Timberline Trail is a

hiking trail A trail, also known as a path or track, is an unpaved lane or small road usually passing through a natural area. In the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland, a path or footpath is the preferred term for a pedestrian or hiking trail. The ...

around Mount Hood 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 sove ...

Oregon Oregon () is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. The Columbia River delineates much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington, while the Snake River delineates much of its eastern boundary with Idaho. T ...

. It is mostly in wilderness but also goes near

Timberline Lodge Timberline Lodge is a mountain lodge on the south side of Mount Hood in Clackamas County, Oregon, about east of Portland. Constructed from 1936 to 1938 by the Works Progress Administration, it was built and furnished by local artisans during th ...

, Cloud Cap Inn (the oldest building on Mount Hood), and

Mount Hood Meadows Mount Hood Meadows is a ski resort on the southeastern face of Mount Hood in northern Oregon, and is the largest of the mountain's ski resorts. It is located about 67 miles (108 km) east of Portland, and 35 miles (56 km) from Hood Ri ...

ski area.

History

The Timberline Trail was constructed in the 1930s by the

Civilian Conservation Corps The Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) was a voluntary government work relief program that ran from 1933 to 1942 in the United States for unemployed, unmarried men ages 18–25 and eventually expanded to ages 17–28. The CCC was a major part of ...

, the majority of their work taking place in the summer of 1934 at a cost of $10,000. Sections of the trail have changed due to damage caused by landslides and washouts since then. In September 1938 a group of hikers completed the entire trail (36 miles at the time) in 47 hours, making local news and increasing awareness of the trail.

Hiking the trail

The hike is typically completed in three to five days, but some ambitious hikers complete it in one or two days. The trail, Forest Service trail #600, shares with the Pacific Crest Trail and alternates above and below the timberline. The trail is rerouted periodically due to washouts and to avoid sensitive high altitude and alpine meadows. It has a handful of informal campsites for backpackers, although camping is permitted anywhere outside the meadows and at least from water bodies. There are several hazardous river and stream crossings, especially on the west side of the mountain and at the landslide-prone Eliot Branch near Cloud Cap which closed the trail there in 2007. The trail has several significant vertical ascents and descents totaling , mostly at canyon crossings. The trail is most easily accessible from Timberline Lodge, which has Forest Service permitted parking (which you can purchase at Timberline Lodge) for backpackers, as well as public transit access by Mt. Hood Express bus. It can also be accessed from Mt. Hood Meadows Ski Resort and numerous connecting trails from trailheads around the mountain. There are multiple popular trail variations one can add as well, including Ramona Falls and Paradise Loop Trail.

Hazards

Risks associated with hiking along the Timberline Trail include

hypothermia Hypothermia is defined as a body core temperature below in humans. Symptoms depend on the temperature. In mild hypothermia, there is shivering and mental confusion. In moderate hypothermia, shivering stops and confusion increases. In severe ...

, falling, and drowning. Areas of special concern are the Sandy River crossing, where a hiker drowned in 2004, the Eliot Creek, which washed out and closed a section of the trail in 2007, and the Muddy Fork section, which washed out in 2007 and has deteriorated to a point where it is "barely passable" according to a

United States Forest Service The United States Forest Service (USFS) is an agency of the U.S. Department of Agriculture that administers the nation's 154 national forests and 20 national grasslands. The Forest Service manages of land. Major divisions of the agency in ...

sign. The Sandy River can be crossed on log bridges that are erected seasonally. A storm in November 2006 washed out The Eliot Creek section of the trail. Since then, hikers have either had to scramble down the loose and hazardous slopes or climb higher (onto the Eliot Glacier). There has been some discussion about re-routing the trail below the washout with the possibility of building a suspension bridge. The Muddy Fork section can be avoided by taking 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 ...

(Trail 2000) from Bald Mountain to Trail 797 to Ramona Falls. This not only makes the hike much safer, but also shortens the total hike by . A common problem with this shortcut is that the signs at the Bald Mountain crossroads mislabel the Pacific Crest Trail due to a re-routing of the Pacific Crest Trail several years ago. The August and September 2011 Dollar Lake fire temporarily closed the Timberline Trail. It is open through the burned sections as of 2012.

References

External links

Topo maps and mileage charts
*

{{Coord, 45, 24, 10, N, 121, 43, 46, W, display=title Hiking trails in Oregon Civilian Conservation Corps in Oregon Protected areas of Clackamas County, Oregon Protected areas of Hood River County, Oregon Mount Hood Long-distance trails in the United States Mount Hood National Forest 1930s establishments in Oregon

History

Hiking the trail

Hazards

See also

References

External links