1.5 hr
Overview
The vast debris fan of the upper White River valley impresses the casual observer especially since the braided watercourse is often hard to discern as it descends through the broad expanse of pyroclastic material, most of which was blown out of Mount Hood during the Old Maid eruptions 250 years ago. In November 2006, the innocent looking stream, which descends from the White River Glacier became a raging spate during a snow/rainstorm and washed over the Highway 35 bridge, depositing huge boulders in the middle of the roadway. Much work was been done after that event to control the river’s occasional rampages, but it’s probably only a matter of time before nature outwits the engineers once gain. This hike takes you up alongside the White River to join the Timberline Trail, from which you can ascend to the Pacific Crest Trail and, across from Timberline Lodge, get views down into the steep upper canyon. You’ll descend via the PCT and then take a short ski trail back to the Sno-Park. Mount Hood’s south face, dominated by the Steel Cliff with Crater Rock to its left, is in view along most of the route to the Timberline Trail. You’ll follow a service road to an interpretive sign that explains the forces of nature in the area, and then walk past a closed gate. Keep straight at a road junction (this will be your return point), and continue up, with baby lodgepole pines, willow, and dwarf lupine establishing themselves in the sere landscape. The route passes up and along a levee built to contain the river’s tendency to wander although you can see where it is steadily eating away. Looking back down, the river valley is framed by Bonney Butte on the left and Barlow Ridge on the right. The route heads up a steep moraine and then winds through mountain hemlocks and lodgepole pines. Spurs lead to the crumbling bluff above the White River. There are a few fallen trees, and you’ll pass under powerlines. Eventually, the trail starts angling left to join the Timberline Trail. Bear left and head into a montane woodland of mou
Trail Stats
0.0 km
451 m
0 m
0 m
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Photos
400px-WhiteRiverLoopMap
400px-WhiteRiverLoopMap
250px-Through_the_huckleberries%2C_Yellow_Jacket_Ski_Trail
250px-Through_the_huckleberries%2C_Yellow_Jacket_Ski_Trail
250px-Mt
250px-Mt
250px-Above_the_White_River%2C_White_River_West
250px-Above_the_White_River%2C_White_River_West
400px-Looking_to_the_White_River_Glacier%2C_Pacific_Crest_Trail
400px-Looking_to_the_White_River_Glacier%2C_Pacific_Crest_Trail