GlassMountains Trip Reports

South Pyramid, Oregon, September 2026

October 2, 2026 by Paul McClellan Leave a Comment

On Wednesday, September 30, I climbed South Pyramid in the Western Cascade Range of Oregon. This peak is west of Oregon Highway 22 northwest of Santiam Junction. South Pyramid has 1588 feet of topographic prominence and has a rock tower for a summit. It has been on my wish list for several years.

South Pyramid (left) and Middle Pyramid from FR 560

In August 2021 Ken Russell and I hiked the Pyramids Trail #3380 to the summit of Middle Pyramid. This was a nice trail and the rocky summit had excellent views. On our descent we attempted to access South Pyramid as well but the route from Middle Pyramid did not work for us. I hoped I might try South Pyramid by another route sometime later.

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Glacier Mountain, Oregon, July 2026

July 22, 2026 by Paul McClellan Leave a Comment

On Thursday, July 16, I visited Glacier Mountain and Lookout Mountain on the east side of the Strawberry Mountains southeast of Prairie City, Oregon. That morning it was thunderstorming in the Elkhorn and Greenhorn Mountains. In spite of the rain, lightning, and thunder I hoped to at least explore forest road access to Vinegar Hill in the Greenhorn Mountains. But the road I needed was closed due to the nearby Olive Butte Fire.

Glacier Mountain from the Sunshine Flat Trailhead

However, the weather forecast was much better for the nearby Strawberry Mountains to the south. In 2009 I had hiked Lookout Mountain on the east side of the Strawberry Mountains. I had shared this hike with Rudi, our long deceased canine. Since then I determined that nearby Glacier Mountain had some significance to me, and I took the opportunity to visit it this day.

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Baldy Mountain, Oregon, June 2026

June 30, 2026 by Paul McClellan Leave a Comment

On Thursday, June 25, I visited Baldy Mountain in the Blue Mountains southeast of Prairie City, Oregon. Linda and I were returning to Bend from Baker City but I took a detour on the way while Linda drove on to Bend with our dogs. I expected a quick detour, but it proved otherwise.

Baldy Mountain from my parking spot on abandoned FR 312

A quick search on a peak database I use reveals there are 80 peaks in Oregon with “Bald” in their name, and 6 named “Baldy Mountain”. This Baldy Mountain has 7618 feet of elevation and 958 feet of topographic prominence. It has been on my “wish list” of Blue Mountain peaks to visit for several years.

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Cookes Peak, New Mexico, February 2026

February 22, 2026 by Paul McClellan Leave a Comment

On Monday, February 9, I climbed Cookes Peak, the highpoint of the Cookes Range in Southwestern New Mexico. Cookes Peak is a remarkable landmark, one I have often admired as we passed by on our autumn and spring migrations between Arizona and Oregon. I had not had an opportunity earlier to stop and visit it. But this month we decided to spend some days camped at City of Rocks State Park in New Mexico. This provided me my chance to finally visit Cookes Peak.

Our campsite at City of Rocks State Park, New Mexico

Sunday we drove from Tucson east to Demming, then north towards Silver City, and parked at our small campsite amongst the curious rock towers at the park. The site was flat and had room for both our RV and my Jeep.

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