Butcher Knife Ridge - a scary Halloween Hike! (10 miles, 2800 ft ascent)
Details
Greetings -
Yes! It really is Butcher Knife Ridge!
Free to Trails Club members paid up on their yearly dues, $2 for non TCO members.
A PERFECT name for perfect Halloween hike!
While the concessions at Lost Lake resort are closed for the winter, the hiking trails and surrounding area remain open.
Meetup Time: 9:30am Lost Lake Resort locked gate, just outside its main entrance
Distance: 10 miles
Elevation gain: 2500 ft (more or less)
Offtrail: Yes! (about 2 miles) - offtrail travel is required on this hike
Fee: None (no day fee, I checked)
Offtrail travel is required on this hike. If you are not comfortable with offtrail hiking, please reconsider your hiking options. I plan to keep everyone together during the offtrail, and want everyone to have a fun day.
The plan is to meet at the locked gate at the entrance of the Lost Lake resort. This means driving to Lost Lake until you reach the gate, which is approx 0.5 before Lost Lake campground. We will park our cars outside the gate and walk in (I checked with the Lost Lake concession folks - this is acceptable.)
We are going to hike/scramble Butcher Knife Ridge and take in views of Mt Hood. There is an old road leading up the ridge. The road ends and we follow the ridge line to Lost Lake Butte. Once at Lost Lake Butte summit, we will take the trail down, stop by the lake for pup swimming, then return to our cars.
This is a non-technical hike. There are no water crossings. There is quite a bit of offtrail. Short sections are brushy. The views of Mt Hood from this point are amazing. The offtrail ridge is rather wide, but there are some exposure sections that can be easily avoided.
Well-behaved dogs are welcome, and the dogs must have good recall.
Bring: water, lunch, sunscreen, hat, poles, gloves, sunglasses, headlamp.
I expect to be done well before last light, but I make no guarantees.
Each person is responsible for travel to/from the Meetup point. Please use this Meetup page to arrange your own carpooling if needed. The hike leader is not responsible for carpooling.
Please note I am a non-paid volunteer. Each person is expected to be prepared for a day hike in the wilderness, and each person is responsible for their own safety.