Hike Coordinator: Coreena Gosselin
Narration by Lane Harris
The planning leading up to this hike was harder than it should’ve been, but with persistence, hike leader Coreena eventually determined that the club could actually hike the ‘ol Cowhorn.
A few weeks prior to the hike, Coreena was unable to even get to the trailhead due to road conditions, thanks to our late snowfall. Then one week before the hike she made it part way up the trail before a threatening thunderstorm and rain chased her off the mountainside. But at least the trail was attainable and she didn’t have to change the hike destination at the last minute.
On the day of the hike, a whopping eighteen hikers headed up the highway toward Windigo Pass and the trailhead. It was around eleven o’clock before boots hit the Pacific Crest Trail, which by the way, was quite crowded with thru-hikers gathering at the trailhead while they refilled containers with fresh water, thanks to generous trail angels.
The climb up to the base of Cowhorn Mountain is a nice steady grade, made backpacker friendly for the PCT folks who have more weight in their packs than us puny day hikers. Nonetheless, the 4 miles of “steady climb” made each of us huff and puff on this warm summer day.
As hikers rounded each corner that had a view looking up at the mountain, many voices could be heard saying, “We’re going up THERE?”. Seeing Cowhorn Mountain from below can be quite intimidating, to say the least. But we pressed on…
Although we began with eighteen eager hikers, that number dwindled some as the trail proved a bit too tough for some as they wisely chose to turn around and call it a day. The remaining hikers continued the trudge up the trail, some perhaps thinking that the ones who turned around were possibly the smarter ones of the bunch…
We hit a few patches of snow on the trail when we were about a mile from the junction that veers off the PCT to Cowhorn. These small icy obstacles did little in slowing us down, as they were easily managed by just walking up and over them.
At the junction, the trail angles off to the right and heads up to Cowhorn. Everything up to this point was just a warmup for the next section, which is a short but extremely steep climb that switches back and forth on a loose, rocky hillside. This is the mountain making it’s declaration to hikers: “If you can pass this torture test, then you are worthy of summiting my peak!” For those who did make this incredibly sheer ascent, they were rewarded with a moderate walk across an attractive saddle filled with red and orange volcanic rock. Tremendous views were enjoyed from this area, but the top of the mountain was calling to some of us, so we continued on…
I wasn’t really sure how many hikers were in front of me, but I did know that number was not eighteen! The last task of attaining the summit of Cowhorn Mountain requires hikers to replace their trekking poles with their hands, as the remaining 50 feet is a scramble up solid volcanic rock. As I reached the top, I was greeted by what I termed as fellow Cowhornians. In all, only eight of us had achieved Cowhornhood, and it was magnificent! Precariously perched atop the small, uneven surface, we ate a well-deserved lunch as we enjoyed the 360-degree views.
If you can name it, we saw it. Crescent Lake dominated the view immediately to the north, and we could make out Diamond Peak, the Three Sisters, and even Mount Washington and Jefferson further to the north. To the south we easily made out Mt Thielsen and Bailey, and even further away, Mt McLoughlin near Medford.
After much oohing and ahhing, we slowly and carefully made the climb off the top, taking in the views once more on the way down. Coming off of Cowhorn Mountain requires attention to detail, as boots tend to slip and slide coming down the scree slope. We met up with the rest of the group who had gathered near the bottom of the mountain near the PCT. From here, it was all downhill.
This 9-mile out and back hike is not an easy hike, by no means. In fact, some of us commented to the newer hikers that if they can do this, they can do any hike that pops up on our schedule. I’m not sure if that remark was received as a compliment meant to encourage them to hike with us again, or as a discouragement to never hike with us again!
Read more about this hike on Richard O’Neil’s blog, Richard Hikes
More pictures on Richard O’Neill’s Flickr page
More pictures on Lane Harris’ Flickr page
Pictures below by Lane Harris
