6.8 hr
Overview
Several old stock ways, used by Basque shepherds in the late 19th century and, by the mid-20th century, becoming conduits for cattle, run up through Mount Adams ’ montane forest to the timberline. The Shorthorn Trail is one of these and, although you may still see cattle near the trailhead, it is now used principally by hikers. This hike takes you up to the Round the Mountain Trail and crosses some of Mt. Adams’ most volatile slopes, the scene of frequent debris slides over the decades. Every so often, the trail needs major repairs as the rubbly moraine slopes above and the gullies carved by the headwater streams of Crofton Creek, Salt Creek, and Cascade Creek readjust themselves and wipe out the tread. In 1997, a large lahar came down these drainages from the aptly-named Avalanche Glacier, the largest such slide since 1921, when a massive wall of debris carried four miles down the Salt Creek valley. In the fall of 2006, the Crofton and Salt Creek gullies were gouged 10-15 deeper by tides of pooled water flowing off the glaciers above after heavy rains. (This was the same storm that wiped out Highway 35 in Oregon at the Robin Hood Campground.) The goal of this excursion is little Lookingglass Lake , which still offers its reflection of the mountain even though its girdle of conifers was reduced to blackened posts by the 2012 Cascade Creek Fire. NOTE: In addition, the 2024 Williams Mine Fire burned over some of the route. Be prepared for downed trees and some stretches that may be difficult to track.
Trail Stats
19.0 km
760 m
1891 m
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Photos
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