Archer Mountain
From Oregon Hikers Field Guide
- Hikes including this location:
- Archer Mountain Hike (TH | <— —> | LOG)
- Weather forecast: NWS/NOAA
- Maps: Oregon Hikers Maps Google Maps
- Latitude, Longitude: 45.6203, -122.0999
- Elevation: 2020 feet
Description
Archer Mountain is the westernmost of a quartet of similarly formed basalt prominences on the Washington side of the Columbia River Gorge, the others being Hamilton Mountain, Table Mountain, and Greenleaf Peak. All are the result of layers of Columbia River Basalts backflowing up creek valleys. Softer strata between them are now highly eroded into expansive bowls or deep creek valleys.
Archer Mountain is divided between two jurisdictional bodies: the Gifford Pinchot National Forest and the Washington Department of Natural Resources’ Columbia Falls Natural Area Preserve. The preserve, which covers the upper cliffs and reaches of High Valley as well as Archer Falls is off limits to the public, and protects two state threatened plants, four sensitive plant species, the Larch Mountain salamander, and nine endemic plant species. However, Archer Mountain’s summit, the cliffs facing the Columbia River, and the entrance to High Valley are all part of the national forest, and a network of user trails will take you to these destinations.
Archer Mountain was dragged out of obscurity when embers of the 2017 Eagle Creek Fire jumped the river and created the only part of that burn on the Washington side. The rough trail system suffered as a result, but has become more simplified and a little easier to follow. The fire spread just beyond the viewless summit of the mountain.
The prominence was named after Finch R. Archer, an Englishman who was granted title to 178 acres at the foot of the mountain in 1901. Archer homesteaded on the west side of Archer Creek. He had been special agent to Quinault Indian Reservation, and was later appointed as Warden of the infamous McNeil Island Penitentiary in Puget Sound.
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Contributors
- bobcat (creator)