Join renowned mountaineer and environmental chemist/activist Arlene Blum ’66, Columbia Gorge naturalist and environmental activist Barbara Robinson ’68, Professor Dell Rhodes, and wildflower nut Will Bloch for a guided hike near Mt. Hood on Thursday, June 9 of Centennial Reunions. Meet at Eliot Circle at 8:15 a.m. for prompt departure on Eco Shuttle bus by 8:30 a.m. Return to Reed between 5 and 6 p.m. Price per person, box lunch included, is $35.
According to the trip leader (Will Bloch, for logistics and route selection), the exact itinerary will depend on weather and snow line, with destination chosen from three options: Bald Mountain (west side: subalpine, 4500 ft), Surveyors Ridge (east side: subalpine, 4000 ft), and Tamanawas Falls (east side: riparian, forested, 3500 ft). Estimated total time on the road: four hours; estimated time on the trail: five hours. Hike is designed to serve people with a range of ability and energy level. All three trips involve minimal elevation gain.
Whichever destination is chosen, the tour will be split into several groups, each with a guide and its own hiking pace and distance; Arlene will circulate among the groups. This tactic also reduces wear on fragile trailside ground cover and enhances the wilderness experience. Before enrolling, please read more information on the routes, required clothing and equipment lists, and the liability-waiver form (on next screen). To sign up, send email to alumni@reed.edu.
This trip is designed with the time-honored mountaineering philosophy: plan for the worst and hope for the best. The snow on Mt. Hood this season, this year is unusually deep; mid-June weather ranges from balmy to wet, cold, and windy. The final location choice among the three options listed in the course announcement will be made to make the most of any fair-weather prediction and to ensure safety and comfort if the weather turns south. The three options will have been scouted in the week before June 9.
Bald Mountain, about 200 ft elevation gain and a mile from the Top Spur trailhead on the west side of Mt. Hood, offers probably the best combination of accessibility and spectacular alpine scenery in the Pacific Northwest south of Mt. Rainier. The heavily glaciated Sandy Headwall rises to the summit 6000 ft above, and the Muddy Fork of the Sandy River roars 1500 ft below. The trail is wide enough and well enough maintained to be safe even though portions pass through steep, meadowed, slide zones. However, this hike IS NOT FOR THE SERIOUSLY ACROPHOBIC. The trail extends about a mile through the slide meadows, which should abound in a wide variety of wildflowers. For the most ambitious hikers, a group may take the six-mile round trip to the Muddy Fork trail crossing, where a different scenic perspective waits. For the least energetic, round-trip distance can be as little as two miles; the round trip to the east end of the meadows is about four miles.
Surveyors Ridge rises gradually for about 20 miles along the east boundary of the Hood River basin. A paved/gravel road in good condition runs just east of the ridge crest. A well-maintained trail popular among hikers and mountain bikers parallels the road a little bit to the west, with many inter-ties. Starting at Gibson Prairie Horse Camp, the one- to three- mile section which this tour would follow gradually climbs several hundred feet through second-growth forest and subalpine meadows, each habitat with its characteristic roster of wildflowers. About two miles south of the start, a short off-trail scramble to the summit of rocky Shellrock Mountain delivers a stunning 360-degree view and more wildflowers. [Warning to Web browsers: this is not the only Shellrock Mt. in OR.] The trailside meadows offer spectacular views of the glaciated NE quadrant of Mt. Hood, across the Hood River Canyon. The least-energetic trail group may hike no farther than about one mile, to the first meadow. More energetic hikers may climb Shellrock Mountain and/or sample a meadow farther south.
If foul weather restricts the tour to Tamanawas Falls, in a forested canyon at the base of the east side of Mt. Hood, a good time still should be had by all: trailside woodland wildflowers; a thundering, misty, 100-ft waterfall with a large walk-behind cavern, and perhaps the prettiest creek-side walk in the Pacific NW. The walk to the falls is about two miles long, with a 300-foot elevation gain. The least ambitious may be satisfied by seductively laughing water reached in about a mile. The most energetic may want to climb another mile into the burn zone of a recent Mt. Hood wildfire, the largest in living memory, to see how spontaneous re-vegetation is proceeding.
Assuring a safe and comfortable trip requires help from all the participants; one person’s inadequate gear could abort the entire hike. Required clothing/equipment for each person include rainproof outerwear (preferably pants as well as parka), ankle-high trail shoes (preferably all-leather), sun hat, sunglasses, a sweater or fleece, a day pack, and a filled water bottle of at least pint capacity. Cotton pants (e.g., jeans) are discouraged, and cotton socks are unacceptable. A collapsible umbrella would greatly improve the experience if the day is wet. Hiking poles (preferably two) increase the margin of safety, especially off trail, but are not required. Cameras and sketching equipment are strongly recommended; the slowest-moving group may focus on visual cognition and imaging. At bus-side, participants will have to sign a liability-waiver form (preview coming soon!). This precaution now is standard practice for hikes sponsored by outing clubs and environmental groups.
Should the time on trail end up being significantly less than five hours, likely in the case of wet weather, the bus may visit one of the quality wineries in the Hood River valley, less well known than their competitors to the east and west.
