Gnarl Ridge Hike

Overall, a nicely maintained trail that was pretty quiet on a chilly Sunday in mid-October. We started hiking at 8:30am and came off the trail around 1:00pm. In the morning the parking lot was fairly empty, and we only encountered three groups of backpackers. By the time we returned, the parking lot was full with cars parked along the road. We had a bit of trouble picking up the trail toward Elk Meadows after crossing Newton Creek. Just go right and push through the bushes to find the markers/cairns and begin switchbacking up the ridge. We chose to take the trail encircling Elk Meadows before picking up the Gnarl Ridge Trail and heading to Lamberson Butte. This section will get you breathing thanks to the altitude, but the trail itself is not particularly challenging. We were rewarded with amazing views of Mt. Adams on the way up, an up-close-and-personal view of Hood, and distant views of Mt. Jefferson and the Three Sisters at the top of the butte. It was pretty cold and windy at the top so we only stuck around for a snack and a few photos. We decided to pick up the Timberline Trail heading west in order to make our trip a loop rather than returning via Gnarl Ridge. Crossing Newton Creek again was slightly challenging, mostly because our dog is scared of water. Two-legged hikers shouldn’t have an issue in the late summer/early fall. We had to ascend a bit more before finding the turn off for Newton Creek Trail which was a nice, easy coast back to the Elk Meadows Trail and featured occasional views of the creek. We clocked around 10.5 miles, but that was with the extra side trip to Elk Meadows.

*The top of Lamberson Butte is very exposed so wear sunscreen and a hat if you plan on being there awhile!