Timberline Lodge

A backpacker on Gnarl Ridge along the 41-mile Timberline Trail around Mount Hood, Oregon.

Full of Surprises: Backpacking Mount Hood’s Timberline Trail

By Michael Lanza Minutes after we walk past the sign warning that this section of the Timberline Trail is closed due to “a deep chasm,” with 100-foot drop-offs, created by flooding from a storm—rendering the creek crossing ahead of us “very unstable and unsafe”—Jeff and I reach the top of the ridge high above the east bank of Eliot Creek. …

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