Summer Mountain Trails Pt II - Summer's End Reflections

We’re now over the threshold of September and on the brink of fall. August flew by with its impending sense of summer bliss being finite. Like that feeling you get on a Sunday afternoon... but there's still time for sun and heat to beam down on me as I float in a sparkling, clear mountain lake right?

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Theoretically yes, but the last ten years or so this time of year can also mean waking up to strange orange-tinted light. The sun is out and it's HOT but its rays don’t seem quite able to reach you through the heavy, impenetrable air. Horizons appear dusky and mountains are choked with gray or obscured completely. We have witnessed the wildfire season come into being as its own, much dreaded season.

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That perfect summer-fall window for getting out on the mountain before the snow begins to fall feels smaller... Certain locations I hoped to visit might not be an option this year… unless the fires ebb enough between now and November. But it's a gamble.

So what can we do? Try to enjoy that last taste of summer as best we can (and if you’re me, obsessively check the Oregonian’s wildfire tracker map before choosing a trail). The only reason I even touch on this ill-fated topic is because one of my stand-out hikes from early summer has been on fire for over a month and as a result, is inaccessible. So I’m just grateful I made it out when I did, because this may be my favorite 360° view hike of the season. (However I am happy to see that this fire is now 25% contained!)

This was a hike I’d come across sometime in the doldrums of fall or winter. Idly perusing google maps for points of interest, I noticed a small lake slightly inland from the Columbia River Gorge, just SE of Cascade locks.

When you drive out through the Columbia River gorge, particularly within that first hour heading east, you’re so small in comparison to the huge cliffs that jut up along the highway beside you that it's hard to imagine they have any kind of summit. They just stretch up and up out of sight, and we enjoy the beautiful waterfalls that cascade down from on high. But when I came across this lake on the map, I realized that I’d never really stopped to imagine the world existing on top of these cliffs. I’ve taken many hikes through the trees, along the waterfalls and rivers in the western stretch of the gorge, but if I reached any kind of summit (say - Mitchell Point or the like), it was just on the furthest edge of the cliffs looking down across the Columbia River - never inland.

Wahtum lake piqued my interest for months, and I could see that it was connected to a plethora of trails snaking their way towards the river. This area is the Mark O’Hatfield Wilderness zone, and as it is aligned with the path of the cascade mountains, its terrain is dramatic with steep, ridges, peaks and plateaus. Upon zooming in on google maps, I saw a point near the lake named Chinidere Mountain, which when clicked, revealed a few gorgeous photos - close views of Mt Hood, wide open vistas above the trees - I'm sold. So all through winter and spring, whenever I was driving out along the gorge (which was basically every week) I’d pass by Cascade Locks, looking up the steep forested cliffs, and think about the lake that was waiting for me up there.

July 6th - It was time.

Pt II: Chinidere Mountain - Mark O’Hatfield Wilderness

To get there, you head east out along the gorge then turn south from Hood River to the town of Dee, which is a beautiful stretch. From Dee, you follow Lost Lake Rd a little ways, which was busy with cars packed to the brim with paddle boards and lake gear jetting their way to Lost Lake. But as soon as I forked off onto the Forest Service road I had it all to myself. From there, it's about 30 minutes to the trailhead and despite being narrow, with lots of potholes in the pavement and some alarming “Falling Rocks” signs, the drive wasn’t too bad. My only encounter was a baby black bear that bolted out of nowhere across the road about halfway in.. Leaving me a little wary and re-committed to getting some bear spray. (Lucky I didn't come across the little guy’s mother)

The trailhead and parking area is just above the rim of Wahtum lake and there were a decent amount of people there, camping and enjoying the lake for the day. The lake is beautiful. Clear water - rippling with tones of jade - surrounded by slopes of forested green hills. The trail up to Chinidere Mt is a loop, and I followed it counter-clockwise up around the lake through forest which was lush with fresh, green undergrowth and early July flowers.

Just before the trail reached a set of switchbacks to the summit, I took a fork to the left which led out through the trees into a beautiful, steep meadow that climbed the base of the peak. Stepping out into the sweeping views with Mt Hood to my left and rugged ridges stretching out to my right towards the Columbia river hit me with a special kind of presence. The temperature was perfect, the air was buzzing with the sound of insects and little red columbines waved in the breeze among bunches of purple, blue, and yellow flowers. A beautiful, timeless moment - me just a speck enveloped in vast miles of grandeur.

I followed switchbacks back through the trees, and up around the peak of talus… another spectacular panorama awaited me. The colors were deliciously fresh and saturated with that perfect early July flavor. Crisp blue sky, hitting the lines of Mt Hood and creating a vivid contrast with the remaining white snow on her peak and the deep green of the forested hills curving down from her base and stretching far out in every direction. Walking across the peak, I could see platforms that people had shaped out of the loose rock to pitch their tents on… I can only imagine how incredible it would be to witness a sunrise and sunset from there… Add it to the list!

The 360° view shared its special magic with me - only with this view, as the ridges and mountains stretched NE towards the gorge, the deep green of the trees faded into the pale brownish gray of dead trees, marking the path of the Eagle Creek fire in 2017. It's strange to see this damage from a birds-eye view, and how expansive it really was. But its stranger still to think about the fire that's burning right now near Chinidere Mountain, and wonder how that view has already changed since my visit in July and how it will look in years to come. What about that baby black bear I saw? All the delicate white flowers along the trail… the huckleberries that didn’t get the chance to ripen… but I know it's not the end of that view’s magic, just like how the end of summer doesn’t mean the end of all things beautiful. Each season has its own special beauty - even the dead of winter. And there is no stronger, and more regenerative force than nature. In the forest, nothing dies - trees fall and give way to new life. Each season and cycle has its place.