Muddy Fork is a tributary, about long, of the Sandy River in the

U.S. state In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its sover ...

Oregon Oregon () is a U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. The Columbia River delineates much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington (state), Washington, while the Snake River delineates much of it ...

. Arising at the base of

Sandy Glacier Sandy Glacier is an alpine glacier located on the west slope of Mount Hood in the U.S. state of Oregon. It extends in elevation from about . The glacier is the source of Muddy Fork, a tributary of the Sandy River. The upper extent of the gla ...

on the west slope of

Mount Hood Mount Hood is a potentially active stratovolcano in the Cascade Volcanic Arc. It was formed by a subduction zone on the Pacific coast and rests in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is located about east-southeast of Portlan ...

, it flows west through the

Mount Hood Wilderness The Mount Hood Wilderness is a protected wilderness area inside the Mount Hood National Forest, in the U.S. state of Oregon. The area, covering , includes the peak of Mount Hood and its upper slopes, and ranges from temperate rain forests at the l ...

in the

Mount Hood National Forest The Mount Hood National Forest is a U.S. National Forest in the U.S. state of Oregon, located east of the city of Portland and the northern Willamette River valley. The Forest extends south from the Columbia River Gorge across more than of fore ...

. It joins the Sandy River in Old Maid Flat, about northeast of

Rhododendron ''Rhododendron'' (; from Ancient Greek ''rhódon'' "rose" and ''déndron'' "tree") is a very large genus of about 1,024 species of woody plants in the heath family (Ericaceae). They can be either evergreen or deciduous. Most species are nati ...

. The stream offers limited fishing for

coastal cutthroat trout The coastal cutthroat trout (''Oncorhynchus clarkii clarkii''), also known as the sea-run cutthroat trout, blue-back trout or harvest trout, is one of the several subspecies of cutthroat trout found in Western North America. The coastal cutthroa ...

Course

Muddy Fork begins at above sea level at the foot of Sandy Glacier in the Mount Hood Wilderness of the

Cascade Range The Cascade Range or Cascades is a major mountain range of western North America, extending from southern British Columbia through Washington and Oregon to Northern California. It includes both non-volcanic mountains, such as the North Cascades, ...

. Its entire course lies within the Mount Hood National Forest and

Clackamas County Clackamas County is one of the 36 counties in the U.S. state of Oregon. As of the 2020 census, the population was 421,401, making it Oregon's third-most populous county. Its county seat is Oregon City. The county was named after the Native ...

. Falling between source and mouth, the stream's average loss of elevation is about . Flowing generally west from the glacier, it passes south of McNeil Point, which is on the stream's

right Rights are law, legal, social, or ethics, ethical principles of Liberty, freedom or entitlement; that is, rights are the fundamental normative rules about what is allowed of people or owed to people according to some legal system, social convent ...

. It then flows between Yocum Ridge, which is to the

left Left may refer to: Music * ''Left'' (Hope of the States album), 2006 * ''Left'' (Monkey House album), 2016 * "Left", a song by Nickelback from the album ''Curb'', 1996 Direction * Left (direction), the relative direction opposite of right * L ...

, and Bald Mountain to the right before being crossed by the

Pacific Crest Trail The Pacific Crest Trail (PCT), officially designated as the Pacific Crest National Scenic Trail, is a long-distance hiking and equestrian trail closely aligned with the highest portion of the Cascade and Sierra Nevada mountain ranges, which lie ...

near the eastern end of Old Maid Flat. The Sandy River enters Old Maid Flat to the left of Muddy Fork, and the two run roughly parallel across the flat until joining near Last Chance Mountain, which is on the right. The confluence is upstream of Fred McNeil Campground and Lolo Pass Road (Forest Road 18). Muddy Fork has no named tributaries.

Fishing

Although Muddy Fork is closed to

salmon Salmon () is the common name for several list of commercially important fish species, commercially important species of euryhaline ray-finned fish from the family (biology), family Salmonidae, which are native to tributary, tributaries of the ...

fishing, the stream has wild cutthroat trout "of fair size". The stream is open to

catch and release Catch and release is a practice within recreational fishing where after capture, often a fast measurement and weighing of the fish is performed, followed by posed photography as proof of the catch, and then the fish are unhooked and returned ...

fishing for cutthroat but only with

artificial flies An artificial fly or fly lure is a type of fishing lure, usually used in the sport of fly fishing (although they may also be used in other forms of angling). In general, artificial flies are an imitation of aquatic insects that are natural food of ...

and lures. Conditions are generally best in spring before seasonal runoffs of glacial silt.

References

External links

Sandy River Basin Watershed Council
{{authority control Rivers of Oregon Mount Hood Rivers of Clackamas County, Oregon Mount Hood National Forest

Course

Fishing

See also

References

External links