Henline Mt. (4650')

Henline Mt. in the Opal Creek Wilderness is a pretty straight forward hike. Unfortunately, when you attempt in in mid-April during unusual snowfall the "straight forward hike" becomes much more difficult. Last April we attempted to reach the summit only to fall short.

Looking West back towards Salem

Fast forward to July and now the trail and the summit are completely snow free. We parked at the trailhead and left the car around 6:45am. At the Henline Mountain Trailhead 3352 you must fill out a free Wilderness Permit. I have seen reports (after we hiked) that you also need a Northwest Forest Pass, but we didn't have one in my car and I didn't get a ticket.

You start gaining elevation pretty quickly heading up the trail. We were in 60+ degree weather so we started out in shorts/shirt and opted out on gaiters. There are a few small rock outcroppings that you can get great views towards the west from. There are also some loose rock slide areas that help break up the trail nicely. When you reach the old lookout tower be sure to soak in the sights and also eyeball the true summit. After getting hydrated and eating a small snack we continued up towards the summit. This is not an official trail but honestly it would be hard not to follow the stomped down trail in the bear grass and dirt. After seeing some bear scat and lots of trees with bark scraped off I was actually starting to worry about bears.

Jefferson stands above

We reached the summit (2700' higher than the trailhead). Since the summit isn't above timberline we didn't feel the need for any great poses. We trotted our way back down the mountain and made it before it got too hot. I still sweat a ton and almost finished off the 2.5L I had brought. Overall this was a great conditioning hike and it felt great to be outdoors again. My next report will hopefully be about my summit of the Middle Sister with the Chemeketans.

Here is my GPS output for Henline Mt

Final Stats:
Summit: Yes
Elevation Gain: ~2700'
Round Trip Distance: 7.6 miles
Round Trip Time: 3.75hours

Mount McLoughlin 9495' (06-11-12)

Redemption!

A feeling of redemption, followed by a wolf cry, was what came out as soon as I reached the summit of Mt. McLoughlin. After a failed attempt last March due to deep snow and lack of snowshoes, it felt great conquering the mountain. Sure, it isn't the highest peak in Oregon, or even in the Top 5, but it is still a peak, and it is now on the bagged list.

At the trail head

Seeing a window of opportunity in the weather, we decided we had better strike while we could. This year has been pretty miserable with the weather always seeming to get in the way of our peak dreams. Regardless, we made the 4 hour drive down to the Sky Lakes Wilderness area. The unmaintained road to the McLoughlin trail head was interesting. Huge ruts, meant we were driving slow and careful not to bottom out the car. I would recommend being in a high clearance vehicle for the drive up.

The trail was clearly marked until you split away from the PCT. We had to do some map/compass navigating but mostly just kept the ridge in view. Someone had laid out some markers on the trees but more often than not we would lose sight of them. A huge storm must have rolled through at some point this winter because there were trees down everywhere. This of course just made the bushwhacking more fun.

Camp at 7200'

We decided to make camp right around the 7200' level. We found a place in the snow that was somewhat flat, but more importantly we had an unimpeded view of Mt. Shasta!

We watched the shadow of McLoughlin get bigger against the trees. Darkness descended on the valley around us, while Shasta still had the sun beaming on it. We had perfect cellular coverage at this point, mostly due to having a direct line of sight to Four Mile Lake/Klamath Falls.


The alarm went off at 3:30am and we were leaving camp, head lamped, around 4am. The temperature only dropped to 37degrees but the snow was nice and crunchy. Within 10 minutes we switched from trekking poles to ice-axe and crampons. The ridge was getting steeper and switching out made life a lot easier. We were able to climb straight up the ridge with no problems. Occasionally we would see the official trail but mostly we were zigzagging around rocks and trees.




Before the last 700' or so of elevation, we noticed some nice boot prints from the day prior. These made for good steps the rest of the way up the steepest portion of the climb.

 I felt really good during this portion. Our packs were light, I would say under 20lbs, which helped I am sure. I made extra emphasis to walk correctly with my ice axe and was implementing the "Whittaker Wheeze" as to not run out of breath.

I was actually somewhat surprised when I reached the top. I was expecting there to be "more" of the mountain left. I wasn't complaining though. I made my way around to the true summit accomplished and excited. We summited at exactly 7am, which is usually when I would be clocking in for work. Let's just say I was much happier to be on top of Southern Oregon's tallest peak!

Everything went relatively smooth on this trip. I honestly can't think of a single thing I would do differently (other than wrap my feet). All of my gear worked perfectly the way I wanted it too.


Final Stats:
Summit: Yes
Elevation Gain: ~4000'
Round Trip Distance: 10.5 miles
Round Trip Time: 23hours (This includes overnight camp)

2012 Prospectus (Updated)

Here is a look at the climbs I would like to do this year. 3-4 of my trips are scheduled to be with my climbing club, the Chemeketans. The other trips will most likely be with only 2-3 people.

April 2012 

- Chemeketans Climb School (Completed 04-15-12)

May 2012 

- Training Hike with the Chemeketans for Mt. Hood
- Mt. Hood (via South Side) - 11,239' Cancelled due to weather

 June 2012 

- Mt. McLoughlin (round 2) - 9,495' (Completed 06-11-12)

 July 2012 

- Mt. Adams (via Mazama Glacier) - 12,276'
- Middle Sister - 10,056' (Completed 07-22-12) 

August 2012  

- Broken Top (NW Ridge) - 9,175' (Completed 08-08-12) 
- Mt. Washington

September 2012 

- No climbs

Bird at Devil's Lake Campground