GlassMountains Trip Reports

Jefferson Park, Oregon, October 2022

October 5, 2022 by Paul McClellan Leave a Comment

On October 2, Bob F. and I drove to the Woodpecker Trailhead in the Willamette National Forest. From there we hiked the Woodpecker Ridge and Pacific Crest Trails to Jefferson Park, below the north face of Mount Jefferson. This was my first visit to Jefferson Park in 18 years. I wanted to visit it again and to see how the Lionshead Fire of 2020 had impacted the trails and the park, itself.

Mount Jefferson from the Woodpecker Trail and PCT junction

The Woodpecker Trailhead was still officially closed. But it was a quirk of the regulations that one could park a few hundred feet below the trailhead and hike around it to reach the trails. So we did that. Bob had a Central Cascades Wilderness Permit for the Pamelia Lake Trailhead. So we were legal and prepared for any forest rangers we might encounter.

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Krag Peak, Oregon, September 2022

September 12, 2022 by Paul McClellan Leave a Comment

Saturday morning, September 3, Larry Luehring and I were camped just above Crater Lake in the Wallowa Mountains of Northeast Oregon. We had packed in from the Summit Point Trailhead two days earlier. Our plan this day was to climb Krag Peak after climbing nearby Red Mountain the day before.

Krag Peak from the summit of Red Mountain

Early that morning after a warmer night than previous ones, I listened to the wind blowing through the trees around us from within my tent. I peeked out and saw heavy overcast with darker clouds approaching from the southwest. This was unexpected – I had checked the weather forecast from the summit of Red Mountain the previous day and it was forecast to be sunny this day.

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Red Mountain (Wallowa), Oregon, September 2022

September 9, 2022 by Paul McClellan Leave a Comment

On Wednesday, August 31, I joined Larry Luehring at the McBride Campground in the Wallowa Whitman National Forest near Halfway, Oregon. Our plan was to pack in to Crater Lake on the south side of the Wallowa Mountains and to subsequently climb both Red Mountain and Krag Peak from our camp.

Paul on the Summit Point Trail (Larry Luehring photo)

Larry and I were high school friends. I had first started hiking, backpacking, snowshoeing, cross-country skiing, and mountain climbing in Oregon with Larry during our college years. Larry now lives near Portland, Texas, and I had not seen him for 13 years. We reconnected in the context of a July high school reunion which, in the end, neither of us could attend.

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Completing My USA State Highpoints Project, March 2022

April 12, 2022 by Paul McClellan Leave a Comment

This March I completed my USA State Highpoints project by visiting Sassafras Mountain, Brasstown Bald, Cheaha Mountain, and, lastly, Britton Hill.

The Western USA State Highpoints

Paul on the summit of Mount Hood (July 1977) — Paul on the summit of Mount Hood (June 1977)

I began visiting USA State Highpoints in June 1977 with Mount Hood, the highpoint of Oregon. But I had no idea I was starting a State Highpoints project. I had previously climbed two other Oregon volcanoes and somehow the opportunity to join other work colleagues on an attempt of Mount Hood came up. This was my first experience with roped climbing on snow and ice with ice axe and crampons. I wore jeans and a cotton shirt, but the weather and conditions were excellent and I got away with my inexperience. Soon afterwards I improved my skills on a week-long snow and ice climbing course.

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