Afoot and Afield: Portland/Vancouver - Douglas Lorain Afoot and Afield

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with a profusion of ferns and mosses clinging to a canopy of second-growth western hemlocks, red alders, and Douglas firs.

      After crossing Snass Creek the trail pulls away from the water, climbing rapidly to the top of a wide, forested ridge. This area features an incredible abundance of Oregon grape, which covers the forest floor with yellow blossoms in the latter part of April. The trail sticks with the ridgetop making an unrelenting but rarely steep ascent. Loggers have selectively thinned the forests here, allowing in more light and letting the remaining trees grow more rapidly.

      At 0.9 mile the trail crosses a closed dirt road. If you make the recommended loop, you will hike back along this road—make a careful note of this unsigned crossing so you can relocate the path on the way back. To find the next segment of trail, turn right on the road, walk about 20 yards, and pick up the trail as it angles uphill to the left. From here the trail remains relatively level for about 0.2 mile before resuming its uphill direction. Since this trail receives only irregular maintenance the path is faint in places, but the proper course is always easy to determine.

      At just short of 2 miles the trail levels out again along an old road that has been abandoned for so many decades it is now barely recognizable. At 2.2 miles you come to the indistinct top of a small side ridge where there is an unsigned and easy-to-miss junction. The main trail goes right, on its way to a remote logging road. A better option is to turn left (downhill) on a rather obscure trail that winds down to the top of a very old clear-cut. This old logging scar is now filled with perky little Pacific silver fir trees. The opening provides an excellent view to the north of an impressive grouping of peaks known as the Tatoosh Hills as well as a rock pinnacle atop Saturday Rock.

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      To complete the recommended loop continue downhill on the sketchy route, sometimes on overgrown trail and sometimes on an old logging skid road. The path is not difficult to follow, but it is often brushy, so hikers should wear long pants. About 0.6 mile from where it left the main trail, this route intersects the closed dirt road you crossed earlier in the hike. Turn left and make a pleasant, mostly downhill 1.1-mile walk back to the Snass Creek Trail. Turn right and return to your car.

      TRIP 13 North Silver Star Mountain Loop

Distance 5.0 miles, Loop
Elevation Gain 1700 feet
Hiking Time 3 hours
Optional Map Green Trails Lookout Mountain, Bridal Veil (some trails not shown)
Usually Open Mid-May to October
Best Time Mid-June to mid-July
Trail Use Dogs OK (but may be difficult for them in places), backpacking option
Agency Mount Adams Ranger District, Gifford Pinchot National Forest
Difficulty Moderate

      HIGHLIGHTS No matter how you get to the top of Silver Star Mountain, you will enjoy expansive views and abundant wildflowers. The easiest of the direct hiking routes to the summit is from the north along either an abandoned road or a wildly scenic new trail, which passes a series of jagged rock formations and goes through some of the best wildflower meadows in this book. The two routes can be easily combined into a spectacular, relatively easy, and surprisingly little-traveled loop.

      DIRECTIONS From the intersection of State Highways 502 and 503 in downtown Battleground, drive 5.7 miles north on Highway 503. Turn right on N.E. Rock Creek Road, which soon becomes Lucia Falls Road, and proceed 8.6 miles to a junction. Turn right on Sunset Falls Road and drive 7.4 miles to a junction at the entrance to Sunset Campground. Turn right on gravel Forest Road 41 and almost immediately cross a bridge to an unsigned junction where you go left. Proceed 3.5 miles on this pothole-filled road, and then turn sharply right (downhill) on Road 4109. Stay on this sometimes rough road for 1.5 miles to a multiway junction. Turn left and go 2.7 steep, bumpy, uphill miles to the road-end turnaround.

      There is no trail sign visible from the trailhead, and several old roads and trails look equally promising. The proper route leaves from the west end of the parking area and goes about 25 yards to a trail sign identifying this as Silver Star Trail 180. If you don’t see this sign very soon after starting to hike, go back and try again. The Silver Star Trail switchbacks four times up a slope covered with brushy vine maple and then comes to a junction with a closed jeep road. Bear right (uphill) and walk about 150 yards to a large gravel turnaround in the road.

      The scenery here, and for some time to come, is truly outstanding. The entire area is surrounded by huge sloping meadows that are carpeted with wildflowers in late June and early July. There are dozens of varieties, but the most common kinds are beargrass, lupine, wild carrot, paintbrush, iris, yarrow, valerian, tiger lily, and golden pea. Scattered about the open slopes are perky little noble fir trees, which look for all the world like Christmas trees, a popular use for this evergreen.

      In addition to the flowers and trees, there are terrific views. Most impressive are Mt. St. Helens and Mt. Rainier, peeking over forested ridges to the north, and Mt. Adams to the east. Southward, Mt. Hood makes an almost perfectly framed appearance in a low point in the ridge east of Silver Star Mountain.

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