We used the western approach to Bird Creek Meadows to avoid driving the long and slow road to Bird Lake. This approach involves driving from Trout Lake to the Mount Adams South Climb trailhead. All the road junctions are well-signed; the trailhead parking area at Cold Springs Campground requires a Northwest Forest Pass. This in-and-out hike is about 11.2 miles. We hiked up the South Climb Trail about 1.2 miles to the junction with the Round-the-Mountain Trail and turned east. Now the hiking became more fun as the grades lessened and views opened up, particularly crossing over the Aiken Lava Bed. In about 2.5 miles, the Round-the-Mountain Trail crossed the signed boundary of the Yakama Nation's lands. This is also where the meadows begin. This late in the season, we had missed the prime flower time at Bird Creek Meadows, but there still was plenty of pink monkeyflower along the streams and the gentians were just beginning to bloom in the meadows. We continued to the junction with the Trail of the Flowers and turned onto it. At the next junction, we stayed left again to reach Hellroaring Overlook and our turnaround spot.

Paul and I are amateur packers. We like to ride our horses and camp in the mountains and have taken up horse packing to facilitate this. Paul is an above-the-knee amputee, so hiking is not an option for us. Last month, we took our 9-year-old grandson on his first pack trip up on Mt. Adams. On August 25, Paul and I packed the weed free feed up Snipes Mountain trail to the meadow where we planned to camp and rode out. We've camped there before, and felt confident that we could handle a little 2 night campout with the kid there. We got up bright and early on the 26th and loaded horses, dogs, gear and grandson and headed for the trailhead out of Trout Lake. The trail was in good shape except for one easy-to-work-around deadfall. It looks like the FS has been removing alot of the dead standing timber in this area, and some poor trailcrew really had alot of deadfalls to deal with earlier in the year. No bugs to speak of, chilly mornings, we rode The Round the Mountain trail over to see the flowers at Bird Creek Meadows on day 2 and were surprised how many there still were. Before we packed out, we did our best to make our campsite look like no horses had been there. Only one little wreck on our way out, fine time had by all!

When we reached our third (and largest) trail washout of day 1, and stared down at a tiny cairn in the bottom of a freshly-carved gorge, and noticed two sets of ropes leading into and out of the mini-chasm, I knew this trip had achieved its purpose: high adventure and solitude in the Mt. Adams Wilderness, along with a chance to see firsthand the ravages of the winter storms of 2006. The Future Lahar Survivor and the Jive Vacationer planned a four-day backpack around most of the base of Mt. Adams for July 16-19, 2007. The original plan was to start at Cold Springs and finish at Muddy Meadows, with a day-trip to Avalanche Valley tossed in for good measure. The biggest drawback to doing this trip right now is the washout of Forest Road-23, which turned what would normally be a 24-mile car shuttle into an all-day driving nightmare on FR-25, 90, and 88 to get between Randle and Trout Lake. Luckily, the Future Lahar Survivor Spouse Shuttle Service was operating last weekend. We spent Sunday night in Randle, then did the north trailhead car drop Monday morning and drove around to Cold Springs, and the trailhead for South Climb #183. Hitting the trail at 3:15 PM, we were surprised to see many other hikers starting up at the same time, with the majority lugging skis for an attempt at the summit. Ours was a different path, however, and after 1.3 miles of climbing on #183, we made a sharp turn west on Around-the-Mountain Trail #9. Over the next five miles, we passed three separate washouts, each successively more difficult than the last. The first required a short scramble, the second required a bit of route-finding and a longer scramble, and the third required the use of cairn-following and ropes to descend into and ascend out of the gorge carved by the washout. Thanks to (I assume) the forest service for setting the sturdy ropes in place. Camp for night 1 was in Horseshoe Meadow, a gorgeous spot carpeted with wildflowers (lupine, phlox, and pink paintbrush were dominant throughout the trip, and probably just shy of peak). Day 2 saw more flat and gorgeous trail (now on the PCT #2000), with vistas onto St. Helens, Rainier, and, of course, Adams. We also encountered more washouts, but nothing difficult to cross. After not seeing any great camps at Lewis River, we decided to push on to Killen Creek for night 2. This last stretch included the only dicey section of the trip. First, the trail gets lost in one huge washout/lava field, and we were happy to have the GPS to help locate the trail on the other side. Soon after finding the trail, we found the source of the washout, and the only difficult ford of the trip: Adams Creek. The creek was flowing high, so we switched from boots to crocs and stepped gingerly through the icy milk. Killen Creek was empty, and we happily set up camp in the nicest backcountry campsite I have ever seen. The campsite sits at the base of a waterfall, just next to Killen Creek, with a vista over the Killen Meadows and up onto the hulking mass of Mt. Adams. Sadly, the mosquitoes also seemed to love the view (and our blood) and forced us into the tents early. Night 2 saw a steady drizzle that didn't let up the next morning, so rather than continuing to Foggy Flat and day-hiking Avalanche Valley, we decided to cut the trip short and head for the car. The combination of ceaseless rain, a mountain shrouded in clouds, and tired legs was enough to make the car seem more appealing. We continued on the muddy PCT as it began to descend, eventually reaching an intersection with Muddy Meadows Trail #13, where we turned left and continued the slog out to the car. All the rain kept what seemed like an otherwise dusty trail at bay, and we reached the car by 11:30 AM. By 1:30 PM, we were downing corn dogs and curly fries at the Huff-and-Puff outside of Randle. Despite a difficult shuttle, generally cloudy weather, and the worst mosquitoes I have encountered in the backcountry, this was a remarkable trip. In late summer, with good weather and no bugs, this trip would be off the charts. The going is incredibly flat for a mountainous region, the trail is mostly easy to follow and frequently beautiful, and the campsites are superb. And right now, the trail is offering a glimpse into the power of rain. Seeing tiny creeks in the bottom of gorges that they carved as much bigger deluges over the winter was truly impressive. For more pictures, check out http://picasaweb.google.com/zitarell/MtAdamsJuly16182007

My hiking partner, John, and I completed the full circuit of Mt. Adams. We used Trail 113 to reach the Pacific Crest Trail and then went clockwise around the mountain. We started on Thursday evening and hiked about 5 miles to the junction of the PCT and Highline Trails. We then completed the remaining 35 miles of the circuit in 3 days. Guidebooks recommend starting at Cold Springs on the south end of the mountain and going counter-clockwise. In order to shorten the drive from Seattle, we chose to start further north and go clockwise. Going clockwise may be more challenging than making the circuit in a counter-clockwise direction. Highlights of the trip were the Devils Garden section on the Highline Trail and the crossing of The Gap, a trail-less 5 mile section that allows one to link the PCT, Highline, and Round-The- Mountain trails to make the complete circuit. The Gap segment is on Yakima tribal lands and requires a permit from them. The Gap is a short but very challenging section involving good route finding,a very steep and tedious climb on scree and rocks to the top of the Ridge of Wonders if doing the circuit clockwise, and the crossing of some fast-moving streams. The Big Muddy should be crossed with caution if the water level is high. We found the circuit to be one of the most interesting and beautiful hikes we've done in the Cascades. Not only is there the magnificent Mt. Adams wilderness, but also panoramic views of other Cascade peaks--Hood, St. Helens, Rainier, the Goat Rocks.

Three of us Seattel-ites decided to try the Mt. Adams area for a change, for a three night one way backpack along the Highline (or Around The Mountain) trail. The whole way we had fantastic close-up views of Mt. Adams and easy walking. Bugs existed but in moderation and not too pesky, applied only some DEET. Day 1 - Rather than drive two cars all the way from Seattle for the shuttle we arranged a shuttle with Cascade Mountain and Ropes (cascademountainropes.com; 509-395-3620 or cell 541-490-7657). Very nice people and Shawn met us at Killen Creek Trailhead, our end point, with their truck. We left our car there and they drove us around through Trout Lake (with a stop at their store so we could buy a good map) and up to the south climb access, our start point. We started walking around 6:00 pm. The climber's trail climbs several hundred feet uphill but once you intersect the Aroujnd the Mountain trail and take a left onto elevation gain is negligible. We saw lots of good campsites but streams were dry. Then plenty of streams but absolutely no flat or smooth tent sites until 3.5 miles. It was almost dark by then. If you get a late start like we did might want to carry enough water in for the night and camp sooner. Day 2 - Very leisurely start, then a walk through meadows, views, old growth and more stunted trees through lava flows. Horseshow Meadow was a nice lunch stop with great views. Joined the PCT. We bushwacked and navigated our way uphill to Crystal Lake, about 200 feet and 1/3 mile uphill of the PCT. The little rock-rimmed lake turned out to a little hard to find but very beautiful and swimmable. One decent campsite along the north side, with fantastic views. Thanks to the solo hiker only other person there on this Saturday night) who traded sites with us so we had room for all three of us. Total only about six miles. Day 3 - Another leisurely start, found the faint boot track from Crystal Lake to the PCT (the trail is north of our approach on Day 2). Hiked only about 5 or 6 miles, a little moderate climbing across the Mutton Creek Lava flow. Many creeks were dry. We passed our out trail (Killen Creek trail)by about a mile to camp at Killen Creek. Here we found a really lovely area, with meadows, views, little waterfalls, and excellent campsites. We camped at the little lake about 1/8 mile downhill of the trail, there is a campsite on the far (west) side of it. More great views, etc. Day 4. Backtracked to the Killen Creek trail, dropped our packs and day hiked up to High Camp (1 mile, steep 900 feet up). High Camp is basically a big rocky meadow with stunning views into mt. Adams glaciers and volcanic slopes. The meadows are surrounded by rocky moraines and snowfields. Great side hike. Returned to our packs and out the 3.5 mile Killen Creek trail which was extremely dusty, to our car.