Laura and I stayed overnight at the Fivemile Butte Lookout in Mount Hood National Forest. The image on the left was how it looked when we arrived and on the right was how it looked when we left the next day...
After hustling up forty-one stairs to the lookout and unloading our gear (especially impressive since Laura was nursing a cold and expects to deliver her first child in September), we set out on Eight Mile Trail to explore the vicinity. Our first views were of harvested trees' ghostly stumps peppered amongst surviving trees bearing a spray of fluorescent orange paint to mark its future. Not what one wants to see in the forest. About a mile later, the trail opened up to a vista of the second growth prevalent in this region of Mt. Hood National Forest. For the next mile, we enjoyed the trickling sounds and occasional glimpses of a creek before the trail began its upward climb. Wanting to soak up the sunshine, we meandered along an open slope speckled with manzanita, completing the loop to the lookout.
Around dusk, we noticed ominous clouds moving in from the southwest. For several hours, the view from two sides of the lookout was gray and rainy while the others remained sunny and dry. Shortly after sunset, temperatures dropped below freezing giving way to snow and gale-force winds that shook the lookout. We awoke to a thin blanket of snow cloaking the landscape. Apparently Mount Hood is in denial about the arrival of summer in Oregon.
Since the gale-force winds showed no sign of waning, we sent our gear down via the pulley and bid a bittersweet farewell to the lookout set atop the most blustery ridge in all of Oregon. Both humans and canines look forward to returning when wintry weather is more appropriate in its timing...
Fivemile Butte Lookout would be an ideal destination for a backcountry xc skiing or snowshoeing adventure. Beware of steep steps that become icy when whipped by the wind, especially at night when making your way down to the outhouse :0)
Happy Trekking!
2 comments:
That is the best picture of Max and Emma running! And that lookout looks amazing! Where did you come across it?
The US Forest Service rents several cabins and lookouts. Visit their website for more information: http://www.fs.fed.us/r6/recreation/rentals/
Blogger won't allow me to embed the link in a comment...lame!
Post a Comment