Oregon Hikers

This hike was part of an ongoing effort to expand my hiking horizons beyond those old favorites in the Gorge. It was also an opportunity to spend just a little more time in this perfect (but soon to disappear) Fall weather. After leaving the TH at Lolo Pass, and crossing beneath the buzzing high tension powerlines, the trail becomes one of the best examples of the PCT - well graded, easy to follow, and amazingly gradual (more like dead flat compared to the parts of the PCT I've hiked in the High Sierra). It's one of those trails you can just stroll along experiencing the moment, with no worries as to obstacles or navigation. Fall colors were a little more evident here and I was lucky to catch the moon still up. Between the pass and the Lost Lake trail junction there were only a 2-3 places where you could see Hood (and before some low clouds appeared, Mt. Adams) but the views were spectacular. If you go all the way to Buck Peak (16 mi RT) there are bigger views in more directions but I didn't make it that far this time - perhaps on purpose, so I'll have yet another reason/excuse to do even more hiking.

Nice report! That section is surprisingly lonely, too -- and as your photos show, has some nice autumn frames of the mountain. I've hiked to the first viewpoint for that very purpose (the rocky section below Hiyu Mountain).

Since you're exploring that area, there are a couple reports back in the pile somewhere that you might like: Jane did a report on Buck Peak from Lost Lake (still a fairly hefty hike, but shorter than from Lolo) and somebody also reported fairly recently on following the old trail up Hiyu Mountain - a bushwhack in sections, with lots of downed trees, but still easy to follow once you located the trailhead). I'd like to see that one reopened, sometime. The view from the top is among the very best of Mount Hood.

Tom