Ladd Saddle Loop (Sept 5)

[Splintercat]

Opening Image: Ladd Saddle

Some photos from a very quiet day-after-Labor-Day visit to Ladd Saddle -- the gentle gap at the base of Barrett Spur with wide-open views of the Ladd Glacier and Mount Hood. The user trail from Dollar Lake to the saddle is in great shape, and only bit hard to track in a couple of the boulder sections just below the saddle. I opted to leave via the WyEast Basin user trail -- a loose, steep trail that isn't much fun but saves about a mile in getting back to Vista Ridge. Cool and breezy... love that September weather!

Mountain Hemlock gradually dismantling a trail sign...

Mushroom season has begun -- near WyEast Basin:

Looking up the Dollar Lake trail toward Ladd Saddle and Barrett Spur:

Whitebark Pine survivor a but further up the ridge:

Whitebark Pine driftwood being sculpted by wind, sand and ice:

Looking back toward the Vista Ridge Trail from just below the Saddle -- Lost Lake in the distance on the left, Mt. St. Helens on the horizon:

The final ridge section below Ladd Saddle -- Barrett Spur to the left:

A favorite spot for me -- the user trail arriving at Ladd Saddle:

Mount Hood from Ladd Saddle:

Close-up view of the upper Coe (left) and Ladd (center) Glaciers from Ladd Saddle:

Looking across the debris-covered lower end of the Ladd Glacier, hazy Willamette Valley in the distance:

Close-up of the Coe Glacier upper icefall:

Mt. Rainier from Ladd Saddle (Mt. Defiance in the lower left):

My ascent route from below Ladd Saddle -- return not mapped here, but heads down to WyEast Basin to the left of the ice field in the center:

Trip bonus! Picked huckleberries along the Vista Ridge Trail where it passes through the Dollar Lake Burn for breakfast muffins...

I'm planning to add this to the OH Field Guide as a less hardbody alternative to Barrett Spur for old timers like ours truly... about 3,000 elevation gain and 8.5 miles. Plenty challenging for me!

-Tom

[Charley]

Classic trip!
Those blueberry muffins look amazing.

[idoru]

Ah, this just gave me some immense FOMO. I was actually camping at Dollar Lake when you posted this, at that glorious spot south of the lake with the incredible view of Barrett and Hood. My intent was to head up to the saddle for sunset, but I'd rolled my ankle in the Mount Margaret Backcountry ~3 weeks ago and I discovered halfway up Vista Ridge that it still hadn't fully healed. Still managed to make it up high enough above Dollar Lake for a great sunset view with all 3 WA mountains in sight, but my ankle wasn't having any more elevation gain and I called it at ~6200 feet.

Next time, dangit!

[drm]

Just to be clear, Ladd saddle is at the top of the ridge section of Barrett Spur, just before the trail turns left to switchback up to that rocky point?

BTW, at the top of my screen, I am getting:
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[bobcat]

Nice day, Tom!

Ladd Saddle is in the FG as the Barrett Spur Viewpoint as part of the Barrett Spur Add-on Hike:

https://www.oregonhikers.org/field_guid ... _Viewpoint

[Splintercat]

Dean, yes -- it's the spot where the fairly decent footpath reaches a saddle between the main hulk of Barrett Spur and a rounded rise to the west (with several climbers windbreaks up there). From the saddle, the rest of Cooper Spur is more of a scramble, so thus the differentiation. I'm doing less of that kind of thing solo these days... trying to stay off the local news.

John, I might update that to differentiate -- I'll consult with you first. Thanks for flagging that!

Tom