HIKING OREGON: SUMMITING MT. MCLOUGHLIN
When I was 19 I hiked Mt Mcloughlin. I barely remember it except for the fact that one, I made it to the top. Two, I got a little sick from the elevation. Three, I had absolutely NO training. Now that I am an avid hiker I thought that it shouldn’t be too hard for me. I brought my water and snacks and had an awesome crew with me. It should be pretty doable!
Well let me tell you something, it is frickin’ hard. Honestly it’s the hardest hike I’ve ever done. Hiking Mt. McLoughlin isn’t just hiking, it’s rock climbing, it’s fighting mental blocks telling you that you can’t do this, that you aren’t going to make it. I even cried a couple times as my legs were cramping, but gosh damn it, I did it!
Mt. Mcloughlin is the highest peak in southern Oregon at 9493 feet and you start at about 5000 feet so your gain is about 4500 feet, all basically uphill. There are a couple of areas where you get a slight reprieve but for the most part be prepared to climb for 5.5 miles. The trail starts in the trees and then after about 3 miles you are openly climbing up rocks. I was so thankful to be hiking with my friend Michael Biggs who has hiked McLoughlin ten plus times this year and more than 80 times in his lifetime (I know, what?!) As we hiked he gave me the breakdown for what was coming up next and he kept us on track so we didn’t get lost. The biggest tips he had to stay on trail were to always stay close to the ridgeline and to always make sure that Four Mile Lake was in your line of sight on the right going up and left going down.
Be aware that you will reach a false summit. A lot of people think that they are almost there and then bam, nope false summit. Just keep going because the view from the top is of course fantastic! We got a pretty clear August day so we could see as far away as Mt. Shasta, Mt. Ashland, Mt. Thielsen and Mt. Scott at Crater Lake, apparently on even clearer days you can see as far as South Sister in Central Oregon. You can also see quite a few lakes like Lake of the Woods, Fish Lake, and Four Mile Lake along with other distant lakes.
The trail down is even harder because you have to be more cautious climbing the rocks, and there is lots of shale so it is slippery. I fell flat on my butt twice and tweaked my back even with good trail shoes so be very careful. I’ll admit it, I was whiny going down because my legs were noodles and the cramping was pretty bad, but I learned a lot about how I will tackle my next mountain climb.
If you are going to go, make sure you start early. We started on the trail at 445am with head lamps so that we could avoid the heat of the day when we summited and we still feel like we should have started an hour earlier, we finished in about 9 hours though most people finish quicker than my slow butt! The bonus is that you get to catch the magnificent dusk glow and golden hour of sunrise. Since we hiked in August the mosquitos were few to none so that was great, but coming down was a bit hot. You kind of have to pick your battles since you can’t really hike it until June because of snow and then the mosquitos come with the melt.
You must do this hike at least once! I will definitely be going back to hike the Pacific Crest Trail portion that connects off of the trail where you can hike north to Mazama Village which looks to be about 47 miles long.
Some tips for the trail!
Water - Take LOTS of water! I learned this the hard way. I took 2 liters of water (the amount I usually take for a 10 mile hike) and that was not nearly enough. I should have taken at least double that including something to replenish my electrolytes because of the heat and the elevation climb. Gary and I like liquid IV passionfruit. Our friend Ron also gave me salt tablets on the way up that I know saved the day to help with my cramping, he even helped out some fellow hikers. It was interesting to see how many people were cramping on the way up even a teenage boy!
Food - Take lots of it. Michael said I should be nibbling on some protein at least every ½ hour. Ron saved me on the last two miles down by having me eat a goo, it totally saved me because I was struggling to walk.
Sunscreen, take it with you. The top was of course exposed and on the way down it was hot, so be prepared!
Bring mosquito repellant just in case. June through July is apparently the worst for them where you are literally walking through clouds of them when you are under the trees.
Trekking poles - Bring them if you can. They are really helpful through the shale and on the downhill. You can get some inexpensive ones at Blackbird in Medford.
Timing - Start as early as you can handle. We weren’t the only ones on trail by 445am. We got to the summit and there were at least three or four groups already up there.
Fee - Don’t forget there is a $5 day use fee for the Fremont-Winema Forest Service so bring that along or you can print one up online HERE. We fortunately have the Annual Interagency Pass and that works too. We highly suggest getting one if you are an outdoor adventurer like we are. National Parks are now charging per person so when we recently went up to Crater Lake National Park it was $30 for us to get in. We just upgraded it for $50 more and have already used it multiple times at day use areas all over the state and it can be used at any US National Parks.
Special thanks to the incredible human beings that helped me all along the way! My husband, Gary who stuck with me the whole time. His patience and persistence really pushed me to keep going. Kari Henson, my childrens PE teacher talked to me a lot of the way up helping to distract me from my issues. Michael Biggs, Innkeeper of the Peerless Hotel (that’s how we met) and hiker extraordinaire, he papa beared me the whole way up making sure that I drank, ate, and sunscreened up. Our BFF Ron (Gary’s running buddy and partner in many of our adventures) who also papa beared me with salt tabs and goo to make sure I made it.
I know this may seem like such an easy hike for some but honestly this was one of the hardest things I’ve ever done. I have constant nerve pain in my body that affects different areas at any given time (I’ve been told I have fibromyalgia, but who knows), so that makes life interesting. This was a challenge, and I did it, and so can you! See more photos from our hike up Mt. McLoughlin HERE.
Photo credits: Kari Henson and I on big black rock and holding the elevation sign; Michael Biggs of the Peerless Hotel