On Monday, July 13, seven CONC members navigated by car caravan through several obscure Forest Service roads to find the less popular north trail head to Crescent Mountain. Once there, Roz led them up a mostly forested trail which featured tall trees, forest floor wildflowers, and glades of blooming rhododendrons. The group had a clear, sunny day with views from the summit as far as Mount Adams to the north, Diamond Peak to the south, and straight down to blue Crescent Lake.
The total distance hiked was 7.5 miles with 1700 foot elevation gain. This north trail doesn’t offer as much of the expansive wildflower meadows and panoramic views on the way up, but it is about half a mile shorter each way than the south trail with about 500 feel less elevation gain, and rewards hikers with shady old growth forests and peeks along the trail of Mt. Jefferson.
Photos by Pat Haim and Ron Lambert
