble logging road:
...a few minutes later...
This was also my inaugural (and late) first trip with a new 40 liter "summer" pack that's quite a bit lighter than my main day pack -- picked it up on Amazon for $35! It held up nicely and was a noticeable relief for my old bones, as it forced me to edit some of the junk I'd been carrying around in my old 50 liter pack...
-Tom