Burnt Lake / Towards Paradise Park / East Zigzag Lookout

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CaptNapalm
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Burnt Lake / Towards Paradise Park / East Zigzag Lookout

Post by CaptNapalm » May 14th, 2016, 6:26 pm

I used this as a basis (http://www.oregonhikers.org/field_guide ... Creek_Hike) but tried to see how far towards Paradise Park I could get before heading back to summit East Zigzag.

Headed out yesterday it was a beautiful day for a hike and a great day to get above the heat. The trail to Burnt Lake was in great shape very easy stead ascent. Lost Creek Falls was very pretty. I wished I could have scrambled down in the canyon for better shots but I was solo hiking and didn't want to risk getting stuck. Burnt Lake was cold and covered in a film of pollen. With my allergies I didn't dare take a quick dip to cool off. Patches of snow were still in the shady spots starting about halfway up the switchbacks towards the junction with the Zigzag trail. As you headed east towards Paradise point the snow wasn't just in the shady spots and was pretty dense. The trail was hard to find at times and after about a mile the footsteps I had been following stopped. I was only wearing shorts so once I dropped though a meadow of snow up to my knee into a creek of meltwater underneath I decided to turn around and finish my trek. The trail and the lookout itself were snow free, just a little clinging to the sides. Trilliums and many other wildflowers were out. Views of Hood, St. Helens, Adams, Rainier, Jefferson, and 3 Fingered Jack from the top. Burnt Lake looks like a neat little camping spot and as a buddy Jim pointed out later stocked with brook trout. Worth a revisit.

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Log of the hike forgot to pause it for my lunch break.

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Small clearing with multiple colors of Trilium.

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View upstream above Lost Creek Falls.

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Another view above Lost Creek Falls slow exposure this time.

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Slow shutter view over the falls.

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One of many creek crossings. Some nice souls made an ad hoc bridge from some downed trees.

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View of Mt. Hood from the path up to East Zigzag Lookout.

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Zoomed view of Mt. Hood and contrails and dust blowing down the canyon.

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Another wide shot of great view of Mt. Hood and the valley below.

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Like an episode of CSI enhance enhance zoom in. Sharpen it! Whoa that's a lot of climbers.

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View of Mt Hood and Burnt Lake below. I hiked around it on the way back down

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Not a great shot through the haze but Jefferson and a tiny little 3 Fingered Jack

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View of Mt Hood from a meadow on the side of Zigzag Mountain.

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View over Burnt Lake towards Mt. Hood.

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Yours truly at my turnaround point.
Last edited by CaptNapalm on May 15th, 2016, 8:13 am, edited 1 time in total.

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retired jerry
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Re: Burnt Lake / Towards Paradise Park / East Zigzag Lookout

Post by retired jerry » May 15th, 2016, 6:32 am

That's like that famous picture of gold rushers on Chilcoot Pass in Alaska :)

Looks like it's about time for my annual trek up there, maybe if there's ever some nice weather again :)

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naturallog
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Re: Burnt Lake / Towards Paradise Park / East Zigzag Lookout

Post by naturallog » May 15th, 2016, 4:35 pm

Beautiful shots of Hood, and so fun zooming in on the climbers. Are they shooting for the Pearly Gates?

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FeeWolf86
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Re: Burnt Lake / Towards Paradise Park / East Zigzag Lookout

Post by FeeWolf86 » May 16th, 2016, 6:30 pm

I've never done this area around Burnt lake and Zig Zag Mt, Looks like i'll be checking it out sooner than lter :D . I love nother more than the forests around Mt Hood so it's a must!

LostTexan
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Re: Burnt Lake / Towards Paradise Park / East Zigzag Lookout

Post by LostTexan » May 17th, 2016, 4:06 pm

Great trip report! What do you think your elevation was at the turnaround point and how deep was the snow?

StormRider
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Re: Burnt Lake / Towards Paradise Park / East Zigzag Lookout

Post by StormRider » May 18th, 2016, 6:41 pm

How was the road getting to the TH? This is one of my favorite hikes, but the massive car sized pot holes is troublesome for my car.

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aiwetir
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Re: Burnt Lake / Towards Paradise Park / East Zigzag Lookout

Post by aiwetir » May 18th, 2016, 6:48 pm

StormRider wrote:How was the road getting to the TH? This is one of my favorite hikes, but the massive car sized pot holes is troublesome for my car.
Yesterday, I drove what could be described as a luxury sedan up there. There's one slick mud hole but nothing a passenger can't handle if you maintain momentum. The washboard hill was worse than the potholes.
- Michael

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retired jerry
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Re: Burnt Lake / Towards Paradise Park / East Zigzag Lookout

Post by retired jerry » May 19th, 2016, 5:18 am

They did maintenance on that road last year. Should be better now. The worst part is maybe lower down towards the beginning.

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-Q-
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Re: Burnt Lake / Towards Paradise Park / East Zigzag Lookout

Post by -Q- » May 19th, 2016, 3:28 pm

retired jerry wrote:They did maintenance on that road last year. Should be better now. The worst part is maybe lower down towards the beginning.
Indeed, the road is great now. Best condition it's been in for years. The big potholes down where the dirt meets pavement have all been filled in. Very impressed with the job they did.

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CaptNapalm
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Re: Burnt Lake / Towards Paradise Park / East Zigzag Lookout

Post by CaptNapalm » May 19th, 2016, 7:53 pm

LostTexan wrote:Great trip report! What do you think your elevation was at the turnaround point and how deep was the snow?
I would guess looking at the topos around 4900 feet. The snow was probably only 18" in most places but some drifts were deeper especially in the slightly more forested portions. Deepest I would guess was around 3-4 feet. There was a crust on it but every so often I would break through and the unpleasant surprise of melt water and streams underneath was unwelcome.

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