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Wahtum Lake, Mt.
Hood National Forest |
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With new gear in hand and a need to finally spend a night on top of Tomlike Mountain, I set out from the Herman Creek trailhead and met up with the PCT. The morning air, filling my lungs, was making me feel more in tune with the nature surrounding me and less like a part of the concrete jungle that I am so used to. The damp forest was green, not yet temporarily destroyed by the bitter cold of the season. It was a joy to walk in the gorge this time of year, as it fueled my desire to tackle the 3800 feet I had yet to climb.
The big leaf maple left the trail rather slick in spots, covering smooth rocks, waiting for a inattentive boot to step on their leaves. I thought about the leaf's place in the order of nature and mused on this a while, thinking society is becoming not so different.
After merging with the PCT, the trail started it's 7 mile climb high onto the edge of the Benson Plateau. A view of Tomlike Mountain, my proposed destination, came into sight as I wondered if it was so wise to spend a night in such weather on top.
More friendly mountains met me at the edge of Benson Plateau. Mt. St. Helens looked especially appealing this time of year.
The plateau was heavy with snow. It was quite consolidated and made walking easy as I did not need snowshoes to keep from post holing.
At the south edge of the plateau, various mountains came into view again as I once more thought about the choice for my night's stay. Although the forest was fairly still, once out in the open, I was hit with 25+ mile per hour sustained winds. As far as shelter, I had only my new Gatewood Cape with me and was not too excited about setting it up in such strong winds.
On a day like this, I often found stopped along the trail, staring. The sights reminded me of some Webshots screen saver as I started my descent to Camp Smokey.
I filled up with water at the spring just below the camp. I have various guide books and friends that could not seem to find the spring and one that said it did not really exist. I have used this spring even in dry Septembers and cannot understand it's elusion from others.
I entered a burn area following some rather big cat tracks. Looking over Eagle Creek drainage, I saw Tanner Butte spring up and could not help to notice, it resembles something like a Buffalo's back, although there are no frozen people.
After the burn area, the deer were rather large and numerous. One in particular, was at the top of a hill on the trail, staring at me as I looked in his direction. He was a large buck with large, fuzzy antlers. I stared back at him for 30 seconds and then just glanced down to grab the camera. I knew my fate as I looked up. He was gone. Another mile led me around the base of Chinidere Mountain and the winds increased dramatically. During this time of year, eastward winds bite through clothing with acute efficiency. I found the Wahtum Express trail and followed it down for a half mile, sat, and had a think. While thinking, it was a perfect spot and time to treat some water.
It was far too cold and windy with the gear I took to camp on the top of a mountain, especially in this weather. I made up my mind quite quickly to head further down to a spot I discovered with the family earlier this year. Luck was on my side as it was the only spot that was snow-free. Up went my cape and in went my gear. I fired up my Heineken alcohol stove for some hot tea and couscous.
With nothing left to do but rest, I wrote in my journal for a while listening to the wind howl through the trees. Looking overhead and seeing no window makers, this was truly the spot I wanted to be; right here; right now.
The morning arrived and I was only slightly chilled. Having nothing but a bivy sack and a 40 degree synthetic sleeping bag proved to be a perfect balance between weight and warmth. I struck camp quickly and set off back to the trail. An hour into the hike, it started to rain. And rain it did. It was simply pouring as I donned my cape and chaps. The cape did a remarkable job keeping me dry, at least from the rain. It took pride in my decision not to camp on Tomlike Mountain this trip as yet another philosophy of ultra lightweight backpacking is site selection.
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