Triangulation Peak Recon.

So I am leading a hike for Cascade Hills this weekend, and after a tip from Jake, I decided to take everyone up to Triangulation Peak. I was looking at the trail book, and it said that the trail was open from July through October. I called the Detroit Ranger station, and asked if it was open now. The lady that I talked to said that it might be snowed in. I thought "crap"(link not for the faint of heart, viewer discression is advised) but considered that since I have seen about an inch of snow in the Cascades this year, that I should go see for myself. I called up Matt, and he and I headed up to the trailhead. It is only about an hour away, and the trail was fairly easy. We only ran across one other group of people hiking, and had the whole place to ourselves.

The trail is a 4.2 mile round trip, and the last 0.6 mile is fairly steep, requiring two rest stops before reaching the top. Holy cow, what a view! I have never been that close to Mt. Jefferson, and was a little awestruck by the sheer magnitude. The book also describes an unmarked trail that is difficult to find and negotiate in order to get to Boca Cave. We actually found it pretty easily, but the trail it steep and technical. It was awesome! From inside the cave, the door of the cave frames Jeff perfectly.

The weather was kind to us, but there was enough of a cloud cover that we couldn't see all of Jefferson. If it was clear, you could have seen Hood, Jeff, Three-fingered Jack, Washington, maybe one or two of the Sisters, and some other peak that I couldn't identify.

I am really hoping for some decent weather, just so we can have a grand view of everything. Even if the weather sucks spokes, it should still be an awesome hike!