Revision as of 10:54, 10 February 2007

Bluff Mountain and Little Baldy along the Chinook Tail (photo courtesy Don Nelsen)

Bluff Mountain (photo courtesy David Koskamp)

Bluff Mountain bluffs - St. Helens in the distance (photo courtesy David Koskamp)

• Hikes to this location:
  • Silver Star via Bluff Mountain Hike   (TH | <—   —> | LOG)
• Weather forecast: NWS/NOAA
• Maps: Oregon Hikers Maps Google Maps
• Latitude, Longitude: 45.74228, -122.19107
• Elevation: 3928'

Description

Bluff Mountain is a partially exposed peak near Silver Star Mountain in the Gifford Pinchot National Forest in Southwest Washington. It's named for the bluffs on its southern face - hidden to most hikers in the area. There is no 'trail' per se to the top of Bluff Mountain, but the areas surrounding it are so exposed and offer such great views on their own, that summiting Bluff Mountain itself could be left to the peak-baggers and list-crossers. On a clear day you'll see Mount Saint Helens and Rainier to the North, Mount Adams to the East, Hood to the Southeast and a hint of Mount Jefferson, seemingly directly south.

In the spring, this whole area is abundant with wildflowers, and especially rich in beargrass blooms if you get your timing right! Look for huckleberries all over this mountain in the early Fall.

This whole area is sometimes referred to as the Yacolt Burn, after devastating wildfire in 1902, whose intense heat left little remains. Trees have struggled to return now over a hundred years later.

The Chinook Trail organization has incorporated a number of trails in the area, with the eventual hope of connecting points west, like Lucia Falls and beyond to Lake Vancouver, with points east on the Columbia Gorge, including Three Corner Rock, Table Mountain and as far east as Coyote Wall. Some of the plans got stalled in red-tape when the USGS refused trail building in a seven mile stretch near the Washougal River in Skamania County.

Bluff Mountain is not really a destination of it's own. Your planning should include the aforementioned Silver Star Mt. and Little Baldy. You could also include a light bushwhack to the Silver Star Indian Pits, and if you still have energy, make a loop around Pyramid Rock and Sturgeon Rock. There is at least one good campsite just west, below the Silver Star summit, huddled in a rare forested section.

Trip Reports

• Silver Star Mountain via Bluff Mountain Trail 6/24/06

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Related Conversations / Q&A

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More Links

• Don Nelsen's Bluff Mountain Page on SummitPost
• Chinook Trail page on SummitPost
• Chinook Trail association
• Adam Schneider: wildflower photos

Page Contributors

• user:jeffstatt (primary)