{"id":39187,"date":"2022-06-17T08:10:54","date_gmt":"2022-06-17T14:10:54","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/adventuresoflupe.com\/?p=39187"},"modified":"2022-07-17T21:31:02","modified_gmt":"2022-07-18T03:31:02","slug":"lookout-mountain-cascade-range-oregon-8-25-21","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/adventuresoflupe.com\/?p=39187","title":{"rendered":"Lookout Mountain, Cascade Range, Oregon (8-25-21)"},"content":{"rendered":"

Day 20 of Lupe’s 3rd Summer of 2021 Dingo Vacation to the West Coast!<\/em><\/p>\n

Mid-morning, Hwy 35, 40+ miles S of Hood River<\/em> –<\/p>\n

There’s a campground sign, SPHP!<\/em><\/p>\n

Sherwood!\u00a0 Good eye, Loop!\u00a0 Should be a L turn coming up pretty soon.<\/em><\/p>\n

The turn onto USFS Road No. 44 came 1.5 miles S of the campground.\u00a0 No. 44 was a good road, paved even, as it climbed steeply NNE.\u00a0 The road snaked around some before the rate of ascent began to abate.\u00a0 After 3.5 miles, No. 44 topped out on a broad ridge.\u00a0 The RAV4 was heading SE when a side road appeared on the R.<\/p>\n

No. 4410, that’s what we want, Looper!<\/em><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
Start of USFS Road No. 4410 where it leaves No. 44. Photo looks SSW.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

USFS Road No. 4410 was decent, too.\u00a0 Not paved, but good, firm gravel.\u00a0 Climbing all the way, but not as steeply as No. 44 had, No. 4410 headed S.\u00a0 A few potholes and some washboardy sections, but any vehicle could do this.\u00a0 Most of the route was forested, but after 4.5 miles, No. 4410 came to a line of boulders in front of a field.<\/p>\n

Hmm.\u00a0 This might be it, Loop.\u00a0 Maybe we ought to look for a trail?<\/em><\/p>\n

Unmarked, a lesser road ran E\/W in front of the boulders.\u00a0 Turning E (L), SPHP drove 200 feet to the edge of the trees, discovering a small parking area big enough for 2 or 3 vehicles on the L.\u00a0 SPHP parked the RAV4, and Lupe returned to the field.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
Parked at a pullout along USFS Road No. 4420. Photo looks N.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"\"<\/a>
The field at the S end of USFS Road No. 4410. Photo looks SE.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

No signs.\u00a0 No trail heading across the field.<\/p>\n

Huh.\u00a0 Lookout Mountain<\/span><\/a> (6,525 ft.)<\/span><\/strong> is less than a mile SE, Loopster.\u00a0 Easy terrain!\u00a0 Guess we can try just heading SE into the forest, if we want to, but let’s walk farther E along the road first.\u00a0 I think there’s supposed to be an actual High Prairie trailhead somewhere around here.<\/em><\/p>\n

600 feet E of the RAV4, there was a trailhead!\u00a0 Vacant at the moment, but parking for a good dozen vehicles.\u00a0 Posted information included a trail map.\u00a0 There was even an outhouse.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
High Prairie trailhead display.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"\"<\/a>
Posted map.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

10:02 AM, High Prairie trailhead –<\/em>\u00a0 On the S side of the road (USFS Road No. 4420), <\/em>directly across from the trailhead, High Prairie Trail No. 493 took off bound for Lookout Mountain as a wide, smooth, apparently well-traveled path.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
Start of High Prairie Trail No. 493. Photo looks SSW.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Lupe had barely gotten started, when the trail divided.\u00a0 The wide path went straight ahead, crossing a meadow.\u00a0 A less-frequented single track trail angled off toward the forest to the SW.\u00a0 Sticking with the wide path, Lupe followed it S a little way before it began trending SE.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
At the nearly instantaneous divide. Photo looks SSW.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"\"<\/a>
Signage at the fork.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The E half of the Trail No. 493 loop sometimes went through forest, but Lupe enjoyed long stretches of meadow, too.\u00a0 Even SPHP was making great progress, since the trail gained elevation quite slowly.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
In the forest. Photo looks SSW.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"\"<\/a>
Crossing a meadow. Photo looks S.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

After the last meadow, the rate of ascent increased as High Prairie Trail No. 493 turned SW, re-entering the forest.\u00a0 Lupe eventually emerged at a clearing of sparsely-vegetated red dirt.\u00a0 No. 493 curved sharply E here.\u00a0 SPHP noticed a path continuing SW from this turn, likely connecting to the less-traveled W half of the loop.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
At the red dirt curve. Photo looks SW.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Beyond the red dirt curve, Loopster traveled through a long stretch of forest.\u00a0 She got all the way to the E end of the mountain, where a smoky view of a huge expanse of much lower territory was on display in that direction.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
Back in the forest. Photo looks E.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

High Prairie Trail No. 493 reversed direction again.\u00a0 Still in the forest, Lupe was climbing faster now as she followed the trail SW.\u00a0 She didn’t have all that far to go this time, though, before the trail exited the forest at a saddle where a small hill was immediately to the W.\u00a0 Two weathered wooden signs were attached to a post.<\/p>\n

The gist of it all was that Lupe had reached a junction with Trail No. 458, which went either E or W from here.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
Approaching the small hill. The junction with Trail No. 458 (L) is just around the next bend. Photo looks W.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"\"<\/a>
At the junction with Trail No. 458. Photo looks WSW.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"\"<\/a>
Trail No. 458 went either E to Fret Creek Trail No. 456, or W to Gumjuwac Trail No. 480.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"\"<\/a>
The other choice, of course, was back to the E half of the High Prairie Trail No. 493 loop, which Lupe had just come up.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

By now, Lupe was already very close to the top of Lookout Mountain, which was just E of the saddle.\u00a0 Taking Trail No. 458 E, the Carolina Dog ventured out onto an open slope dotted with gnarled, windswept trees, many of which were dead.\u00a0 The first part of this short climb was the only steepish part of the entire ascent.<\/p>\n

Curling up Lookout Mountain’s upper S slope, Trail No. 458 ultimately reached the summit from the E.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
Trail No. 458 along Lookout Mountain’s upper S slope<\/strong>. Photo looks ESE.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"\"<\/a>
Near the top. Trail No. 458 goes up at far R. Photo looks N.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

10:49 AM, 65\u00baF, Lookout Mountain<\/span><\/a> (6,525 ft.)<\/span><\/strong> <\/em>– Crumbling remnants of an old lookout’s foundation greeted Lupe as she arrived up on a barren plateau.\u00a0 The E end of Lookout Mountain’s summit region was higher and larger than the W end, which narrowed as it slanted down a bit.<\/p>\n

Would have been a clear day, if not for the smoke of distant wildfires permeating the air in all directions.\u00a0 Panoramic views to the S and E were badly marred by the haze, but maybe that didn’t matter so much, since all the territory off that way was much lower.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
Lookout Mountain summit<\/strong>. Photo looks SSW.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"\"<\/a>
Another mountain climbed! Maybe I’ll get a chocolate coconut bar?<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"\"<\/a>
At the true summit<\/strong>. Photo looks ENE.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Not as smoky to the N or W, but a line of trees obscured the views to the N.\u00a0 Somewhat smokier to the SW, but not too bad.\u00a0 The views were more interesting in that direction, too, because the mountains were higher.\u00a0 Not as high as Lookout Mountain, but higher than the lowlands S and E.<\/p>\n

From some rock formations along the S edge of the summit region, Lupe could see Badger Lake tucked down between Badger Butte<\/span><\/a> (5,981 ft.)<\/span><\/strong>, Gunsight Butte<\/span><\/a> (5,916 ft.)<\/span><\/strong>, and a few other nearby peaks, but the little lake wasn’t too impressive.\u00a0 Looked like a pond from here.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
Badger Butte<\/strong> (L) and Gunsight Butte<\/strong> (R) with Badger Lake<\/strong> between them. Photo looks SW.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"\"<\/a>
Same view with help from the telephoto lens. Badger Butte<\/strong> (far L), Badger Lake<\/strong> (L), and Gunsight Butte<\/strong> (R of Center). Photo looks SW.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Yes, yes!\u00a0 But none of that matters, SPHP!\u00a0 What about the real reason for coming to Lookout Mountain?<\/em><\/p>\n

I was getting to that, Loopster.<\/em><\/p>\n

Taking your sweet time about it, SPHP!<\/em><\/p>\n

Sometimes it’s good to save the best for last, Loop.<\/em><\/p>\n

Well, there’s some real icing on this cake, SPHP!\u00a0 Time for dessert.\u00a0 If this view of Mount Hood<\/span><\/a> (11,239 ft.)<\/span><\/strong> isn’t impressive, I don’t know what is!<\/em><\/p>\n

Ahh, yes!\u00a0 Off to the WNW, only slightly marred by smoke, was a grand view of Oregon’s state high point, the mighty volcano, Mount Hood!<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
Mount Hood<\/strong> (R) from Lookout Mountain<\/strong>. Photo looks WNW.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"\"<\/a>
Magnificent!<\/em> Mount Hood<\/strong> with help from the telephoto lens.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"\"<\/a>
Zoomed in some more. Photo looks WNW.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

SPHP congratulated the Carolina Dog on her successful ascent, shaking her paw, and splitting a chocolate coconut bar with her.\u00a0 A chipmunk provided entertainment as it scrambled on rock formations along the S rim of the summit.\u00a0 Lupe scrambled up to a neat vantage point, too.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
Dingo on the rocks! Badger Butte<\/strong> (R), Badger Lake<\/strong> (far R). Photo looks S.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"\"<\/a>
Mount Hood<\/strong> from a bit down the S slope. Photo looks WNW.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Lupe hadn’t seen anyone on the way to Lookout Mountain, and no one had been here when she arrived at the summit.\u00a0 However, company soon appeared.\u00a0 After that, a steady stream of people and dogs came and went.\u00a0 Nothing major, but Loop never had the summit to herself again.<\/p>\n

40 minutes after arriving, with half a dozen people up here, and a long way to go today, SPHP called it good.\u00a0 Lupe left Lookout Mountain, but this wasn’t quite the last she’d see of that dazzling view of Mount Hood.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
Heading down trail No. 458. Photo looks WNW.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Might as well do the W end of the High Prairie Trail No. 493 loop!\u00a0 Much of it ran along the W side of Lookout Mountain where SPHP expected Lupe might have a fabulous view of Mount Hood most of the way back.<\/p>\n

At the saddle trail junction near the little hill just W of the summit, Lupe stuck with Trail No. 458, continuing W.\u00a0 This gave her the opportunity to climb the little hill, where she could gaze back at Lookout Mountain.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
Heading W on Trail No. 458. Photo looks SW.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"\"<\/a>
Lookout Mountain<\/strong> (L) from the little hill W of the saddle. Photo looks E.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Traveling along a fairly flat ridge, Trail No. 458 got Lupe out to the W edge of Lookout Mountain.\u00a0 No sign of the expected junction with the W half of the High Prairie Trail No. 493 loop.\u00a0 A path that looked promising as it started N completely faded away, and couldn’t have been it.<\/p>\n

No matter, it had been worth coming this way!\u00a0 A small rock formation along the W edge provided a terrific view of Mount Hood.\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

From here, Trail No. 458 curved S and started steeply downhill, which didn’t seem promising at all given the lay of the land.\u00a0 If SPHP had only checked the topo map, that actually was the way to go.\u00a0 Lupe wasn’t far from the junction with No. 493.<\/p>\n

But SPHP didn’t look at the map.\u00a0 After admiring the exquisite view of Mount Hood, the American Dingo retreated back E along Trail No. 458 to the junction with the E half of the High Prairie Trail No. 493 loop, then started down the way she’d come up.<\/p>\n

At the red dirt bend, Loopster made another attempt to find the W half of the Trail No. 493 loop.\u00a0 The side trail going SW that SPHP had spotted earlier on led almost immediately right to it.<\/p>\n

As expected, the W half of the High Prairie Trail No. 493 loop followed the W edge of the mountain.\u00a0 However, anticipated glorious views of Mount Hood along this route did not materialize.\u00a0 For what seemed like a long way, Lupe trotted NW through dense forest.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
Heading down the W half of High Prairie Loop Trail No. 493. Photo looks NW.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The trail went NW so far, and lost so much elevation, that SPHP began to worry that a turn had been missed.\u00a0 However, a sign close to where the trail finally turned NE confirmed that Lupe was still on track.\u00a0 Going NE, the trail was nearly level, and soon left the forest.<\/p>\n

Lupe never did make it back to the official High Prairie trailhead.\u00a0 While crossing a sunny clearing, SPHP spotted the RAV4.\u00a0 Abandoning the trail, the Carolina Dog went N right to it.\u00a0 (12:33 PM, 67\u00baF)<\/em><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
Near the end. Photo looks NE.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Although the fantastic view of Mount Hood had without a doubt been the highlight of Lupe’s visit to Lookout Mountain, it hadn’t really been the only view of importance.\u00a0 All the smoke visible to the S had been a real concern, since the plan was to head that way, climbing more peaks along the spine of the Cascades.<\/p>\n

As SPHP drove S, precisely as Lupe had seen from Lookout Mountain, Oregon was full of smoke.\u00a0 By evening, Loopster was W of Bend, way up where she should have had a great view of Mount Bachelor<\/span><\/a> (9,065 ft.)<\/span><\/strong>.\u00a0 No sign of it.\u00a0 The smoke was terrible!<\/p>\n

However, for the first time in days, the wind shifted from out of the SW to NW.\u00a0 Before sunset, a hazy outline of Mount Bachelor did appear.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
Mount Bachelor<\/strong> shortly before sunset. Photo looks SW.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

I don’t know, Loopster.\u00a0 Going to have to get a lot better than this to make climbing any mountains around here worthwhile.\u00a0 We’ll just have to see how things look in the morning.<\/em><\/p>\n

If the smoke is still this bad, what will we do, SPHP?<\/em><\/p>\n

Guess, we’ll just have to continue this Dingo Vacation’s never-ending quest for blue skies.\u00a0 Might have to head for the coast!<\/em><\/p>\n

A stroll along the famous Oregon coast?\u00a0 That actually sounds wonderful, SPHP!<\/em><\/p>\n

Yes, it does, Loop.\u00a0 But we’ll get to the coast eventually in any case, and it would be a real shame to miss out on this next mountain.<\/em><\/p>\n

Maybe so, but despite the smoke, Lupe hadn’t missed out today.\u00a0 Not when she’d gotten to enjoy that splendid view of Mount Hood from Lookout Mountain!<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
Mount Hood<\/strong> from Lookout Mountain<\/strong>, Cascade Range, Oregon 8-25-21<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Links:<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

Next Adventure<\/span><\/a>\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 Prior Adventure<\/span><\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

GPS Track by Daniel Mick (9-4-16)<\/strong><\/span><\/a><\/p>\n

Want more Lupe adventures?\u00a0\u00a0Choose from Lupe’s Summer of 2021<\/span> Dingo Vacations to New Mexico, Wyoming & the West Coast Adventure Inde<\/strong><\/span>x<\/strong><\/span><\/a>, Dingo Vacations Adventure Index<\/span><\/strong><\/a> or Master Adventure Index<\/span><\/strong><\/a>.\u00a0\u00a0Or subscribe free\u00a0to\u00a0new Lupe adventures<\/strong><\/a><\/span><\/em>.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Day 20 of Lupe’s 3rd Summer of 2021 Dingo Vacation to the West Coast! Mid-morning, Hwy 35, 40+ miles S of Hood River – There’s a campground sign, SPHP! Sherwood!\u00a0 Good eye, Loop!\u00a0 Should be a L turn coming up pretty soon. The turn onto USFS Road No. 44 came 1.5 miles S of the … Continue reading Lookout Mountain, Cascade Range, Oregon (8-25-21)<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":39183,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"nf_dc_page":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1416],"tags":[105,106,1515,26,1543,1202,104,524],"class_list":["post-39187","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-1416","tag-american-dingo","tag-carolina-dog","tag-cascade-range","tag-dingo-vacations","tag-high-prairie-trailhead","tag-lookout-mountain","tag-lupe","tag-oregon"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/adventuresoflupe.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/IMG_2275-scaled.jpg?fit=1651%2C1238&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/adventuresoflupe.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/39187","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/adventuresoflupe.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/adventuresoflupe.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adventuresoflupe.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adventuresoflupe.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=39187"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/adventuresoflupe.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/39187\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":41201,"href":"https:\/\/adventuresoflupe.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/39187\/revisions\/41201"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adventuresoflupe.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/39183"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/adventuresoflupe.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=39187"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adventuresoflupe.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=39187"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adventuresoflupe.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=39187"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}