Tamanawas Falls and Beyond

The weather forecast for Wed. 4/30/2014, was for 80 deg and sunny in the Portland area. I took that as a hint  to take the day off and go hiking. I am anxious to get back in the high country, the snow is still too deep. I found a trail listed for Tamanawas Falls, which is on the NE side of Mt Hood. I checked the elevations and the trail starts around the 3500 ft level. That is below the snow line for this year. The trail to the falls is relatively short. So as I was planning, I looked for additional routes to take. I saw that the Elk Meadows Trail intersected with the falls trail. To reach Elk Meadows is an additional 4 miles. The bad thing is the elevation gains to near 5000 ft and higher. So there is a good chance of reaching snow. Another trail that intersects is the Lambertson Spur trail. It adds another 3 miles to the trip. It is a very steep climb and 3 miles equates to about 10 or more on the legs.

I started my hike at the Tamanawas Trail Head. For about 1/2 mile, the trail parallels Hwy 35. Not much traffic, so it was hardly noticeable.This trail is very popular and during weekends and summer months will get quite busy. I imagine, most folks go to the falls, turn around and head back to their cars. Not me, I continued on to the Elk Meadows Trail. The trail took me into the Mt Hood Wilderness. No permit form needed be filled out. They are required May 15th. I am not certain how far I hiked on the trail. I forgot my GPS at home. So I used my Back Country Navigator app on my Android phone. It worked well, but to leave on tracking would kill the battery quickly. Although, I do carry several extra batteries. At some point about 2 to 3 miles, the snow drifts were beginning to be deep. I brought snowshoes, but left them in the car. I really didn't want to snowshoe on this day. I turned around and decided to hike up as far as I could on the Lambertson Spur Trail. I hiked up for about 1.5 or so miles and reached about 4600 ft when I started to get into heavy damage to the trail. Downed trees blocked a section. I had to bushwhack to get around. Once past the downed trees, the snow drifts became deeper. Once again, I chose not to push on. The area is very remote and I couldn't help but think there was some wildlife around. As I was walking, I noticed paw prints in the snow. They were Cougar prints. They were probably from a day or so ago. Then I saw Elk droppings and prints in the snow. There was lots of some animals scat on the trail. It had fur in it, but not sure from what animal. I will be researching, as I found a lot of it. I took a few breaks, and when I reached the point on Lambertson Spur Trail where I would go no farther, I took an extended break and just listened to nature. Oh and I ate my Snickers bar. This has been my tradition when hiking. More of a reward for making it to a certain point.

Here are pics from my hike with some notes.

The bridge crossing. 

Several small falls along the trail. 

Rock formations are pretty amazing. Lots of loose rocks. 

First glimpse of the falls. 

Intersection for the Lambertson Spur and Elk Meadow trails. 

This creek was very clear and a great water refill spot. I use a Sawyer Squeeze filter, just in case of any bad bacteria.

The trail started to get lost in the thick bush. I looked at my navigator app and it showed I was to cross the stream. This was the only method, so I took it. No formal bridge here. Just a couple logs. It was not a problem. 

 Along Elk Meadow Trail, snow began to get in the way. 

Definitely getting deeper. 

After Googling Cougar Scat, I am convinced thats what this is. I saw it in several areas. 

Cougar print in the snow. 

Along Lambertson Spur Trail, snow was getting deeper. 

Elk Print

I had no views of Mt Hood during my hike. I took a drive to an area adjacent and found this view. This is looking west. I was across Hwy 35 on Forest Rd 44. 

I will return to the Lambertson Spur Trail during the summer. Here is a sneak peek at what it will look like when I do.