Wahtum Lake via Ruckel Creek Hike
From Oregon Hikers Field Guide
- Start point: Eagle Creek Trailhead
- End point: Wahtum Lake
- Trail Log: Trail Log
- Hike Type: Out and back
- Distance:
- Elevation gain: 3700 feet
- Difficulty: Difficult
- Seasons: May-October
- Family Friendly: No
- Backpackable: Yes
- Crowded: No
Contents |
Hike Description
The first part of this hike has a couple of alternatives. One option is to park near the Eagle Creek Suspension Bridge. You'll start by heading up the paved campground road for a bit, until you see a sign for Gorge Trail 400. The Gorge Trail climbs to the top of a bluff, then travels next to a protective fence for a ways. At a fork, take the left path downhill. Soon you'll reach the Historic Columbia River Highway Trail. Alternatively, if you can handle the freeway noise, you can park at the main Eagle Creek Campground Entrance and hike directly east on the HCRHT next to the freeway. Beyond the junction mentioned above, the Highway Trail is the roadway of the original Columbia River Highway. This is a chance to live a bit of local history as you walk. It's a short chance though, because soon after the junction, you'll cross the Ruckel Creek Bridge and come to a junction with the Ruckel Creek Trail. If the Highway Trail feels like a city bus, then this is your stop. Get off the bus and head up the trail into the forest.
The Ruckel Creek Trail must get its name from this 100 yards. Soon, you'll come to a switchback and that's the last you'll see of Ruckel Creek. It's also the last water of any kind you'll see for miles, so make sure you're stocked up. From here, you'll switchback up past a power line and farther up the side of a ridge. There are a lot of switchbacks here, but there are peaks of views that promise more. After about a dozen switchbacks, you'll come to a stunning if risky viewpoint. From here, you'll see Mt St Helens, Mt Rainier and Mt Adams, as well as the Columbia River, the Bridge of the Gods and all of the lesser mountains on the Washington side of the Gorge. A little farther up, you'll crest a ridge and have a great view south to Mt Hood.
Above here, you'll enter the first of several hanging meadows. These are steep, open areas that are filled with wildflowers in April and May. The rest of the year, they are largely filled with grass, but they still provide great views. The largest of these meadows is at hike mile 3.1. After this meadow, the trail steepens again and you'll switchback through forest mixed with open rock slopes. After passing the wilderness boundary, you'll pass junctions with two trails, the abandoned Rudolph Spur Trail #405D and the always "unofficial' Ruckel Ridge Trail. Then you'll pass junctions with maintained trails including the Benson Way Trail #405B, the Benson Ruckel Trail #405A and the Benson Spur Trail #405C. After all these junctions, the Ruckel Ridge Trail meets the Pacific Crest Trail #2000.
From here, head south on the Crest Trail. You'll pass another great viewpoint of Mt Hood, and the southern junction of the Benson Way Trail. Soon, there's a junction with the Eagle Benson Trail. The trail alternates between flat areas and gentle grades. You'll pass large open rock area and then enter a 1972 forest fire.
Soon, you'll enter the dense network of trail in the Wahtum Lake area. First you'll come to the junction to Chinidere Mountain. The there's a junction with the Herman Creek Trail. If you have a car or a lift waiting, you can head up the Wahtum Lake Trail to the Wahtum Lake Trailhead.
Alternatively, you can return by one of the other long hikes from Columbia Gorge trailheads to Wahtum Lake. The simplest loop with this hike is the Wahtum Lake via Eagle Creek Hike as both of these start at the same trailhead. Other multi-day loops would be this hike combined with the Wahtum Lake via Pacific Crest Trail Hike and the Wahtum Lake via Herman Creek Hike. This hike could also be a traverse if a car was arranged at the Wahtum Lake Trailhead. From here the Crest Trail loops around Wahtum Lake to a junction with the Wahtum Lake Trail.
Maps
Fees, Regulations, etc.
- Northwest Forest Pass required at the trailhead
Trip Reports
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Related Discussions / Q&A
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Guidebooks that cover this hike
- Day Hike! Columbia Gorge, by Seabury Blair, Jr.
- Afoot and Afield Portland/Vancouver, by Douglas Lorain
- 35 Hiking Trails, Columbia River Gorge, by Don & Roberta Lowe
- Columbia River Gorge, 42 Scenic Hikes, by Don & Roberta Lowe
- Hiking the Columbia River Gorge - 1st and 2nd Editions, by Russ Schneider
- 100 Hikes in Northwest Oregon - 3rd Edition, by William L Sullivan
More Links
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Contributors
- Stevefromdodge (creator)