My hope was to hike through to Paradise Park from Timberline Lodge and go above, off trail to explore the old airplane crash on top of Mississippi Head. From the Head, I would ascend higher to get above the end of the canyon and go cross country over to the ski lifts and descend.
Gorgeous day with several folks gearing up in the parking lot for the beginning of their Timberline treks. I counted a hundred folk on the trails – Timberline and Paradise Park – this day, a far cry from the solitary fellow I ran across on my hike the week before at Badger Lake on the Boundary Trail. In no time, I was crossing the Little Zig Zag Canyon – always easy in the am and much hotter in the pm.
- Little Zig Zag Canyon with the peak beyond
Then comes the real Zig Zag Canyon with the inevitable drop. Mississippi Head loomed over it all as just the first touch of clouds appeared.
- Zig Zag Canyon and my destination - Mississippi Head
Made all the way over to the Park with some flowers still present.
- Looking up Lost Creek in Paradise Park
I wandered over to Split Rock – there always seems to be people camping here
- Girls camping at Split Rock and clouds beginning to swirl
and ascended meadows
and sandy, ashen slopes to the base of the Head
when clouds multiplied and came down.
- White out on the Head
Since the whole purpose of the hike was to see and I didn't want to hike around cliffs in a possible whiteout, I returned the way I came. Back down to Split Rock
- Why is it called Split Rock?
Past the old Paradise Park shelter
- Foundation of the old shelter at Paradise
and back down through flowers
Into Zig Zag Canyon as, of course, the weather above improved.
- The Head begins to clear
Naturally, what goes down must come up and that means Zig Zag Canyon.
- Where are the clouds?
I could look over to the top of the Head and see that I probably could have wandered up above and back to Timberline without too much problem, but there is always another day. By the time I got back to Little Zig Zag Canyon, the weather was now quickly getting better
and by the time I was back to Timberline, there was nary a wisp of a cloud.
Since the hike was to have been a loop and I had made two thirds of the way, that meant a longer day - 14 miles and 3000 feet of elevation gain. Nice pictures, though.
