BSPclimber - May 19, 2007 2:44 pm Date Climbed: May 18, 2007
South Ridge
My son and I started at 5:30 PM. Summited at 7, started back down at 7:15, back to the car by 8:20. Weather was so-so at the start, clouds came in on the way up, got a couple of sun breaks at the summit, then more clouds and a bit of rain on the way down. Snow in all of the shady areas from 3600 feet up, considerable amounts near the summit (3-6 feet). Enjoyable hike/scramble, we will be back later to do this descent on bike.
The trail is in good shape but with snow in the trees. It was a dramatic days of alternating snowy clouds and bright sunshine. The clearest skies did not quite coincide with the best views, but still a great day.
M and N Denyer - Nov 2, 2006 8:23 pm Date Climbed: Mar 4, 2006
Nice hike
Nice hike on a sunny day with Brian Jenkins and Anette.
awilsondc - Jun 25, 2006 2:39 am Date Climbed: Jun 24, 2006
Route Climbed: South Ridge
First trip I've ever done with a dog in my party. I did this hike with a long time friend, first time hiking partner and his dog, a young great dane (HUGE dog) who behaved very well for his first hike. We took the south ridge and didn't run across anyone untill the last half mile which was littered with people. The views from the top were some of the best views of the cascade volcanos I've ever seen. Some good scrambling was found on a rock (pyramid rock?) a couple of miles into the trail on the right. Good rock, and lots of options! Next time I gotta try surugeon rock via the sturgeon stairway. Great hike, highly recommended.
adamschneider - Jun 18, 2006 3:30 am Date Climbed: Jun 17, 2006
Wildflowers (and a little snow) on the north ridge
Went up today with a couple of friends; we went in from the north off County 12, which is a really horrible drive. The first segment of gravel road is smooth but with enormous potholes; the remainder is rough and rocky. As for the hike itself: we forked off to the left at Ed's Trail, rejoined the main road/trail at the five-way junction with the Tarbell Trail and the fun-looking Bluff Mountain Trail, and continued on to the main summit. We returned down the main trail. (By the way, some joker had turned a sign at that 5-way junction 90 degrees counter-clockwise; we fixed it, but it's not pounded in, so it could move again. And speaking of weird signs, there's one right after the trailhead that has bizarre distances on it; apparently it was installed in the wrong place.)
There were still a few patches of snow above 3000 feet, including one we had to traverse near the rock arch; but on the whole, everything was very GREEN from the valleys right up to the peaks. Lots and lots of beargrass, golden pea, paintbrush, and avalanche lilies; a fair number of lupines, irises, and salmonberries; and countless other wildflowers. The views of the surrounding hills and rock formations were amazing; unfortunately, the big volcanoes stayed hidden under a scattered cloud deck, but on a clear day the views of the local Big Four would be stunning, I'm sure. (We could see the bottom edge of the snow on Adams, St. Helens, and Hood, so we could tell how close they were.) It was about 55-60 degrees F with calm winds, except at the very top of the mountain where the wind made it a little chilly. Overall, a fanastic day trip.
The day I went up this mountain, there was a ton of fog that completely obscured the view. There might have been 10' of visibility. "Old baldy" was a crow that greeted us at the top and followed us (hoping for a meal?) for quite a while as we descended.
Set off early afternoon Saturday with some sun breaks. Arrived at a point to the south nearly even with Pyramid Rock soon after hearing there may be a mountain goat living there. Started down, didn't see anything. Just as I was rounding the corner, there it stands atop the lower rocks of Pyramid Rock. (Another summitposter discovered the goat in February) I left there to summit in whiteout. I felt a bit scared not being able to see the cornices near the summit until I was on top of them, but I have been up there many times to know where the safe areas are. It was a bit windy at the top, not too cold, and a great workout.
Route Climbed: North Ridge Date Climbed: January 1998
Hiked up here with a few friends. Our trucks barely made it up to the trailhead with all the snow. We post-holed to the summit, hugging the ridgecrest because of the lack of a trail, and the clouds blowing over the top reducing the visibility. It's beautiful up there in Winter, but with the windchill, we didn't stick around to enjoy the view for very long. Lots of fun though! Ran into a porcupine on the trail too.
Route Climbed: North ridge Date Climbed: July 21, 2002
This climb was connected with my first on-purpose county highpoint - the nearby "Sturgeon Fin" which is the highpoint of my home county. Wonder of wonders, my wife did this one with me, and even enjoyed the scramble up onto Sturgeon Rock. If only she would go with me more often!
Fun little scramble on Sturgeon Fin plus the chance to visit an old lookout site on the summit proper. The flowers were very impressive. For this modest elevation they were still decent in August and would have been glorious in July.
Route Climbed: South Ridge Date Climbed: December 11, 2004
Forecast said "definite rain" but we enjoyed mostly clear skies and views of Adams, St. Helens, Ranier, and part of Hood. About a foot of crusty snow on top, and lots of running streams at the bottom. Scrambled around on Sturgeon Rock a bit and found some possibilities for top-roped climbing.
Route Climbed: Normal Route to Silver Star, Sturgeon Stairway to Sturgeon Rock Date Climbed: November 11, 2004
On this beautiful fall day (except for the annoying inversion layer) I pushed my bike to the summit of Silver Star (proof) in 1.5 hours. I then went over to Sturgeon Rock to do a route on the north side. After that, it took me 45 minutes to ride down. Pretty nice, actually, except for the steep rocky bit in the last 800 vertical back to the car. Note: you must have good brakes on your bike if you wish to ride down the South Ridge Route.
Route Climbed: South Ridge Date Climbed: September 20, 2004
Beautiful day with varying layers of clouds but no rain. Saw the very tip of Mt. Hood, but no other volcanoes. Already some very nice fall colors. Saw not a soul, but plenty of wildlife, including 3 elk.
Route Climbed: South Ridge Date Climbed: September 3, 1004
I was on the main South Ridge trail by 8:30 am or so with heavy clouds veiling any sort of view on the way up. I walked right under Pyramid Rock and didn't know it due to the thick stuff. There was lots of scat on the trail.
I had the summit to myself and all I could see was the sloping meadows just below the peak. As I was eating my cold pizza (canadian bacon and pinapple), I looked down to see a bear abling through the rocky meadow below. Wow, now that was a first!
I returned the same way, with a side trip to see the Indian Pits, though I only went halfway due to the conditions. The clouds lifted just enough to let me see a little of the valley and other neat rock formations in the immediate area. I saw one other hiker on the way down.
I will be back on a blue sky day.
cmc56789 - Jun 8, 2004 12:06 am Date Climbed: Aug 23, 2006
Route Climbed: South Ridge Date Climbed: January, 2003 and June 07, 2004
June, 2004 - Started out on a cloudy day. I did the side trail to the Native American meditation pits and had a nice view of the Columbia River and Portland/Vancouver, but couldn't see any of the cascades. It was definitely neat to see the buildings of downtown Portland though. Then the rain hit, and i couldn't see anything. Summited in the clouds with no views. Rain began again and even turned to hail for a few minutes at the beginning of my hike down. About halfway down I heard thunder and saw lightning in the distance, but thankfully I wasn't endangered by it. finished this trip up with the sounds of gunshots for background. A lot of beargrass and indian paintbrush in bloom. I was surprised to see quite a few patches of snow remaining in the shadier areas. Saw some tracks near the top from 4X4 vehicles.
August, 2006 - Hiked up via the Tarbell Trail stopping to scramble up Sturgeon Rock along the way. The old road from the Tarbell trail up the Mountain was pretty uninteresting.
Route Climbed: Via Indian Pits Date Climbed: Feb 04
Windy day, took a tough route and got stopped in our tracks.... literally by the wind. Had a snack just a little southeast of the summit and decided not to brave the exposed saddle. probably would have gotten blown off.....
BSPclimber - May 19, 2007 2:44 pm Date Climbed: May 18, 2007
South RidgeMy son and I started at 5:30 PM. Summited at 7, started back down at 7:15, back to the car by 8:20. Weather was so-so at the start, clouds came in on the way up, got a couple of sun breaks at the summit, then more clouds and a bit of rain on the way down. Snow in all of the shady areas from 3600 feet up, considerable amounts near the summit (3-6 feet). Enjoyable hike/scramble, we will be back later to do this descent on bike.
lostman - Apr 15, 2007 7:08 pm Date Climbed: Apr 15, 2007
A little snow in the airThe trail is in good shape but with snow in the trees. It was a dramatic days of alternating snowy clouds and bright sunshine. The clearest skies did not quite coincide with the best views, but still a great day.
M and N Denyer - Nov 2, 2006 8:23 pm Date Climbed: Mar 4, 2006
Nice hikeNice hike on a sunny day with Brian Jenkins and Anette.
awilsondc - Jun 25, 2006 2:39 am Date Climbed: Jun 24, 2006
Route Climbed: South RidgeFirst trip I've ever done with a dog in my party. I did this hike with a long time friend, first time hiking partner and his dog, a young great dane (HUGE dog) who behaved very well for his first hike. We took the south ridge and didn't run across anyone untill the last half mile which was littered with people. The views from the top were some of the best views of the cascade volcanos I've ever seen. Some good scrambling was found on a rock (pyramid rock?) a couple of miles into the trail on the right. Good rock, and lots of options! Next time I gotta try surugeon rock via the sturgeon stairway. Great hike, highly recommended.
adamschneider - Jun 18, 2006 3:30 am Date Climbed: Jun 17, 2006
Wildflowers (and a little snow) on the north ridgeWent up today with a couple of friends; we went in from the north off County 12, which is a really horrible drive. The first segment of gravel road is smooth but with enormous potholes; the remainder is rough and rocky. As for the hike itself: we forked off to the left at Ed's Trail, rejoined the main road/trail at the five-way junction with the Tarbell Trail and the fun-looking Bluff Mountain Trail, and continued on to the main summit. We returned down the main trail. (By the way, some joker had turned a sign at that 5-way junction 90 degrees counter-clockwise; we fixed it, but it's not pounded in, so it could move again. And speaking of weird signs, there's one right after the trailhead that has bizarre distances on it; apparently it was installed in the wrong place.)
There were still a few patches of snow above 3000 feet, including one we had to traverse near the rock arch; but on the whole, everything was very GREEN from the valleys right up to the peaks. Lots and lots of beargrass, golden pea, paintbrush, and avalanche lilies; a fair number of lupines, irises, and salmonberries; and countless other wildflowers. The views of the surrounding hills and rock formations were amazing; unfortunately, the big volcanoes stayed hidden under a scattered cloud deck, but on a clear day the views of the local Big Four would be stunning, I'm sure. (We could see the bottom edge of the snow on Adams, St. Helens, and Hood, so we could tell how close they were.) It was about 55-60 degrees F with calm winds, except at the very top of the mountain where the wind made it a little chilly. Overall, a fanastic day trip.
Aeldrin - Apr 24, 2006 2:16 am
Date climbed: June 2000The day I went up this mountain, there was a ton of fog that completely obscured the view. There might have been 10' of visibility. "Old baldy" was a crow that greeted us at the top and followed us (hoping for a meal?) for quite a while as we descended.
mradventure - Apr 2, 2006 4:05 pm Date Climbed: Apr 2, 2006
Silver Star SnowshoeingSet off early afternoon Saturday with some sun breaks. Arrived at a point to the south nearly even with Pyramid Rock soon after hearing there may be a mountain goat living there. Started down, didn't see anything. Just as I was rounding the corner, there it stands atop the lower rocks of Pyramid Rock. (Another summitposter discovered the goat in February) I left there to summit in whiteout. I felt a bit scared not being able to see the cornices near the summit until I was on top of them, but I have been up there many times to know where the safe areas are. It was a bit windy at the top, not too cold, and a great workout.
Koohnavard - Jan 16, 2006 12:30 pm
Date Climbed: July 1993I lived in Battle Ground and spent a lot of time biking and hiking the trails that surround this mountain.
MtnTroll - Jan 6, 2006 1:27 pm
Route Climbed: South Ridge Date Climbed: May 1995 (many later)One of my favorite hikes close to Portland.
Tnarg - Dec 30, 2005 5:06 pm
Route Climbed: North Ridge Date Climbed: January 1998Hiked up here with a few friends. Our trucks barely made it up to the trailhead with all the snow. We post-holed to the summit, hugging the ridgecrest because of the lack of a trail, and the clouds blowing over the top reducing the visibility. It's beautiful up there in Winter, but with the windchill, we didn't stick around to enjoy the view for very long. Lots of fun though! Ran into a porcupine on the trail too.
Bob Bolton - Dec 7, 2005 1:49 am
Route Climbed: North ridge Date Climbed: July 21, 2002This climb was connected with my first on-purpose county highpoint - the nearby "Sturgeon Fin" which is the highpoint of my home county. Wonder of wonders, my wife did this one with me, and even enjoyed the scramble up onto Sturgeon Rock. If only she would go with me more often!
ericnoel - Oct 21, 2005 8:49 pm
Date Climbed: August 5th 2005Fun little scramble on Sturgeon Fin plus the chance to visit an old lookout site on the summit proper. The flowers were very impressive. For this modest elevation they were still decent in August and would have been glorious in July.
Blakester - Feb 14, 2005 8:50 pm
Route Climbed: Looped around from the east past little baldy Date Climbed: May 2004snow prevented use of the trail on the west side, so I just scrambled up the rocky NE side.
jtschanz - Dec 20, 2004 1:58 pm
Route Climbed: South Ridge Date Climbed: December 11, 2004Forecast said "definite rain" but we enjoyed mostly clear skies and views of Adams, St. Helens, Ranier, and part of Hood. About a foot of crusty snow on top, and lots of running streams at the bottom. Scrambled around on Sturgeon Rock a bit and found some possibilities for top-roped climbing.
Klenke - Nov 15, 2004 12:55 pm
Route Climbed: Normal Route to Silver Star, Sturgeon Stairway to Sturgeon Rock Date Climbed: November 11, 2004On this beautiful fall day (except for the annoying inversion layer) I pushed my bike to the summit of Silver Star (proof) in 1.5 hours. I then went over to Sturgeon Rock to do a route on the north side. After that, it took me 45 minutes to ride down. Pretty nice, actually, except for the steep rocky bit in the last 800 vertical back to the car. Note: you must have good brakes on your bike if you wish to ride down the South Ridge Route.
Dundeel - Sep 22, 2004 11:30 pm
Route Climbed: North Ridge Date Climbed: August 28, 2004Great weather! After summitting Silver Star, walked west and summitted Sturgeon Rock (Clark County highpoint).
lostman - Sep 21, 2004 1:50 am
Route Climbed: South Ridge Date Climbed: September 20, 2004Beautiful day with varying layers of clouds but no rain. Saw the very tip of Mt. Hood, but no other volcanoes. Already some very nice fall colors. Saw not a soul, but plenty of wildlife, including 3 elk.
Soup - Sep 5, 2004 6:28 pm
Route Climbed: South Ridge Date Climbed: September 3, 1004I was on the main South Ridge trail by 8:30 am or so with heavy clouds veiling any sort of view on the way up. I walked right under Pyramid Rock and didn't know it due to the thick stuff. There was lots of scat on the trail.
I had the summit to myself and all I could see was the sloping meadows just below the peak. As I was eating my cold pizza (canadian bacon and pinapple), I looked down to see a bear abling through the rocky meadow below. Wow, now that was a first!
I returned the same way, with a side trip to see the Indian Pits, though I only went halfway due to the conditions. The clouds lifted just enough to let me see a little of the valley and other neat rock formations in the immediate area. I saw one other hiker on the way down.
I will be back on a blue sky day.
cmc56789 - Jun 8, 2004 12:06 am Date Climbed: Aug 23, 2006
Route Climbed: South Ridge Date Climbed: January, 2003 and June 07, 2004June, 2004 - Started out on a cloudy day. I did the side trail to the Native American meditation pits and had a nice view of the Columbia River and Portland/Vancouver, but couldn't see any of the cascades. It was definitely neat to see the buildings of downtown Portland though. Then the rain hit, and i couldn't see anything. Summited in the clouds with no views. Rain began again and even turned to hail for a few minutes at the beginning of my hike down. About halfway down I heard thunder and saw lightning in the distance, but thankfully I wasn't endangered by it. finished this trip up with the sounds of gunshots for background. A lot of beargrass and indian paintbrush in bloom. I was surprised to see quite a few patches of snow remaining in the shadier areas. Saw some tracks near the top from 4X4 vehicles.
August, 2006 - Hiked up via the Tarbell Trail stopping to scramble up Sturgeon Rock along the way. The old road from the Tarbell trail up the Mountain was pretty uninteresting.
mountainlion - Mar 21, 2004 1:30 am
Route Climbed: Via Indian Pits Date Climbed: Feb 04Windy day, took a tough route and got stopped in our tracks.... literally by the wind. Had a snack just a little southeast of the summit and decided not to brave the exposed saddle. probably would have gotten blown off.....
got some great pictures though!!