Lookout Mountain And Black Butte

BOU AVENUE
Lookout Mountain And Black Butte

On 8 August 2024, Zosia Zgolak and I hiked up two separate objectives in Oregon--Lookout Mountain in Badger Creek Wilderness and Black Butte near the city of Sisters. Our day started in Hood River where we played a quick round of disc golf while waiting for the local USDA Forest Service office to open at 8 AM so that we could purchase an America the Beautiful annual park pass. With the pass in hand, we promptly drove to the trailhead for Lookout Mountain.

From Highway 35, turn east onto paved NF44 41.0 kilometres south of the junction with East State Street in Hood River or 21.0 kilometres northeast of the junction with Highway 26. Drive 6.1 kilometres and turn right (south) onto Lookout Mountain Road (very bumpy 2WD gravel). Drive 7.5 kilometres and turn left onto Forest Road (FR) 4420. Drive about 200 metres and turn left into the trailhead parking lot (toilet available). The trailhead itself is on the south side of FR 4420 opposite the turnoff to the parking lot.

When compared to its impressive neighbour--Mount Hood--to the west, Lookout Mountain hardly seems worthy of its official name. It is little more than a forested ridge, but the mountain caught my attention with its easy access and an open summit which promises generous views of the state's highest mountain. I had originally planned for Lookout Mountain to be a "rest day hike", and the short ascent was pretty much as expected. Zosia and I had no trouble following the well-maintained trail up to the summit where we took a requisite short break even though we were not really tired. We extended the hike a bit by visiting another viewpoint further to the west and then playing around on a nearby striking pinnacle. From there, we did not see any merit in hiking a longer but mostly forested loop and simply took a quick short cut back to our original trail of ascent before returning to the trailhead.

	Zosia begins hiking the short trail to Lookout Mountain.
	Zosia winds her way up the last few metres before the summit of Lookout Mountain.
	Sonny and Zosia stand on a rock outcrop near the summit of Lookout Mountain (1994 metres).
	Here is a closer look at Mount Hood.
	Zosia stands on another rock outcrop west of the summit.

Stupid clouds kinda ruined the photo op!

This viewpoint is near the west end of Lookout Mountain's summit ridge.

	Zosia scrambles on one of the more striking pinnacles on Lookout Mountain.
	Total Distance: 4.8 kilometres Round-Trip Time: 2 hours 23 minutes Cumulative Elevation Gain: 164 metres GPX Data

After completing our hike to Lookout Mountain, Zosia and I drove further south into the heart of Oregon and ultimately ended up at the trailhead for the extinct stratovolcano known as Black Butte.

From Highway 126/20, turn north onto paved NF11 32.0 kilometres east of the junction with Highway 22 or 8.4 kilometres northwest of the junction with West Hood Avenue in Sisters. Drive about 300 metres and keep straight (left) on NF11. Drive 5.8 kilometres and turn left onto FR 1110 (2WD gravel). Drive 8.3 kilometres to road's end at the signed trailhead (toilet available).

The top of Black Butte is the site of an active fire lookout and is easily accessed by an excellent trail. My original plan was to camp at the trailhead and hike up Black Butte the next morning, but when Zosia and I arrived with some daylight to spare, we opted instead for a late-day ascent. Just like on Lookout Mountain, it is virtually impossible to get lost on the trail up Black Butte although there is certainly more elevation gain. Occasional sign posts along the way help identify local flora or point out sites of past wildfires. At the top, there is a sign essentially asking visitors to respect the privacy of the fire lookout custodian. As such, we steered clear of the active fire lookout tower and instead headed further west to visit a viewing platform located just past an older fire lookout building. Ironically, wildfire smoke obscured many of the faraway peaks that would have been visible from the viewing platform, but the available vistas were still sublime.

As the sun began to set, Zosia and I quickly retreated on the same trail we came up. We even made it back to the trailhead without having to use our headlamps in the growing darkness. Best of all, we had the trailhead all to ourselves and enjoyed a blissful night of rest sleeping there.

I like these late alpine starts! Zosia hikes the trail up Black Butte late in the day.

Something to break up the monotony of the hike! Columbines can be found throughout the forest on Black Butte.

Are there any wild watermelons here? Numerous sign posts along the trail help identify local flora.

It's farther away than it looks! An active fire lookout sits atop Black Butte, and here is the first glimpse of it from the trail.

Yes, shame about all the haze... Zosia hikes along the shady east side of Black Butte. Visible in the hazy distance at right is Mount Jefferson.

In other words, stay the f**k away from the fire lookout tower! Sonny and Zosia stand on the likely high point of Black Butte (1964 metres). The sign at right essentially asks visitors to respect the privacy of the fire lookout custodian.

Surprised they didn't open a Starbucks here... Further west of the high point is this older fire lookout which has been restored as a historic building.

Nice deck...now we just need a barbeque and some beer! Sonny stands on a well-designed viewing platform just beyond the older fire lookout.
Photo courtesy of Zosia Zgolak

From here, South Sister is usually visible somewhere between Broken Top and Black Crater. Haze from wildfires obscures more distant peaks, but some of the closer peaks can still be identified.

Going, going... The sun dips lower on the western horizon. The silhouetted peak at right is Three Fingered Jack.

...Gone! Already on her way down, Zosia pauses to watch the smoky sunset at the end of the day.

An evening ascent is a great way to find solitude here! Total Distance: 6.6 kilometres
Round-Trip Time: 3 hours 12 minutes
Cumulative Elevation Gain: 442 metres
GPX Data

	Zosia hikes the trail up Black Butte late in the day.
	Columbines can be found throughout the forest on Black Butte.
	Numerous sign posts along the trail help identify local flora.
	An active fire lookout sits atop Black Butte, and here is the first glimpse of it from the trail.
	Zosia hikes along the shady east side of Black Butte. Visible in the hazy distance at right is Mount Jefferson.
	Sonny and Zosia stand on the likely high point of Black Butte (1964 metres). The sign at right essentially asks visitors to respect the privacy of the fire lookout custodian.
	Further west of the high point is this older fire lookout which has been restored as a historic building.
	Sonny stands on a well-designed viewing platform just beyond the older fire lookout. Photo courtesy of Zosia Zgolak
	Haze from wildfires obscures more distant peaks, but some of the closer peaks can still be identified.
	The sun dips lower on the western horizon. The silhouetted peak at right is Three Fingered Jack.
	Already on her way down, Zosia pauses to watch the smoky sunset at the end of the day.
	Total Distance: 6.6 kilometres Round-Trip Time: 3 hours 12 minutes Cumulative Elevation Gain: 442 metres GPX Data