SEGMENT FIVE
VISTA RIDGE TRAILHEAD -- CLOUD CAP

TRAILHEADS:

If hiking clockwise, park at the Vista Ridge Trailhead; if hiking counterclockwise, park at Cloud Cap. The trailheads to this segment of the Timberline Trail are both on the north side of the mountain and getting there entails a relatively long drive. Also, the access roads to the trailheads may be rough. This will depend on the amount of maintenance that has been done after the winter, whether the access roads have had a major regrading, and for the Cloud Cap road, the amount of car traffic over the summer. The road to Cloud Cap usually has rough sections with some potholes and washboard surface, but these don’t pose a serious problem if you drive cautiously. The access road to the Vista Ridge Trailhead is usually fine up to the last 0.8 mile when it deteriorates to being rough and very rocky. Fortunately this section is not long and if it is too difficult, the length of the hike is only increased a little. These comments about the access roads are not intended to scare anyone off, but to provide a realistic description of the access to the trailheads. The hike is overwhelmingly worth the minor inconvenience of the drive. Also, conditions will change from year to year. If in doubt about the roads, as for all of the hikes in this book, call the Forest Service for an up-to-date report. The Vista Ridge Trailhead is 21.8 miles from Hwy 26, and 32 miles from I-84. Cloud Cap is 13 miles from Hwy 35.

If taking Hwy 26 from Portland, pass through Gresham, Sandy, and Wemme to ZigZag. Then...
To reach the Vista Ridge Trailhead: Turn left off Hwy 26 in Zigzag onto the Lolo Pass Road 18. Continue to the top of Lolo Pass, 10.5 miles from Hwy 26. From the top of Lolo Pass, there are two options for the next section: straight ahead on Road 18, or to the right on Road 1810. Road 1810 is twice as long but a little easier on the car (note: road conditions will change from year to year). Road 18 is easily passable, however, for passenger cars. If taking Road 18, continue straight at the top of Lolo Pass for 3.3 miles, crossing two trestle bridges after 2.7 miles, and turn onto Road 16 (good quality gravel), signed to Vista Ridge 8 miles. After 5 miles, the road forks at a wide curve. Take the right fork, Blue Ridge Road 1650, and follow it for 2.8 miles to a Y-junction. Take the left fork, signed to Vista Ridge. The road soon deteriorates and the last 0.8 miles is very rough and rocky. Don’t despair, however, because the rough road ends in a welcome and spacious parking area.
To reach Cloud Cap: continue on Hwy 26 through Zigzag, Rhododendron and Government Camp and at the junction of Hwys 26 and 35, take Hwy 35 north towards Hood River. Continue north on Hwy 35 for 17 miles from the junction with Hwy 26 and turn left at the sign for the Cooper Spur Ski Area, now on the Cooper Spur Road. Stay on the Cooper Spur Road for 2.5 miles to the Inn at Cooper Spur then turn left and follow the signs to Cooper Spur Ski Area and Tilly Jane Campground. Keep right at the Y-junction after a further 1.5 miles, now on an unpaved road. The road zigzags up to Cloud Cap for another 9 miles; keep right at the junction at 8.4 miles.

If taking I-84:
To reach the Vista Ridge Trailhead: Take the West Hood River exit 62, continue for 1.1 miles, turn right on 13th street and follow signs for Odell. After 8 miles, cross a bridge, turn right, and continue straight at a Y-junction for another 4 miles to a fork. Take the right fork to Dee, and follow signs to Lost Lake. Continue, now on Road 13, through Dee, to the junctions of Roads 13 and 18, another 8 miles. Take the left fork, now on Road 18. Continue on Road 18 for 3.4 miles, turn left on Road 16 and right on Road 1650, signed to Blue Ridge Road. Follow this for 2.5 miles to a Y-junction, and take the left fork, signed to Vista Ridge. The road soon deteriorates and the last 0.8 miles before the parking area is very rough and rocky. Don’t despair, however, because the rough road ends in a welcome, spacious parking area.
To reach Cloud Cap: Take the Hwy 35 exit South, drive for 23.5 miles and turn right (west) at the Cooper Spur Ski Area sign, now on the Cooper Spur Road. Stay on the Cooper Spur Road for 2.5 miles to the Inn at Cooper Spur then turn left and follow the signs to Cooper Spur Ski Area and Tilly Jane Campground. Keep right at the Y-junction after a further 1.5 miles, now on an unpaved road. The road zigzags up to Cloud Cap for another 9 miles; keep right at the junction at 8.4 miles.

The trail takes off from the end of the parking lot and heads upward at a very gentle grade through young hemlock then into cool shady mature forest with moss-festooned trees. Remember to sign in at the Wilderness Permit Box. There is a rich undergrowth of huckleberries, beargrass, some rhododendrons and moss-covered rocks. A few mushrooms can be seen in the late summer. Almost immediately, the trail comes to a T- junction: the left fork goes to Red Hill Road 1½ miles, the right to Timberline Trail 2½ miles. Foot traffic only.

The trail heads up Vista Ridge through open forest, again with plentiful underbrush of huckleberries, mountain azaleas, a few rhododendrons, beargrass and glades of avalanche lilies in the more open meadow areas. Views of rolling, forested ridges appear to the left as it becomes more obvious that the trail is following up a ridge. The open areas become more frequent and drier and the trees more stunted. The flowers change, too, with lupines, partridge foot, paintbrush, pasque flower and heather appearing. Later in the summer, the scarlet berries of the mountain ash provide a slash of color. To the left, views of Mt Hood Village on Hwy 35 appear through the trees and Mt Adams and the eastern plateau of the Columbia Gorge can be seen in the distance. Mt Hood suddenly appears ahead and soon the trail joins the Timberline Trail at a T-junction.

Turn left, now on the Timberline Trail, and continue through a heath-like area with mountain hemlock and heather, then a lush, marshy meadow, Wy’East Basin. There is a trail intersection, almost immediately: The right fork is the high trail that loops back east to Cairn Basin; the main trail is straight ahead. The trail meanders through beautiful meadows with flower-lined streams and stands of trees.

The next trail intersection, after about ½ mile, is the Pinnacle Ridge Trail on the left (another option for accessing the Timberline Trail). About 1/3 mile from the intersection of the Pinnacle Ridge trail with the Timberline Trail, a faint, unmarked trail to Dollar Lake takes off to the right. This is a delightful, and well worthwhile, 0.2 mile side trip if time and energy levels allow (see optional add-on, below). Continue for a short distance along the side of the ridge that borders Elk Cove, and drop down into the beautiful cove.

The Elk Cove Trail intersects with the main Timberline Trail about the middle of the cove, after the stream (the Elk Cove Trail is another option for accessing the Timberline Trail). Continue on through Elk Cove and down into the canyon carved by the Coe Branch of the Middle Fork of the Hood River coming down from the Coe glacier. Crossing this may be a challenge early in the summer when there are still snow bridges over the rivers. Later in the year, it is usually quite easy. The trail climbs out of the canyon in long loops, following an easy grade. The next 3 miles are relatively easy as the trail follows the contours of the mountain at more or less the same elevation. The stream crossings are easy. The next challenge is crossing the Eliot Branch of the Middle Fork of the Hood River. There is usually a sturdy bridge over the river, put in place by the Forest Service each summer. If you are crossing before the bridge is placed, take great care, especially on the snow bridges. After crossing the river, there is only one short uphill stretch before the Cloud Cap Trailhead, campground and parking area.

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