Hunchback Mountain (Oregon) - Mount Hood

If you follow this blog then you know that I normally write about the Adirondacks. But, visiting family near Portland, Oregon, who could resist the call of Mount Hood. Hood dominates the skyline east of Portland; a single giant peak rising up from the surrounding foothills. Hunchback Mountain is one of those foothills and, in late May, while Mount Hood remains a snowy wonderland, this route promised to be snow free. Best of all, Hunchback Mountain is rated as difficult in local hiking guides, the kind of place few people would go, perfect.

There are unobstructed views of Mount Hood from a point along the trail known as the rock-pile, but Hood was shrouded in clouds when I got there. This is from one of the places along the way where Hood can be seen through the trees.

Looking south, from one of the open viewpoints along the ridge.

A rock outcropping crossed by the trail.

Looking back towards the start of the route. The route I followed covered about five miles, one way, making for a ten mile round trip.

The route climbs 2000 feet in the first two miles, and then bumps along the ridge gaining another 1000 feet to the high point. Numerous ups and downs add to the total elevation gain. In places the ridge line is narrow with steep drop-offs. This not a route for children., or anyone who is fearful of heights.

Steep sections of the ridge line are interspersed with pleasant strolling through a spectacular mature forests.

The "rock-pile"; this viewpoint is marked by a hard-to-spot sign. To see the view, you follow a narrow path up to the base of a pile of large boulders and then scramble up climb up the pile.  Alas, by the time I got there Hood was totally obscured by clouds. In fact, a brief thunderstorm rolled in shortly after I reached this point.

Late May, wildflowers in full bloom everywhere.

The intense greenness of the forest in muted light.

After descending, I took a walk through the old-growth forests along the nearby Salmon River. A second post on that part of the day will follow shortly.

Upper Sargent Pond From Blue Mountain Lake

There are several ways to reach Upper Sargent Pond. The most interesting approach, or at least the longest and least traveled, is from the Castle Rock trail-head near Blue Mountain Lake. This route covers just under five miles, making for a 10 mile round trip. Uppers Sargent is one of three ponds that make up the 'Sargent Ponds' group. Previous posts describe trips to Lower Sargent and Middle Sargent.

Upper Sargent Pond from the far east end of the lake. This is an appealing spot with an attractive camp site near the pond. There is a lean-to on Upper Sargent, but it is not visible from this point. Upper Sargent has an area of 130 acres, but it seems even larger because its' shape isolates the different sections of the pond.

The route to Upper Sargent from Blue Mountain Lake (purple). The Upper Sargent trail starts near the Minnow Brook Conference Center; the same location as the popular loop trail to Castle Rock (yellow).

The Upper Sargent Trail is relatively dry. Which makes it a good route for early spring outings when many trails are wet and muddy.

May 5th, 2019; Trout Lilies (Erythronium american) were in full bloom with many seen along the trail. 

The trail passes through both hardwood and spruce/fir stands and the 2nd half of the route passes through a narrowing valley with steep ridges on both sides. As the route approaches the pond it breaks out onto what looks like a glacial out-wash plain. It's easy to imaging lingering glaciers to the east sending periodic floods over the Sargent Ponds basin and into Raquette Lake.

The trail parallels the complex of beaver meadows and ponds that fill much of the valley between Blue Mountain Lake and the Sargent Ponds.

Also interesting are the areas of heavy blow-down seen along parts of the route. Large numbers of same-aged logs, some of which are larger than almost any of the standing trees, are seen in a few places. These logs are starting to slump into the forest floor, but enough intact logs remain to see that these were large trees. These logs are probably remnants of the July 15, 1995 storm that did heavy damage in parts of the western and central Adirondacks. This trail passes through an area that shows up on the blow-down maps compiled after that storm.

It's difficult to get a photograph that captures the extent of the blow-down, but this picture provides some sense of the state of the logs today.