Hellroaring Meadows, Bird Creek Meadows — Tuesday, Sep. 5, 2023

Bottom Line:

Eastside trails on Mt Adams that are part of the Yakima Nation's Tract D that is open to the public (though a double-gated road, and with a $20 permit attainable at the trailhead) through 9/7 - so only a few more days. Stunning! This is a beautiful hike of contracts, starting in a burnt forest of silvery stags, ascending into flowering meadows and creeks with pockets of weather-beaten trees, and ending in the glacier-carved moonscape above tree line with outstanding views of Adam's eastside glaciers, and Iceberg Lake. The final perch offered a symphony of waterfalls, glacial cracking and rockfalls, as well as wide open views of Little Adams, and Mt Hood above the marine layer blanketing The Gorge. Trail and road conditions are excellent.

Stats:

• Distance: 8-1/2 miles
• Duration: 5-1/2 hours
• Vertical: 2430 ft
• Road/Parking: Our access was from the south, staying Hood River, OR. The (long) dirt road to the Bird Lake trailhead is in good condition with just a few bumps of note, and doable in any car; the 2015 burn offers fantastic views of the mountain on the ascent; the gate will be locked for the season at 4:30pm PST on 9/7; paid for our permit at Mirror Lake, and then parked up the road at Bird Lake, displaying the permit on our dash; there is a (lost?) cow roaming the forest on NF82 ~3.5 miles up from the junction - not sure how long a cow will last out there, so hope she is GPS tagged
• Weather: Marine layer broke out to sunshine; cool with ~50s in the parking lot, and ~30s at Iceberg Park, light breeze, no bugs to speak of
• Water: There is lots of water on the trail for filtering (flowing creeks) and even some taps at the picnic site on Round-the-Mountain trail, although I did not find any working taps
• Flora/Fauna: Goats in Hellroaring Meadows (see pic); lots of flowers blooming still, intermixed with fall color and golden/green grasses, so outstanding color on the trail; among the highlights: monkey flower, explorer's gentian (everywhere!), fleabane, aster, rosy spiraea, paintbrush, pearly everlasting and heartleaf arnica
• Trail: The area has recovered mightily since the 2015 Cougar Creek Fire, and there is little problem with route-finding through the burn scars of the lower reached of this trail; the burn area is really beautiful I have to say, especially with the late afternoon sunshine (see end of video); soon the burn gives way to meadows, and then the moonscape of the high alpine; ROUTE: Bluff Lake, to Round-the-Mountain, to Trail of Flowers, to Hellroaring Viewpoint, to the boot-path up to Icicle Lake, then all the way down Hellroaring Viewpoint (forming a loop with Trail of Flowers) and then back on Bluff Lake; the trail is well-signed, has a soft surface most of its distance, and is quite exposed to the sun; the trail from Hellroaring Viewpoint up to the ridge above Icicle Lake is rougher, and has some steep rocky sections (see video); the map below shows us briefly losing this trail on the descent - GPS is your friend!
• Takeaway: This was my first time exploring this side of Adams and I will be back; the views are sublime and the meadows flower-packed; numerous Hobbit-like waterfalls (see video), and then of course the spectacular Hellroaring Falls and Iceberg Lake. Recommended! :)

The attached 4K video highlights the changing nature of this trail throughout its distance - really unique and interesting. A trail that has it all!

More Information on this Trip Report

• https://wildflowersearch.org/search?oldstate=gms%3A4%3Bgmc%3A46.15097,-121.44074%3Bbloom%3AIgnore%3Blocation%3ABird%20Creek%20Meadows%20(Mt.%20Adams),+WA
• https://www.instagram.com/wta_alpinewanderer/