Mount McLoughlin, at 9,495 feet, is the lowest in Oregon’s chain of six major Cascade Range volcanic peaks (the others are Mount Hood, Mount Jefferson, and the Three Sisters, all above 10,000 feet). Viewed from the northwest (i.e., from Interstate-5), Mount McLoughlin’s strikingly symmetrical shape is the dominant landmark of the Rogue River Valley. After waiting out this year’s truculent El Niño-driven weather, I got myself back up there yesterday. Thanks to the heavy snowfall we had this winter, today’s climb was on dirt to about 8,000 feet and then on Spring snow from there to the top. An interesting mix of summer and winter conditions, all on a near perfect bluebird day.
After the snow melts and the forest roads are cleared of any downed trees, Mount McLoughlin’s trailhead moves up to a moderately-sized parking lot (with pit toilet) on Forest Road (FR) 3650, about 0.25 miles southwest of its intersection with FR 3661. FR 3661 is off Highway 140, 35.7 miles east of its junction with Highway 62. It’s 2.4 gravel miles on FR 3661 from Highway 140 to the junction with FR 3650 {Note that the 2005 edition of Bond’s 75 Scrambles in Oregon says you can reach this trailhead by driving up FR 3650 from Highway 140. This stretch of FR 3650 is no longer maintained and it’s a tough (and unnecessary) drive at best.}. The Mount McLoughlin Trail (USFS #3716) starts here and then it’s about 0.25 miles to the boundary of the Sky Lakes Wilderness, across a bridge that received some unusual damage this year.
The boundary is marked with a wilderness sign and another one of those warning signs about not descending the south side of the mountain expecting a short-cut back to the trailhead (an overnight or longer “adventure” is more likely).
This time around the somewhat rocky trail up through the forest was largely clear of fallen trees and was free of snow up to about 7,000 feet.
There’s a nice little (dry) campsite at about 7,000 feet, with a view of Fourmile Lake and Pelican Butte to the east.
I stopped here for a quick snack (ClifBar), only to be confronted by a squirrel that was absolutely and fearlessly intent on sharing in this bounty. Judging from the pushiness of this little rodent, he or she was no stranger to accosting hikers or campers during the busy summer season. I dropped some crumbs to create a diversion and then scurried to safety…
A little further up, I got a good view to the southwest of Brown Mountain, and of Mount Shasta and Mount Eddy down in California.
Between about 7,000 and 8,000 feet, the trail was covered with snow but there were tracks and it wasn’t hard to kick steps in the few places this seemed necessary. Most of this part of the climb is in the trees, with only an occasional view, so it was a relief to finally reach the ridge above treeline and start getting 180 degree big views, along with that first clear view of the summit.
The official trail ends here, so I proceeded up and around the ridge to the west (left) following a vague use trail but mostly just scrabbling over boulders. There was a fire lookout on the summit back in the day and long lengths of its telephone line (#9 galvenized wire) can still be found running up the ridge. Along the way, I could see Crater Lake National Park on the horizon, along with some unique cloud formations wafting past the summit.
At about 8,600 feet, I turned another corner on the ridge and was now looking directly up the last stretch to the summit – less than 1,000 feet to go!
For the last 400 feet or so, there was the option of either rock or snow – I went with rock on the way up and snow on the way down (much easier on the knees).
At about this point, a guy and his (friendly) dog passed me, giving me a chance to get a shot of a hiker on the last bit of snow before the summit. To the left behind the boulders is the 1,000+ foot open south face of the peak – a solid snow glissade (or ski or snowboard) right back to treeline about 3 miles west of the trailhead.
And then the summit…
Today, this is considered a moderate to hard hike / scramble but back in the day the Forest Service hauled enough material up here to build not one but two different lookouts. A 12 by 12 foot glass ribbed lumber house, topped by a 6 by 6 foot wooden cupola, was erected in 1917. All the material for the building was packed up over a 12-mile trail, with no piece of timber for the entire building over eight feet in length (to fit on the pack animals). The 1917 structure survived until the early 1930s, when it was noticed that its base was slipping away – a sensation that was probably not reassuring to the fire watcher. In the early 1930s, a new, slightly larger structure was built on a cement and stone foundation three feet thick at the base and 14 feet in height. Long steel rods buried in the foundation served as braces and steel cables kept the lookout rigid against storms. Despite all this, it was used for only about one season and then abandoned; it was finally removed in 1955 and today there is little evidence that it ever existed. The climb was so long that early fire watchers were consigned to the summit for months at a time (a packer brought mail up once a month!). Clearly a job suited to a very hardy (and likely unique) personality.
The view from the summit was exactly as hoped for, with Mount Shasta to the south,
Klamath Lake to the east,
the Mountain Lakes Wilderness and Aspen Butte directly to the south,
the peaks rimming Crater Lake to the north,
and Pelican Butte and Fourmile Lake directly below me to the east.
Last year I did a loop hike in the Sky Lakes Wilderness, with a return along the eastern shore of Fourmile Lake (post). From there, I had a view up toward Mount McLoughlin almost directly in line with the shot I had just taken downward from the summit.
It was a little windy and cold on the summit, so, after some photos and a quick (rodent-free) snack, it was back down the way I’d come. A short (9.4 miles round trip – a little longer when you can follow the trail all the way) but steep (4,000 feet of elevation gain) hike that’s well worth it for the views from 8,000 feet on up to the summit.
BOOTS on the TRAIL 
Leave a Reply