Plan D: The Timberline Trail
What’s a girl to do when she MUST go backpacking and Plan A (a JMT section hike) is canceled due to forest closures, and Plans B (Three Sisters Loop) and C (PCTish NOBO from Santiam Pass) are too smoky to attempt without sustaining permanent lung damage? Go with Plan D: Oregon’s Timberline Trail!
Megan and I were eating dinner in Chemult, about an hour south of where we were supposed to start the Three Sisters Loop, when that pollution pink sun reared its ugly head. We didn’t see much in the way of blue skies on the drive from Oakland to Chemult, but we’d still held out hope that the smoke might magically clear. It didn’t.
We spent the next morning furiously googling AQIs within a few hours drive. Northern Oregon was looking pretty good! So we packed up our cars and drove three hours north to the Timberline Lodge. We didn’t arrive until about 2:30 pm, so I assumed we’d camp out behind the lodge like good hiker trash. Megan was raring to go, though, so go we did. We picked up our permit and started our counterclockwise hike around 3:30 in the afternoon.
We started with bluebird skies and beautiful weather. Just as we were hitting the meadows, the smoke started rolling in, which made for an eerie walk beneath the empty ski lifts.
After a few miles of hiking, we set up camp along the edge of a meadow.
A reason to go back
Day two started off smoky, but not unbearable. Unfortunately the smoke didn’t clear while we were climbing Gnarl Ridge to Lamberson Butte (the highest point on the trail at 7,300 feet). Gnarl Ridge was an awesome experience even with the smoke, with Mt. Hood looming overhead right in front of us. I can’t image how spectacular it must be on a clear day. We saw a few day hikers on the ridge, so I imagine I’ll join their ranks to get another look next time I’m in the area.
We hiked in to Cloud Cap campground for our second night. With it being a Tuesday night, there weren’t many other people around. Just two groups of car campers and another set of hikers. Having a table, potable water, and access to a toilet felt so luxurious. It’s the little things.
Creek day
We got a semi-early start on day three since we wanted to cross Eliot Creek early in the morning. We could hear the fast moving water as we descended the switchbacks down to the creek. That gave us plenty of time to get anxious about the crossing we’d heard all about from clockwise hikers. Once we reached the creek, we crossed using a rope that was set up not too far upstream from where the trail crossed the creek. I crossed, then Megan crossed, then we celebrated not getting swept downriver. The water was moving fast and came up to my hips, so it felt a little sketchy and made for an excellent morning caffeine substitute.
Up next was a scramble up the north side of the creek to get back to the trail. There were a few cairns along the bank, but it was more of a choose your own adventure type thing.
Climbing up from Eliot, we were treated to blue skies with views of Mt. Adams, Mt. Ranier, and Mt. St. Helens. Commence my spazzy excitedness! The trail was nice and easy for the rest of the day, weaving in and out of burns and meadows. Our next significant crossing, Coe Creek, turned out to be not too challenging. Coe was moving fast, but was much more shallow than Eliot. The water hit me around mid-calf.
My goal for the evening (and the next morning) was to have epic mountain views from the tent. So we went off the Timberline trail a bit and found an extremely exposed but hopefully ok spot to camp on the way up to McNeil Point. The forecast called for tame winds, so we decided to take the risk. Unfortunately the rain fly was flapping in the wind most of the night, but the views from our risky little campsite made up for the lack of sleep.
Going down…then up…
Day four was our big downhill day. The day started off with some easily navigable blowdowns, followed by the neverending switchbacks from hell. As much as long downhills can hurt, I was SO glad to be doing down those long switchbacks rather than up then.
A short section of the trail wasn’t passable due to blowdowns from a crazy windstorm, so we took the PCT and Ramona Falls trail to bypass that section. Ramona Falls was just as magical as the last time I was there, and we were lucky to be one of the few people there as such a popular day hiker destination. I soaked my feet and was ready to tackle the last few uphill miles to the Paradise Park alternate, until I completely crashed and barely made it.
If there’s one side trail that shouldn’t be missed, it’s the Paradise Park Trail. There’s tons of camping and we had plenty of clean water sources in early September. Sunset along this trail was definitely a highlight for me.
Oh yeah, we’re in Oregon
On our final day with just a few miles to go, we woke up to rain. I love hiking in the rain, but I especially love hiking in the rain when I know I’ve got dry, warm clothes and a hot meal in my near future. Our last few miles were the most Pacific Northwest miles of the whole trip.
Few things taste as delicious as a bread bowl of hot tomato bisque after you’ve spent a couple of miles freezing.
We walked back to our cars, drove two hours south to Bend, and ate Thai food in our hotel room beds while watching Fern Gully that we’d rented from THE LAST BLOCKBUSTER ON EARTH. A winning end to a never flat but always beautiful Timberline Trail backpacking trip.
P.S. – hello from Utah! I live here now!
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