Mass Transit and Timberline Trail (impromptu)

This forum is used to share your experiences out on the trails.
Post Reply
JBG
Posts: 32
Joined: June 21st, 2021, 7:01 pm

Mass Transit and Timberline Trail (impromptu)

Post by JBG » August 14th, 2022, 8:27 am

I took an extra day for the weekend and thought I would put mass transit to the test. I live in McMinnville, and I want to hike around Mt Hood with some regularity, but with gas prices, I thought I would at least give mass transit a try.

I left around 6:30 AM to drive to the Hillsboro transit center (about 45 min). The Max took me to Gresham TC (no transfer for me). There is a bus called the SAM that goes from Gresham to Sandy TC about every 30 min. I got the 9:30 which got me there by 9:55. Unfortunately the Mt Hood Express is about every 2 hrs. So I had to wait for about an hour and a half and got some brunch. The Mt Hood Express left right at 11:25 and takes about an hour, though there were a few mountain bikers that slow things down. I got to Timberline by 12:40.

If I had timed it better I might have not had such a long wait in Sandy. The thing to be aware of if you are doing this is that the SAM buses and the Mt Hood Express are on a radio channel. If you let the driver know that you are going to make the connection they will radio ahead and let them know about the transfer, and they will wait a few minutes if the bus is delayed. Also – bring exact change.

Max: $2.50
SAM: $1
MHE: $2

My plan was just to hike and see how far I got with my 2 nights out. I’m bringing my niece next week to go to Paradise Park, spend the night, and then hike down to Ramona Falls for a pick up the next morning. She’s 12 and it’s her second backpacking trip ever.

I left Timberline around 1 PM. The weather was great. Zigzag is a short wade. No dry crossing this year there. I got to Paradise Park around 3 PM. It was beautiful, but not quite peak. The bear grass is still green, so it should be amazing next week. There were surprising few campers, even for a Thursday. Only a handful of tents, scattered here and there.
IMG_20220811_145318.jpg
The day was young so I decided to hike to Ramona Falls and camp. The Sandy has two logs across it right straight out from the trail. Much easier than the single log a little down stream.

Spent a quiet evening at Ramona. Again, only a few campers. I got up early Friday and decided to go ahead and do the whole loop, or at least get to Cloud Cap. One of the logs across Muddy Fork has fallen. I thought I remember it being there last year. Not a big deal but you have to be a little more careful. The climb up to Cairn Basin and on was beautiful if taxing. I made decent time and got to Cloud Cap by about 3:30, pretty tired.
IMG_20220812_071727.jpg
The Coe was tricky – full and rushing. No obvious crossing and I got pretty wet and banged my shin. Maybe I missed something or got deceived by the group just ahead of me. There is sometimes I jump across the falls at the trail, but that was a definite no go.

The Elliot is a rock jump (not hop) across three big rocks (one is red). I ended up kind of frogging the last rock – going hands first and then bringing my legs underneath me. It was about 3 in the afternoon and I didn’t really want to wade. It is also a little easier going CW because of the how the rocks are. The scree slope going CW is pretty sketchy. There is a small cairn before the trail ends that leads to a decently marked way down – but no trail. Make sure you go one at a time and no one is coming down behind you and sending rocks on your head.

Cairn basin and Elk Cove were gorgeous. I wanted to get done and didn’t feel like the climber trail up to MacNeil point, but I assume it was amazing as always.
IMG_20220812_095157.jpg
Beautiful dawn Saturday at Cloud Cap. The camp was busy and a bit noisy. I hadn’t stayed here before – always at Tilly Jane, but the water spigot was too great a temptation. Got going on the climb to the top of the trail. There are some ice fields. Nothing crazy. They were pretty dirty and gritty so I didn’t feel the need for spikes. Only two would have ended in certain death if you didn’t stop a slide. Didn’t there use to be a sign at the top of the trail? I looked around and couldn’t find one, just the giant cairn.
IMG_20220813_073823.jpg
Gnarl ridge is amazing as ever. Got wet at Heather because there was no way across. At Newton there is a log bridge made up of several logs. It’s a bit upstream from the trail. It was the only one I thought of taking a picture at, since it’s a little hard to see behind a big boulder. The White is a pick-your-own-rock-hop and try to climb out of the scree-canyon.
IMG_20220813_093028.jpg
And then there is the 1000 foot climb in beach sand to get back (ugh). Made it to Timberline by about 1:45, easily an hour ahead of the 2:45 bus back to Sandy for my pickup. No Gluten Free beer at Timberline, so I had a G&T to cap off the adventure.

The trail wasn’t terribly crowded, certainly not like some of hiking up there last year. There is still a full, strong flow from the long spring. Bugs weren’t too bad, but I treat my clothes with permethrin and they never bothered me.

Should be a great trip over the next couple of weeks, and I hope we have good weather through the end of September. It would be lovely to do it again.
IMG_20220812_152050.jpg

User avatar
retired jerry
Posts: 14396
Joined: May 28th, 2008, 10:03 pm

Re: Mass Transit and Timberline Trail (impromptu)

Post by retired jerry » August 14th, 2022, 1:31 pm

Nice! Thanks for the report. First Mt Hood trip I've seen this year.

That's not too bad with the mass transit. $5.50 each way is good. A lot cheaper than fixing your car if it got damaged.

I think waiting a couple weeks for bugs to subside and the stream flow to lessen might be good.

JBG
Posts: 32
Joined: June 21st, 2021, 7:01 pm

Re: Mass Transit and Timberline Trail (impromptu)

Post by JBG » August 16th, 2022, 4:38 pm

It's really quite a deal if you have the time. Definitely considering timing the Mt Hood Express next time if we can find a place to park in Sandy for the future. Mass transit is trickier on Sunday, so if you are a Fri-Sun hiker it might be more challenging.

I'd like to do it again in September, maybe in the middle before the rain comes, or if there's a clear couple of days. The streams should be a little less intimidating and I imagine the snow fields will be largely gone.

User avatar
retired jerry
Posts: 14396
Joined: May 28th, 2008, 10:03 pm

Re: Mass Transit and Timberline Trail (impromptu)

Post by retired jerry » August 17th, 2022, 5:48 am

Yeah, less stream flow in September. And fewer mosquitoes.

It can rain though. One year someone drowned in the Sandy after 4 days of heavy rain. Look at weather reports.

Post Reply