SPORTS
Cowhom trail provides great views for little effort
WTO THE
OUTDOORS
BY JAYSON JACOBY
a si week I wrote itlwHit lhe trail to
the Saddleblunket Mountain look
out. n trip in which the lookout It
self and not tlie view from the. end 61
the trail was the main attraction
itut abundant views of Ixith the ()lii
and the High Cascades are the main at
tractions of the trail to tlie more conven
tional . lookou t building atop Little
Cowhorn Mountain, about 1 f> miles
north of Saddlehlanket I'his is a hike to
he done on a < leer dav
To be funi tional. the Saddleblanket
lookout had to lie built HO-feet tall Sue h
extravagance wasn’t necessary at Little
Cowhorn, where tlie views are iinpres
sive from the start and only get better
To get to the (lowborn trail head, drive
to the Fall Creek Road via either lasper
or Lowell Aixiut l‘i miles from tlie l ull
Creek Dam take road 18III) (the road
signs reads "Cihraltar Road") to the left
Follow this rather steep gravel road, keep
left at a "Y" junction and proceed to
road 1H17. which is the level left fork at
another "Y" junction Follow this road
one mile to the trailhead sign, which is
on tlie right side of the road at a small
saddle with parking room lor several
cars
The: lr.nl winds through it voting,
thickly overgrown forest for the first half
mile, switchbai king occasionally hut
t limiting in a mostly gentle grade There
are views to the north and south at van
oils points as the trail ascends the west
ern ridge of the mountain
At alxtul one-half mile, the trail enters
a small open area from which the top ol
the mountain as well as the many in
teresting roi k formations on its upper
slopes can In- seen
I rom the clearing the trail < limbs
more steeply, winding up Cow horn
mountain s west fat e l he forest changes
from young second-growth to mature
Douglas I dr, intermixed will) a few i edar
and hem lot k trees Views in all dtret
lions except i\isi are oxlcnsiVi*, and the
lr.nl passes direr 11 v beneath .mil between
,i series of rock pinnm Irs. some of who h
rise .10 foot and more above the ir.ul
A! about the one-milt* poinl. the lr.nl
switrhbac ks .1 fln.il tune and rear hes t
saddle A short spur trail to the left leads
to a small promontory with exi ellent
vlows of the ('asi ade peaks hut lfn■ main
trad turns to the right
Irom the saddle the trail skirts the
sheer i liffsof the mountain's north faro
following a narrow lodgo with a vritn .il
drop of ii hundred fool This strep h isn't
dangerous, and there's ovon a small
handrail provided. but o«iro should ho
taken with small children
The summit is only a few huiulrotl
yards from the saddle, and thr \ ;rw is a
full itit) degrees The densely hurst. I
Old Cascades stretch to thr hbnv.on to
the north and south, amt the Willamette
Valiev and (‘.oast Range can he seen to
the west Hut most impressive are the
vistas of the high peaks ol the I asi ados,
which include all tin- major summits
from Mount flood to Mount Thielson
The liKikout building, like its distant
neighbor on Saddloblanket mountain, is
no longer manned The original building
was ore< ted in 10‘Jhi. but the c urrent ver
sion was built in 1‘15‘i I tie wood struo
lure is open for hikers wanting to escape
tfie weather, and there is even a note
hook for visitors moved to words by the
views outside
Although thu ( owhorn tr.ni gains 'hio
foot of elevation oil its wav to tflt: sum
mil, it's only u little mom than a mile
long, .mil with the excellent views and
interesting trailside si enerv most of the
wav tip. overall it makes for a fairly lei
surely afternoon trip
And I highly recommend allotting
enough time for a picnli lunch at the
lookout building The view from the top
is truly one of the best anywhere in tile
( a si atles V\ nil such rew aids for so lit! ie
effort, it's a hard trip to |iass up espe
rdally with the beautiful weather we v<
had for the past few days
/aVso/i /ai oby /s a sports reporter /or
f/ie l.merald
by J JjuJby
At lust a little more than a mile long, a
hike up tha trail (abova) along Lillla
Cowhorn Mountain makaa for an enfoy
abia day in tha great outdoors Many of
tha interesting rock formations (left) on
tha upper slopes of the mountain can be
seen from the trail, and the view from the
top lbelow) is astounding
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