I found that the turnoff at Lizard Creek Road off of Highway 20 was not marked by any sign. However, it is about 0.75 east of MP57 and exactly 33.0 miles from the Millican Store if you are coming from Bend.
Let's just get this out of the way. Schreiner Peak is a beast. On the web you
can read many accounts of how difficult reaching this peak is. They're true.
Getting to the trailhead for Schreiner Peak is straight forward. I suggest you
follow Etienne's (K7ATN) excellent directions to reach the Pansy Mountain
trailhead. Specifically, you need to get to the Pansy Lake Trail #551.
Hike up the Pansy Lake Trail. You will pass trail #550 on the left. After Pansy
Nash crater (W7O/CM-100) is just south and west of where OR 22 intersects with
US Hwy20 near Santiam Pass. Take FS 2676 off of US Hwy 20. After a quarter of
a mile, take a left onto FS 723. Note that I found this area to be pretty much
unsigned with multiple roads going in many directions. Take a map and GPS. Its
confusing at times.
Follow FS 723 around the east side of Nash crater. Ascend to a slight saddle
and flat area on the southeast flank of the mountain. I found a small pullout
here and parked.
You can get to Mt. McLoughlin by taking OR 140 west from Klamath Falls for about
36 miles. Turn right onto FS 3650, which is also the turn for the SnoPark. The
trailhead is up this road 2.4 miles and is well marked and has a toilet. FS 3650
is also about 0.5 miles west of MP 33 on OR 140.
The round-trip distance to the summit and back is 11 miles. The first few miles
are through very pretty forest. The gentle trail gradually then more abruptly
becomes quite rocky and rugged. It took me 4 hours, 40 minutes, all stops included,
I just wanted to add a few things to K7ATN's great write up about Hogback Mountain.
This hike is initially quite steep with about 1800 feet of elevation gained
in a short distance (<2mi?). There are dozens of informal trails up the ridge
that I saw. As such, there are an abundance of loose rock and eroding soil.
Its a shame that nobody has taken the initiative to put up a proper trail as
this area gets lots of visitors.
I went up directly from the spot K7ATN shows in the church parking lot. I
In the last few years, I've developed a desire to activate the top 10 summits in the
Willamette Valley region. Miller Mountain is in that list but I've put it off because
its so far from the valley. Its located in south-central Oregon, closest to the town
of Chemult. I guess the placement algorithm treated it like a lost sock that you can't
throw away but you're not sure where to put it.
My approach to Miller Mt. was to take US Hwy 97 south towards Chemult, Oregon. About
0.5 mile north of Chemult, FS 9772 heads west. This road is also marked "Walt Haring
Cruising through Chemult Oregon at 6:40am, the dashboard said the outside temperature
was 29 degrees. This was far cooler than we anticipated for our attempt on Mt. Thielsen.
A few years ago, my son Andrew and I tried this summit but were driven off by mosquitoes
and our lack of DEET. I actually inhaled two of the beasts and slapped my glasses off my
face several times before we literally ran back to the safety of our car. The Diamond Lake
area is legendary for mosquitoes.
This morning was different. It was a brisk 36 degrees at the Mt. Thielsen trailhead. Seeing
Broken Top is an eroded stratovolcano about 25 miles west of Bend Oregon in the Three
Sisters Wilderness. It can be reached by traveling to Mount Bachelor on the Cascades
Lake Highway (County Hwy 46) and then continuing west towards to the Green Lakes/Fall
Creek trailhead. Round trip to the summit and back is about 12 miles. The summit reaches
an altitude of 9175 feet.
A Northwest Forest Pass is required to park at the trailhead, or a one day pass can be
picked up at the trailhead for five bucks. A no-cost permit for entry to the wilderness
Little Odell Butte is near the Willamette Pass ski area just off OR58 and is also near Odell
Butte. Its a cute warm-up hike for its bigger namesake.
Little Odell Butte is reached by turning off onto RD6020 off of OR58 between mileposts 76
and 77. RD6020 parallels OR58 for a bit then turns west. 1.5 miles from OR58, take RD500
on the right. I'd go maybe a couple of hundred feet or so and park. Its too rough and brushy
for any vehicle you care about keeping.
Using a map and GPS head up RD500 staying to the left initially then turning up towards the
Marmot Butte is a rather nondescript summit just northeast of Chemult, OR. It is also about 3km northeast of Walker Mountain. The two can easily be done in one day. signage is sparse on this trek. Be sure to take map and GPS to keep on track.
On this warm late June day, the mosquitoes were hungry and numerous. Its never a good sign when you see dozens of mosquitoes lighting on your rig breaking off their blood sucking apparatus the moment you stop. 100% DEET was employed.