East Crater
The East Crater Trail is one of the more popular entry points into the Indian Heaven Wilderness and a connector to the Pacific Crest Trail.
Driving Directions:
From the Vancouver area drive east on State Route 14 through the town of Stevenson. At milepost 47, take the Carson exit. Proceed on Wind River Highway (may also be signed Forest Road 30 and/or Wind River Road) through the town of Carson. At the 4 way stop sign continue straight (north) on the Wind River Highway. At 4.8 miles from Carson take the Panther Creek turnoff, turning right onto the "Old State Road". (Note: "Old State Road" intersects Wind River Rd twice, you want the second junction) Drive only 0.1 and make a left turn onto Panther Creek Road (FSR 65). Drive north on FSR 65 for 10 miles to Four Corners, which is the intersection of FSR 60 and FSR 65. Turn right and follow FSR 60 for 6.5 miles to Goos Lake. Continue on FSR 60 another 2 miles and turn left on FSR 6030. After ¼ mile continue straight as 6030 becomes 6035. Follow 6035 for about 3 miles to the East Crater Trailhead. Recent Trip Reports
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trip reports for this hike.
Day hike
Features:
Wildflowers blooming
Issues:
Bugs
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I joined up with the PCTA for a day of cross-cut work on the Pacific Crest Trail through the Indian ...
I joined up with the PCTA for a day of cross-cut work on the Pacific Crest Trail through the Indian Heaven Wilderness. The weather was fantastic with a cool breeze, relatively few mosquitoes (except near the race track!!). Puffy clouds never got the ambition to turn into thunderheads.
Our small group met at Crest Camp at 7 am and piled into one car to shuttle up to the East Crater (#48) Trailhead. From there it was a pleasant hike 2.5 miles up to Junction Lake. We crossed several snow patches and tiny meadows. From the jct with the PCT we headed south bucking out logs as we went and clearing brush. We lunched at Blue Lake and lingered admiring the clear waters and saw a juvenille bald eagle (we think). Continuing on we gained elevation up to Berry Mt. where we were rewarded with fantastic views of Mount St. Helens and Mt. Adams. On the switchbacks down the south slope the Bear Grass blooms were outstanding. We had lunch break #2 gathering our courage for the dash through the Race Track area where we knew the mosquitoes would be fierce. Once through the flats and away from the mosquitoes, we dropped the last couple of miles back to Crest Camp. Overall a great trip. Although I suffered a number of bites, I resisted the DEET for the entire hike.
East Crater #48
— Aug 18, 2008
— John Speth
Day hike
Issues:
Bugs
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I planned to take my 9 year old son for an overnight stay in Indian Heaven. We were mercilessly beat...
I planned to take my 9 year old son for an overnight stay in Indian Heaven. We were mercilessly beaten back by mosquitoes after a heroic 2 mile dash to just short of the Indian Heaven highlands.
East Crater #48
— Sep 30, 2007
— susanellielay
Day hike
Issues:
Clogged drainage
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Umbrellas were up for 8 Trails Club of Oregon members who hiked the East Crater Trail into the India...
Umbrellas were up for 8 Trails Club of Oregon members who hiked the East Crater Trail into the Indian Heaven Wilderness. In steady, light rain, we hiked 2.6 miles to Junction Lake (5.2 round trip), dodging puddles in the trail. Even under gray skies and in the rain, the colors were brilliant as the trail emerged from forest to pass small meadows and a couple of unnamed tarns at about the two mile point. Flocks of migrating American robins were feeding on the last huckleberries and we flushed about a dozen migrating mallards that were resting on one of the unnamed lakes. Ravens loudly announced the presence of ""intruders."" At Junction Lake, two people said that they were wet and cold. Rather than risk hypothermia, the group decided on a retreat to the Charburger in Cascade Locks for pie and coffee. On the drive back, we rescued a couple of young men who couldn't get their truck started; we gave one of the young men a ride to Stevenson where he could get cell phone coverage and call his buddy's father for help. |
 Lovely view from the East Crater Trail. Photo taken by Ryan Ojerio.
2010, 2011
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