Home > Trip Reports > December 12, 2005, Mt Hood, McNeil Point Face

December 12, 2005, Mt Hood, McNeil Point Face

12/12/05
OR Mt Hood
6126
8
Posted by Jeff Huber on 12/18/05 8:09am


Summary:
This tour was a unique adventure. Taking advantage of an usual access situation we explored a place rarely visited in winter and got excellent views of Mt Hood's west and northwest sides. Our high point was near the top of the triangular face above McNeil Point on the northwest flank of Mt Hood. It overlooks the Sandy and Glisan glaciers, and is the point at which Cathedral Ridge becomes a defined alpine ridgeline that runs towards the summit rim. Turns were a bit limited on this tour, but exploration and novelty more than made up for it.  

Full TR:
We started from Lolo Pass, 3440', which is usually inaccessible in winter, however a logging company had to retrieve equipment and plowed Lolo Pass road on December 9th (Andy and Ann discovered this from the USFS when they went to get a Christmas tree permit). We arrived at the pass at 7:30, greeted by temperatures in the low teens, a chilling wind and low-level clouds obscuring the mtn. We headed off on McGee Creek road to get on the McGee Creek trail. A few hundred feet past the sign labeled McGee Creek trail, we lost the narrow summer trail and had a slight bushwhack until we gained the broad ridge were the dotted McGee Trail is on the USGS topo. The actual summer trail is apparently below this road. From here our route was pretty easy to follow. The logging road soon lead us back into the forest putting us right on (or very close to) the McGee Creek trail which we followed in the general direction of until it intersected with the Timberline trail.

As we got closer to the Timberline trail we encountered a very interesting change in the forest. The trees became devoid of lower branches and there were no underbrush. I can not recall anywhere in the PNW were I've seen a forest like this.

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Nice report Jeff.  It's nice to see a report from a seldom visited area on Mt. Hood.  Great pictures as well.  I should probably respond on TTips about the trees, but those look like Hemlocks.  I've spent many days in the Willamette Pass area and Hemlocks are prevalent on that mountain.  The pics are a bit far away, but the trees look very similar.........correct branching, flat needles, similar bark, etc.

I should probably respond on TTips about the trees, but those look like Hemlocks.  I've spent many days in the Willamette Pass area and Hemlocks are prevalent on that mountain.

Thanks, and no problem helping identify the trees here. I just posed the question on TTips because I thought there was a lot of forest-types there.

Nice report, Jeff.

Very nice.  I spent a lot of time hiking those trails and exploring those ridges back in college.  Those are fantastic hikes in the summer and fall.  People go over north to Barret Spur to ski too, no?

 People go over north to Barret Spur to ski too, no?

Yup. Barret Spur has great skiing though access is a bit protracted.

Nice report and pictures, Jeff.  Too bad we were not able to stay longer in the area around McNeil Point.

Nice pics, Jeff!  Sounds like a great outing!
About the trees...
The most likely options are Noble Fir, Hemlock (that elev is near the western and mountain transition), White Pine or Grand Fir.  The crown looks like classic Noble Fir but the bark looks more like White Pine or Grand Fir.  My money would still be on Noble.  The comparison photo is mostly Doug Fir (Pseudotsuga menzesii) with what looks like a White Pine in the lower left.  Of course I haven't been out in the PNW woods  in a while.  btw, bark is a very effective way to ID a tree.
That looks like quite a healthy old growth forest:  open canopy and well spaced trees.  The crowns are rounded and not pointy which indicate age (and growth rate).  
I'm sure y'all know this, but where the lichen stops (about 6' above snow in the picture) indicates average high level snowpack depth.  I was blown away in Newton Creek last Feb. when the lichen level was 12' overhead!
Keep the OR TR's coming...I'm living vicariously through you all.

sorry for the obnoxious link, but if you have larger versions of the pics, compare them with the photos here

nice pictures. They reminded me of when were in that area about 3 years ago, when we circumnavigated Mt Hood on skis, clockwise from Timberline. The northwest corner of Mount Hood feels very wild, even in summer. About as far from Meadows as you can get I suppose!

Reply to this TR

2695
december-12-2005-mt-hood-mcneil-point-face
Jeff Huber
2005-12-18 16:09:20