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About The Sunday Oregonian. (Portland, Ore.) 1881-current | View Entire Issue (Aug. 21, 1921)
i smnTrnw sty- -r -A- j. Ptfs 1 to 10 VOL. XL, JiJ' ,s.. -.1 I! H I s ; i ; I ! ! i i BY H. "W. MAN. OLD Dobbin may be considered a back number for the city streets and the paved country thorough fares, but if anyone thinlcs that the old fellow Is down and out for good, let him make the trip to the north Bide of Mount Hood, to Mount Hood lodge or Cloud Ca.p inn, and then let him drive his automobile on as far towards, the mountain as is possible, to the very end of the road, where the double track of the wheels merges into the single mountain trail. There let him leave his motor car and trans fer to the back of a mountain pony and with this new means of trans port push on up the trail to mountain fastnesses of a hitherto undreamed beauty. The motor car every day is proving Itself one of the most useful and nec essary aeents of transportation, but old Dobbin is still the faithful friend of man despite the progress of his rival, and he is ready to prove his usefulness on any of the hundreds of miles of mountain trails leading from the ends of Oregon's mountain roads into some of the most splendid of the" state's vast playgrounds. But every mountain trip nowadays has its prelude by automobile and this Is the excuse for bringing in the mountain pony, now but a feeble rival to the automobile, as the hero of our tale. The prelude was the easy run from Portland by automobile to Mount Hood LodKe, south of Hood River, the great play itself was one of the finest one-day horseback rides it is possible to take in America, to Elk Meadows and thenoe across a moutain glacier up the great back bone of Mount Hood to within 270n feet of the summit, and the heroes of the drana. were Patsy, ilaxiue. Blue Over i w Sv v-v,-: . -. - . . 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Hood River and on to Mount Hood Liodge. to -be the week-end guests of Homer A.-Rogers, for what he characterises (and we second the motion) the finest one-day horseback trip in the northwest. Roads were, in excellent shape all the way, paved of course to Hood River, and- thence to Mount Hood Lodge graveled or . well graded most of the distance, and it was Just supper time when we' shut off the gas and clamped on the brake in front of - Mr. Rogers' artistio and homelike hostelry at the base of Oregon's mountain. After a. splendid dinner, eaten in the lodge's glassed-in dining room while the setting sun was cast ing its red rays, on Mount Adams. Mount Rainier and Mount St. Helens, all visible to the north, we were ready for a good night s rest, in anticipa tion of an early start on our horse back trip. Getting up with the dawn In the mountains does not seem so hard, someway, as springing out with the alarm clock in anticipation of a day's work in Portland, and we were up with the sun next morning andi were able to watch that old fellow come up from behind the eastern range of hills and shoot his first long slanting rays along the snow fields of the mountain. The diew was on the leaves of the mountain berry bushes and that tingle of mountain chill that carries a vacation in itself was in the morn ing air. Sizzling bacon and, hot cakes and '' " I otra.t Froin Elk Medow3 all the other "fixings" that go with the mountain breakfast were con sumed and we were ready to be in troduced to the heroes of the occa sion Patsy, Maxine, Blue and Buck who were brought around from th stable, all saddled and bridled, by Mr. Rogers' extremely efficient and ener getic little- "horsewoman" daughter Sally Ann. Luncneon was placed in the saddlebags, a farewell was sung out to Sally Ann and Mount Hood Iodge in general and we were oft for the. top of the world, with Mr. Rogers as our guide. The route led southward for a cou ple or three miles down the mountain road to a point where the main trail branches oft to the right and crosses the barrier of Sand Creek canyon. We zigzagged down the steep slope and up the other side into Pall Creek can yon, obtaining a splendid view of the beautiful Tamahnawus falls of Fall creek, and thence followed the trail up the densely wooded Pall Creek canyon, where only occasional shafts of light and glimpses of blue among the tree tops told us that the sun was shining. Loop Road Fndtr Way. These streams flow northeasterly and are tributary to the east fork of the Hood river, whose deep canyon lay to the east of us. It is up this canyon that the new Mount Hood loop road is going, and as we made our way on horseback we could hear oc casional heavy detonations the blast Ing for the new road, six miles of which, at the Hood River end, within the Oregon national forest, Ls now in process of construction. After several miles along the side of- the nr-clad canyon, constantly climbing, we emerged at the edge of Elk meadows, one of the most beau tiful mountain meadows in Oregon. PORTLAND, OREGON, SUNDAY HDOGur Uitbcaa-en l rails" Mount Hood burst upon us high in the sky at our right, while at the ltft and ahead was the meadow, many acres of bright lush grass, here and there dotted with flowers, and with streams meandering to right and left, as if doubtful where to flow. Elk meadows is one of the little- known beauty spots of Oregon. It is doubtful if any more striking view of -Mount Hood than that obtained from this point is possible to procure. From the east side the mountain pre sents a symmetry and artistry sur passing even that from tlie west or Portland side. The view of the great peak, all glistening with snow, with the meadow' with its bright green grass, its lazy meadow streams and its occasional stately pines and firs a.s a foreground, is one loag to be remembered. Skyline Trail Uaed. But our time here was all too short. We drank in the scene for a few short moments, while Patsy and Max ine and Buck and Blue ate vigorously of the mountain grass, and then were on our way. From Elk meadows the main trail leads southward down, to the east fork of Hood River, which wheels in a great semi-circl.e at this point, and we made a brief side trip to the edge of the canyon to obtain a view of the summit of the Cascades from this point. Ridge upon ridge of mountains were visible, while ris ing high above their brethren were the snowcapped Mount Jefferson and Three Sisters. The trail which we had traversed thus far is the "Sky line" trail of the Cascades and if we could but follow it on it would take us down the backbone of Oregon clear to Crater lake. Some day an automobile road will replace the present trail and, another of Oregon's MORNING, AUGUST E L'st of Clou. d. Cp great scenic playgrounds will be open to the motorist. Prom Elk meadows our projected route was westward up the side of the mountain to Rogers' butte, thence across- the ridlge to Newton Clark glacier, up and across that great mass of ice and snow to the tip of Cooper's spur and thence down the north side of Coopers spur to Cloud Cap Inn. For the benefit of those not familiar with Oregon's mountain it may be said that Cooper's spur ls that great mass of rock and ice at the east side of the mountain. . Clou Cap Inn is located at the base of Cooper's spur and climbers making the ascent of the ' mountain from tne north side climb to the top of the spur and from here psh on to the summit. Cooper's spur itself rises to an altitude of 8500 feet, or within 2700 feet of the top of the mountain. There is no trail over the route we were to follow, but Rogers, who first took a horse over this route several years ago and deserves the credit for opening up this scenic section of the mountain to horsemen, was familiar with every step of the way and guided us without a moment at hesitancy. After a strenuous climb we reached the summit of Rogers butte, named after Mr. Rogers, the discoverer of this ragged promontory, where we stopped for luncheon. Gnat View From Rogers Butte. ' This butte, which rises to an alti tude of 6300 feet, affords one of .the grandest and most awe-inspiring of all the views of the mountain, accord ing to mountaineers who are familiar with all sides of the peak. One looks down over the cliff a sheer 2000 feet to the milky waters of the east fork of the Hood river, and then up 5000 feet across the N'ewton Clark glacier to the summit of the mountain. The 21, - 1921 east fork has its source in this mass of ice and the streams which feed the river can be seen trickling down the face of the glacier. But still greater things were ahead of us and we mounted the ponies for the long climb to the summit of the spur. Although it looked but a stone's throw aoross the glacier, we climbed for an hour across the crunching snow, sometimes riding and some times leading our horses, and finally reached the solid rock of Cooper's spur. A climax of beauty ls here reached on the trip which even the most ex perienced artist might well hesitate to paint. ' The steady climb across the glacier to Cooper's spur is mare with that promontory to the north ward and obstructing the vision in that direction. As the last steps' up the spur are taken the magnificent view to the northward is unfolded. All Washington and northern Oregon seems spread before you. Mount Adams and Mount St. Helens are the dominant figures of the landscape, while between them and farther in the distance is Mount Rainier. East ward are the wheat fields of eastern Oregon and eastern Washington, while westward are timibered ridges "where rolls the Oregon." To the southward the view Is of equal grandeur, with the central Ore gon highlands to the left, the Wil lamette valley to the right and the main Cascade range in the center. Mount Jefferson and the Three Sisters stand high above the surrounding country and on a clear day Mount Washington is also visible. In fact when weather conditions are right eight snow-capped peaks, in addition to Mount Hood itself, can be plain seen from this point. And now comes the descent down the steep edge of Cooper's spur to limn Cloud Cap Inn. The horses pick their way with-caution and step frequently, as. their hoofs send showsrs of shale down the mountain side. A moraine of Eliot glacier, which lies to the northwest of Cooper's spur, is crossed and the mountain trail to Cloud Cap Inn ls reached. It is but a short dis tance farther down the mountain side to this splendid "mile high" hostelry I and thence a distance of half a dozen miles down a beautiful mountain road to Mount Hood Lodge. All too soon the distance is covered. We are back to our starting point; Patsy and Max ine and Blue and Buck are led away to the barn to well-filled mangers of hay; the sun is painting - the rosy evening hues on the mountain; al ready Cooper's spur is in the shadow; our day is done. Such is but one of the many mag nificent scenic trips which the Oregon Cascades have to offer the summer traveler. The automobile and the mountain pony but awoit,the gesture to carry you to some point in the nation's greatest undeveloped play ground. RADIO TO TRAIL STOLEN" CAJIS Descriptions of Automobiles Will Be Sent by Wireless. HELENA, Mont, Aug. 20. A home wireless telegraph system ls to aid the state of Washington in the re covery of stolen automobiles through arrangements made by Kemp Roberts, a Helena boy, and Secretary of State Hinkle of Washington, it is an nounced here. Young Roberts is the owner of an up-to-date wireless plant here and possesses a government amateur op erator's license. Mr. Hinkle has in augurated, the plan in his state to Automobiles, Road Trifis and Northwest Highway News NO. aid the officials in the location of stolen automobiles without expense to the state by sending through the amateur wireless stations a complete description of the missing' cars. The operators of the station immediately, notify the police, giving them the description furnished. Mr.- Hinkle said hundreds of stolen ' cars have been recovered in this way. ALASKA 1WAIS PLAXXED Yukon Territory to lie Connected by Highway System. DAWSON", Y. T., Aug. 20. rians for highway work in this section of the sub-Arctic call for the joining of Alaska and the Yukon territory by a road, for the first time, and event ually for a system of roads which will lead from Valdez, on the south western coast of Alaska, overland to Dawson. The road between Alaska and the Yukon will extend from Eagle, Alaska, across the inernational boun dary to Forty Mile, and then on to Dawson. On the American side work will begin next year. Later the road will connect in Alaska with the Richardon highway, which runs across the mountains from Valdez to Fairbanks. Police Chief Arrests Own So BIG TIMBER. Mont., Aug. 20 20.-- Chief of Police MJelde recently bid his own son arrested and fined for speeding here. The lad indulged In a race with E. A. Beiber on the road. The chief was riding iiv bis son's car and immediately arrsted both of them and escorted them to court, where they were fined 5 each for infraction of the speed laws. 4
