SALMON BUTTE

Salmon Butte in the Salmon Huckleberry Wilderness area is perhaps Al's favorite hike. The trail is very soft and foot friendly with a gentle grade that offers good elevation gain of either 2100 feet to the first viewpoint or 2850 at the summit. He particularly enjoys a good "forest" hike and Salmon Butte offers a great experience before reaching the exposed and abandoned site of a former fire lookout station.

An early stretch of this trail displays the most extensive blow-down area we've ever seen. So many trees are on the ground, it's amazing there are any left standing. Yet, the residual forest is still so thick that it creates what I whimsically call a "wolf woods", defined as a heavily canopied, very dark forest nearly devoid of light or vegetation. It is a splendidly camouflaged environment in which to move about unseen, surely a good place for a wolf, even though none exist here.

Other segments, most notably in the "slide" areas of steeply graded creeks, show stark evidence of a tumultuously violent past where huge trees were tossed about in nature's game of "pickup sticks". This scene of beautiful chaos contrasts sharply with the absolute quiet and blissful peace of the surrounding forest, that even now is reclaiming and absorbing the scars back into the perfection and serene wholeness of nature.

Winding up the long, lazy switchbacks for about 3.5 miles, a very bright hillside meadow reveals a close-up view of Mount Hood. The beautiful and isolated Salmon Huckleberry Wilderness area spreads out below with sweeping views of green peaks and valleys as far as one can see.

Early in spring, the wild pink rhododendrons are in full bloom, along with tall stalks of elegantly white and slightly scented bear grass flowers, a towering favorite. From this point to the summit (about one mile), the trees and vegetation are shaped by deep winter snows and icy winds, making for some interestingly contorted trees and landscapes as one traverses the ridge to a logging road and uphill for the final ascent. Where the trail intersects the logging road, it might be well to mark the somewhat hidden location for the return trip.

Picking a blue-skied, very clear day for this hike offers tremendous rewards. A number of mountains are visible in three directions, including: Mt. Hood, Mt. Adams, Mt. St. Helens, and Mt. Rainier on the northern horizon. Beautiful Mt. Jefferson graces the southern horizon and with excellent visibility, it is possible to see part of the Three Sisters range in Central Oregon. Not a bad spot for lunch.

ELEVATION / MILEAGE
2850'
8.8 miles RT
Northwest Parking Pass or equivalent required

DIRECTION
Check with the Zig Zag Ranger Station or the Visitors Information Center in Welches for directions and conditions.