McNeil Point, Oct. 1 08

[Charley]

Hello all,
I visited McNeil Point with a coworker the other day, and here are some photos.

The view of Hood from Bald Mountain:



One of the several tiny lakes on the way up:



Most of the Huckleberries at this high altitude are turning bright red. Lower down, it was a feast of ripe fruit!



My hiking partner identified this as mountain ash, and wondered if we have that down South. Maybe my grandmother can tell me.



A luxurious bed of huckleberry, heather and lupine (maybe some juniper in there):



A view down into the Sandy River watershed. The canyon on the lower left is especially treacherous looking, and I wonder how many people have ever been down in there:



We worked our way up the ridge behind McNeil Point on the "new" rerouted trail:



The 1930's CCC shelter at McNeil Point:



We walked up the ridge above the shelter. The sky was slightly clearing, and Mt. St. Helens came into view above krummholtz:



Up close, Hood shifted from being its normally graceful conical shape to an imposing, dark mass of rotten looking rock and blue tinted ice (the Sandy Glacier on the right):



The high point for me (both literally and figuratively) was stepping onto the Glisan Glacier. Okay, my partner disagreed, thinking this might just be unmelted snow from the winter, but on my map, I saw Glisan Glacier, and was satisfied with that. It's my first time to stand on a glacier! (I've been underneath the Rhone Glacier in Switzerland, but not on top of any).



Thanks for reading, and I hope you enjoyed!
Charley

[retired jerry]

Good to see it's open again.

I think that's Glisan Glacier, although I haven't seen crevases on it or the deep blue ice typical of glaciers.

[Waffle Stomper]

My hiking partner identified this as mountain ash, and wondered if we have that down South. Maybe my grandmother can tell me.

I'm not your grandmother but maybe I can help. I checked the USDA database and they show it is as far south as northern Calif.
http://plants.usda.gov/java/profile?symbol=SOSI2
Great trip report and photos. I'm glad to see the trail is open again.

[Splintercat]

Most definitely a glacier, Charley - you can see the crevasses in this view from Vista Ridge:



For some odd reason, the outflow creek is not named, but I've always just gone with Glisan Creek.

Nice fall preview - great pics!

-Tom

[Splintercat]

BTW, my theory about why the Glisan Glacier manages to survive at that elevation is based on how the White River Glacier manages to be so large on the south-facing side of the mountain: both benefit from blowing snow that accumulates from strong west wind patterns.

In the case of the White River, the snow blows from across the debris fan that the Palmer Glacier is centered on, settling in the White River canyon. In the case of the Glisan, snow is blown up and over Cathedral Ridge from the wide-open Muddy Fork valley and lower Sandy Glacier cirque, settling on the north side of the ridge, out of the main wind pattern. The Glisan is further protected from summer melting by its northern exposure.

Just a theory...

-Tom

[Charley]

Yes, my grandmother reports that we do have the mountain ash down South (I'm originally from the southern Appalachians, born and raised in Chattanooga; my grandparents live in the Pisgah National Forest in North Carolina).

And my grandfather told me that I've been on the Jungfrau Glacier, also in Switzerland. So this wasn't as big a deal as I thought. It was WAY COOL though!!!
Charley

[Charley]

And a fascinating theory, Splintercat. As my hiking partner and I argued about what constitutes a glacier, I wondered if one year's heavy snowfall, persisting into the next year, would be enough to be considered glacial. Being from the South, I'm pretty unversed in the world of the ice.
Charley

[Splintercat]

It's a pretty straightforward distinction, Charley: ice that lasts from one year to the next is an icefield, until it gets to a size and weight in which the ice becomes plastic, and begins to flow. Then it has become a glacier. Crevasses are a telltale sign of a glacier, since they form from the pressures created by flowing. Mount Hood has 12 glaciers, and yes, even the tiny Palmer glacier has a few crevasses that show in dry years!

Tom

[sparklehorse]

Nice report and photos Charley, thanks! That's one of the best hikes on the mountain, IMO. A true classic.

G

[meana39]

Thanks Charley for those wonderful photos. I've not yet ever made it to McNeil Point having never hiked on that side of Mount Hood. It was on my list for this year, but I think it will have to wait until next season. Thanks for sharing, I really want to go now!