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The Bumper

Posted: September 16th, 2022, 6:56 am
by drm
Forecast was for mostly sunny and 60s down low and upper 50s at my destination for this dayhike, done last Wednesday.
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Grassy Hill, a couple miles up Stagman Ridge
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My sunny forecast view, from Stagman Meadow
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there was some nice color starting
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false hellabore turning yellow as I approach Horseshoe Meadow
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More great sunny forecast views from Horseshoe Meadow
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the meadows were soaking wet from condensation, so for the XC for HS Mdw, I followed natures trail - dried creek beds, since that is the route anyway. There were footprints.
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And finally, the fantastic sunny forecast view from The Bumper - the best it got all day
The only sun I got all day was when I got back to the trailhead at the end. I never saw the mountain all day.

Re: The Bumper

Posted: October 1st, 2022, 1:19 am
by Naturebat
I always love this side of the mountain. As photogenic and stunning as the north/northwest and east/southeast sides are, the southwest side has something about it that keeps drawing me back. The fall color seems rather nice in that area too, especially with the open ground after the fire.

Re: The Bumper

Posted: October 1st, 2022, 5:38 am
by retired jerry
open ground after fire - great blueberries above about 5200 feet when I was there

Re: The Bumper

Posted: October 1st, 2022, 5:26 pm
by Chip Down
the meadows were soaking wet from condensation, so for the XC for HS Mdw, I followed natures trail - dried creek beds
You got the last laugh!
Regarding the weather, that was so much better than blazing hot, or rainy. Cloudy and dry is okay.

Re: The Bumper

Posted: October 2nd, 2022, 7:20 am
by drm
Chip Down wrote:
October 1st, 2022, 5:26 pm
Cloudy and dry is okay.
Not when you are hiking to a great viewpoint. And I was soaked from the knees down. Sure, it could have been worse, but I am a faire weather hiker for the most part and being stuck in a cloud bank when I know I am at a great view is "not fair."

Re: The Bumper

Posted: October 2nd, 2022, 8:30 am
by Don Nelsen
I love that area. Too bad you didn't get the views you should have had. I think the bumper is the best spot on the mountain for an overnight camp - given better weather, that is.

dn

Re: The Bumper

Posted: October 2nd, 2022, 9:09 am
by retired jerry
I thought the views from the round-the-mountain-trail on the southwest side were not that great. Trees blocking views, or geography.

Going off trail above sounds like an alternative.

I've done that some, but it sounds like I need to explore more.

Re: The Bumper

Posted: October 2nd, 2022, 10:10 am
by drm
The Bumper is father north than RTM. The mountain has a very broad and broken profile from the RTM trail - it is not as dramatic as elsewhere. The appeal of the farther south SW area is less crowds, better clear water (not silty). That area is very prone to rock slides (note the rotten yellow and green rock above) and most creeks are at some place covered, and that serves to filter the silt out. Early season it is where the snow first melts out.

Re: The Bumper

Posted: October 2nd, 2022, 12:21 pm
by Naturebat
drm wrote:
October 2nd, 2022, 10:10 am
The mountain has a very broad and broken profile from the RTM trail - it is not as dramatic as elsewhere. The appeal of the farther south SW area is less crowds, better clear water (not silty). That area is very prone to rock slides (note the rotten yellow and green rock above) and most creeks are at some place covered, and that serves to filter the silt out.
That’s basically all the main reasons why I love the south-southwest RTM side from about Horseshoe Meadow to midway between the Shorthorn Trail and the South Climb Trail. Going too far southeast to South Climb it starts to get too dusty, gray, and dry. But the section below Avalanche Glacier and even below White Salmon Glacier is quite interesting with how old and broken up/rotten the mountain looks up there, how broad the summit is, the rock slide and avalanche history (and ongoing) in that area, and the interesting yellowish orange rock everywhere. It keeps drawing me back. In many ways, it reminds me of the Emerald Ridge and Glacier Island area on Mt Rainier with the orange rock and active avalanche prone nature. Lack of annoying bugs and more solitude are a plus too, but not the biggest reason I’m drawn back every time.

My favorite trails in that area are Stagman Ridge for the mid July display of a wide variety of wildflowers, the peek a boo views of Adams, and Horseshoe Meadow (and all the off trail possibilities above it in what I call the Cascade Creek Basin).

The other one is the Shorthorn Trail for how easy it is to get into the higher elevations without having to deal with the crowds, bad road, and parking at/to the South Climb TH. The butte near the junction, Point 6227 (or “Shorthorn Butte”) is one of my favorite easy day hike viewpoints to hike. In some ways I like it better than even The Bumper, for the interesting color and geology seen with all the interesting avalanche chutes, yellow-orange moraines, and upper Crofton Creek channels (looks as if Salt Creek breeches it’s bank or something and went down Crofton Creek, though not sure on the history of these channels).

Hiking off trail above the RTM, into the Avalanche Glacier Basin, is also really nice; though hiking up there also concerns me a bit with the recent Avalanche history of that area. Not sure if the risk is significant enough to where it wouldn’t be a good idea, but I remember once fairly recently when the RTM trail was closed because of a possible threat of an avalanche. But it’s still very interesting to explore off trail. That area on the RTM has also been more spared from the Cascade Creek Fire than the more western side on the PCT too, which makes it a lot more pleasant for me.

Re: The Bumper

Posted: October 2nd, 2022, 12:31 pm
by retired jerry
A few years ago I went up Divide Camp Trail, south 1/2 mile on RTMT, then up from there.

Use trail that was as good as any other trail. Nice places to camp. Rockfall all night above. Nice views.