Journalist By Nature: The Long Road to Cairn Basin

Always good to know

The two hour drive to the trailhead of the Vista Ridge hike to Cairn Basin was, well, long. Turn after turn onto named, numbered and sometimes not numbered roads and Forest Service gravel access drives brought us to the 4600' starting point on the north side of Mt. Hood. The rough gravel-strewn parking area was nothing more than a wide spot on the road with steep up and downhill edges.

The nearly 8 mile in-and-out trail began with a gentle climb through a lightly wooded forest scene of the registration box where we tagged ourselves into two groups, being three over the group limit of 12 in wilderness areas. On a hike into official wilderness areas, the ten essentials are important to travel with, and today we all packed extra water and food too, knowing that the temperature would rise with the elevation. The heat really picked up as we entered an area touched by the Dollar Lake fire of 2011. Hiking through a devastated and dead appearing forest is a disquieting experience as you observe the extent of the damage from one forest fire.

Stark white tree trunks stand where they burned, bark stripped and falling off, ash mixed with dirt, the ground empty of all vegetation. But wait! Here and there are green signs of life: beargrass shoots sprouting from former root clumps, avalanche lilies laying a carpet of green leaves around blooms of an earlier day, purple phlox blooming gallantly amid the ash, lupine getting ready for next year's color and an unknown shrub bearing bright red berries. A single tree seedling was spotted, bravely doing what it could to restore its part of this vast forest.

Renewal after the fire

Without ground cover to slow the rain runoff, the soil would quickly slide downhill. Trail maintainers have trenched the trail at places to channel the water sideways to allow it to soak into the soil. New paths have been forged through the dusty soil, basically following the former direction but now meandering around downed trees and other debris. The hike in this area serves to deepen appreciation for those who fight treacherous fires, even giving their lives in some cases, to bring them to a halt. At the higher elevations you can observe the acres and acres of burned but standing trees that the sweeping fire took from us. Without shade, the hike is a hot one with full sun constantly hitting our shoulders and radiating up from the ground. Extra water was quickly consumed by everyone and frequent breaks in the scant shade kept us trudging upward to 5700' and views that could not be seen in pre-fire times.

Beargrass

View of burned areas

As we approached Cairn Basin we could hear the crack of glacial "calving", in a mountain sense of the term, and could see the constant glacial melt cascading down the face of Mt. Hood. The sound of nearby Ladd Creek gave an auditory element to the visually distant melting glaciers. Faint views of Mt. Adams, Mt. St. Helens and Mt. Rainier could be seen as the nearby monster-sized Mt. Hood loomed over our shoulders, glaciers glistening in the bright sun. Millions of acres of forested land rolled like green waves in every direction, each succeeding wave growing fainter and bluer until the summer sky and the furthermost hills blended in a watercolor fade of vague blues. The blue pool of water in one valley was Lost Lake. Alpine meadows with their shortened trees provided a small source of greens and yellows among the boulders in contrast to the black and grays of the burned areas.

We began to watch the time as the afternoon wore on so we took a short side hike to a view point before heading for Cairn Basin. The faster hikers made better time towards the creek while others of us waited in repose for their return. In attempting to alert the front runners to turn back an SOS whistle blow was given but only succeeded in summoning a hiking search and rescue gentleman who lectured us on the appropriate use of distress signals. We were duly corrected and all learned an important lesson about hiking safety.

Steady upward trail

The friendships nurtured along the trails and through occasional social engagements open doors for sharing on an increasingly personal level. Care and concern for one another is more and more in evidence as we travel miles through the woods together. Trials, concerns, challenges and burdens are shared, validated and helpful comments are inserted along the way. How heartwarming it is to have such loyal and engaging women to walk with through this life's joys and sorrows, travails and travels, learning from one another, uplifting those in difficulties and laughing from the deepest parts of our souls in joy and praise.

Mt. Hood looming closer

As we descended the trail, weary from the heat, altitude and exertion, we spread out more and more along the way. A grandson of one hiker kept a watchful eye on the tail of the trail, noting our progress, slow as it was due to joint strain on the downhill slope by this hiker, and encouraged us to just keep going. A cousin kept up an engaging conversation that distracted me from the constant and growing pain, patiently pacing herself to stay with me. Therein is love. The grandson, a notable young man, is soon to join the military ranks and will surely make his mark there too.

Our concern over an early trail departure by a few of our group due to altitude stress was eased when we found a note scratched on a paper towel that all was well and to check the ice cooler for a few cold ones. We happily and thirstily sipped these gifts as we rode down the dusty gravel roads out of the wilderness and back to our separate busy lives, laughing and recounting the various moments along the trail. This was an exhilarating, educational and challenging hike that is one of Oregon's finest. Check out all the hiking possibilities through library books, REI literature or online searches. There's much to be seen and experienced before the trails close for the season. Don't waste any time getting out to see what nature has to offer!