Panther Creek Campground PCT Trailhead to Big Huckleberry Mountain Camp On PCT (2 night backpacking trip)
For some reason it doesn't seem like this section of the PCT is listed here on WTA - we spent 2 nights and 3 days hiking the PCT from the Panther Creek Campground to the Big Huckleberry Mountain campsite. It was during a heatwave in the NW - although the trail was shady nearly the entire time, it was still pretty hot! If doing this section of the PCT, keep in mind that there is no water - you need to pack in what you'll need, whether it's a day hike or multi-day backpacking trip.
We parked our car just outside the Panther Creek camp and crossed the creek on the PCT, where it immediately goes uphill with a series of 9 switchbacks. There are no views during this stretch - you're in a nice green forest. The views don't really start until you get near the first PCT camp site, which is where the trail meets a junction of old forest roads. They get better further on as you gain elevation, where you'll see the gorge and Mt. Hood off in the distance.
Our plans were pretty fluid for this trip, so given the heat and our late start (we hit the trail around 3pm) we decided to stop at the PCT camp next to the Wind River Experimental Forest sign where the trail meets forest road 68. It's a nice flat spot - no views but it worked for us.
The next day we continued on, still gaining elevation. We took a lunch break at a PCT campsite near the junction of the Cedar Creek trail - it is a nice open spot, with a campsite in the shade, with a great view of Mt. Hood and the surrounding area. We thought about making this our camp for the night, but exploring further with lighter packs, but decided to push on.
We passed the junction of the Grassy Knoll trail - we thought about going down and exploring that area, but the trail starts with a steep downhill, and not wanting to do much more elevation gain/loss in the heat, we just stayed on the PCT. We passed the trail up to the summit of Big Huckleberry Mountain and came to a clearing with one PCT campsite with an amazing view of Mt. Adams and the Big Lava Bed. It was pretty early in the day, just after noon, but it was really hot, and we knew we would have to hike the whole way back the next day, so we called it and set up camp there. It looks like there are two campsites here - one right next to the trail (which we chose for the view) and one tucked into a group of trees nearby (where we hung out during the afternoon for the shade). There were a ton of bugs, all sorts of flies, bees and mosquitoes. It was mostly flies and bees during the day, which wasn't bad.
However, the next morning it was all mosquitoes - lots of 'em! We packed quickly, skipping breakfast and coffee, and started hiking down. We made great time, just stopping once an hour for water and snacks. It wasn't quite as hot, and we started early, so it was a pleasant but tough hike down - 3200 feet of elevation loss in total over 4.5 hours. Overall it was a great trip and a great workout. We saw just a few other people over the three days - 3 day hikers and a two people that did an overnight.
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