[pct-l] Oregon Snow/Eagle Creek/Tom's question

[wandering_bob at comcast.net (Bob Bankhead)]

The Eagle-Benson trail #434, encountered 1/2 mile north of Blue Grouse Camp, 
runs from the Eagle Creek Trail 440 up to the PCT on the Benson Plateau. It 
is very steep, and if it's at all wet, it could be really nasty. I quote 
Shaffer's  OR/WA PCT Guidebook, page 186:

:"Eagle-Benson Trail 434, which climbs steeply up to the PCT. This narrow 
footpath is not recommended by the authors , who believe it is too narrow to 
be safely climbed or descended with a heavy pack. In places it is quite easy 
for you to slip on loose gravel and then fall over a hundred foot cliff."



The Eagle Creek trail #440 is 14 miles from Wahtum Lake down to the Eagle 
Creek Fish Hatchery.  The eastern-most half, referred to by Wayne as the 
Eagle-Indian Springs trail, is on mostly north-facing slopes, but those 
slopes are in an east/west side canyon off Eagle Creek. I wouldn't count on 
too many sunny hours as you climb up to Wahtum Lake. I've hiked it many 
times and it's a nice trail, but essentially viewless once past the turn 
south of 7-1/2 mile camp. Be advised that going south, it is easy to miss 
this 120 degree left-hand back angle turn just 0.1 mile past 7-1/2 mile 
camp. At this Y, a trail continues on ahead, curving slowly right. This 
continuance is actually an unmaintained wilderness trail that crosses Eagle 
Creek (no bridge) and heads west up to a mountain who's name escapes me at 
the moment.

One could make a nice almost-loop hike in either direction by taking the 
Eagle Creek Trail to Wahtum Lake and the PCT to Cascade Locks/Bridge of the 
Gods. You'd still have the highway walk between Cascade Locks and the Eagle 
Creek trailhead, but you could always work out a shuttle system. Car 
break-ins have been a problem in hte past at Eagle Creek trailhead; less so 
if you park in the lot by the main toilets adn the camp host's trailer. 
Personally, I'd get dropped off at Eagle Creek and end my trek in Cascade 
Locks where the Charburger restaurant has phones to call for a pick-up or a 
safe place to leave a car. That avoids the roadwalk and puts the up-hill on 
the front of the hike. (Be aware: there is no off-ramp for Eagle Creek going 
west on I-84 from Cascade Locks. The only off-ramp is east-bound on I-84 
from Portland.)

Wandering Bob


----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Wayne Kraft" <waynekraft@verizon.net>
To: <pct-l@mailman.backcountry.net>
Sent: Monday, February 21, 2005 7:55 PM
Subject: [pct-l] Oregon Snow/Eagle Creek/Tom's question


Yesterday I took a little road trip up to Mt. Hood to check out the snow 
situation.  Here's what I found.  I stopped at the Frog Lake Trail Head 
where the PCT crosses Highway 26 about 5.5 miles south of Barlow Pass and a 
day's hike south of Timberline Lodge.  The elevation there is about 3960 
feet and the temperature at 1:00 PM on my crude key chain thermometer (which 
I left on my bumper when I drove off -darn it) registered about 35 degrees. 
It looked like it had snowed about an inch during the night and this snow 
had turned to slush anywhere it was exposed to sun.  I strolled about 1/2 
mile nobo from Highway 26.  There appeared to be maybe 18" of snow on the 
ground with lots of bare patches. The green tufts of last year's bear grass 
was sticking up out of the snow.  The trail was obvious, well-trod and as 
easy to hike as bare ground.  I crossed the highway and hiked a few hundred 
yards sobo.  No one had been on this side of the highway for awhile excpet a 
snowshoe hare. The trail was obvious (because there is quite a lot of old 
blow down on this trail all of which is above the snow and you can just 
follow the corridor of cut logs).  Although my feet sunk down a couple of 
inches, this part of the trail  was easily hikable.  The large parking area 
was mostly vacant.  There were a few people standing around with unnecessary 
snow travel equipment looking puzzled.  The trail up to Frog Lake Butte is 
open to snowmobiles and there were a few snowmobilers standing around.  It 
would be easier to drive up with a four wheel drive I think.  There were 
some mushers there with dogs impatiently waiting for the humans to repair a 
truck.

I then drove around to Barlow Pass which is just over 4000 feet. There 
appeared to be just a little more snow here. There was a very large group of 
dufuses (dufi?) camped here under a huge blue plastic tarp about 10 feet off 
the road.  They had huge mounds of heavy equipment, acres of plastic 
sheeting and enough propane tanks to power an aircraft carrier.  They were 
ambulating hither and yon, some on snowshoes, some on sneakers. Didn't seem 
to make much difference.  Looks to me like you could easily hike from 
Highway 26 to Barlow pass in flip flops.

I then drove up to Timberline Lodge at about 5800 feet.  Skiers and boarders 
were dodging around rocks.  Rugged mountaineers on snowshoes were heading up 
the mountain with little kids running ahead of them with their inner tubes. 
The parking area is usually surrounded in winter with impassable high walls 
of snow scraped off the parking area.  Right now these are 3 foot mounds. 
The forecast called for light rain/snow flurries.  Dark clouds threatened, 
but it snoweth not. Creeks were running strong with snow melt.

The long range forecast for Portland calls for no precipitation and near 
record high temps in the mid-60's.  At Government Camp (3900 feet) the 
forecast highs are in the high 40's.  I suspect snow will be melting off all 
south facing slopes all of next week and into the first part of March, after 
which the hope of a major weather reversal is dim.  Looking at the Postholer 
website and some of the other Snotel locations not included in Postholer, it 
looks to me like the further north one goes and the lower in elelvation, the 
less snow (as a percentage of the historical April 1 averages) there is. 
Around Mt. Hood at 3000 feet there is basically no snow.  You could easily 
hike to Ramona Falls on little or no snow but for the fact that the access 
road is closed and USFS has removed a necessary seasonal bridge until April. 
Above 5000 feet snow levels around Mt. Hood approach 30% of historical 
average April 1 levels and to the south at higher elevations (Crater Lake, 
for example) we are at about 50%.  I spoke last weekend to some Southern 
Oregon University students in Ashland who advised me that there is "plenty 
of snow" at the Mt. Ashland ski area and that it looks "normal."  These were 
snow boarder dudes who might very well carry their lunches wrapped in 
rolling paper.  Mt. Ashland rises to an elevation of 7500 feet and currently 
reports 61" at the bottom of the runs and 93" at the top.  Grain of salt, 
allow for some exaggeration, etc.

Regarding the Eagle Creek Trail PCT loop:  ECT is certainly open to Blue 
Grouse Camp (about 1200 feet) where the Eagle-Benson trail climbs up to the 
PCT near Benson Plateau and to the junction with Eagle-Indian Springs Trail 
(about 1800 feet)  which climbs to the PCT near Wahtum Lake.  I have never 
hiked the PCT through here, but according to my map the trail never quite 
reaches 4000 feet and the shorter Eagle-Benson cut-off appears to top out at 
3600.  This is mostly north facing slopes and there's surely some snow, but 
i would guess not enough to make hiking very difficult.

Tom, when are you planning to hike this?  I will make some phone calls next 
week to see what I can find out.  I have been thinking about this same trip 
as a kind of open-ended weekend ramble where I could abort and head down if 
conditions became annoying or dangerous.

Remember now, when you thru-hike past Frog Lakes this sumer, if you see an 
REI key chain thermometer it's mine and I'd like it back.

Wayne Kraft
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