Red Butte Wilderness Backpacking

This year, for our annual backpacking trip, I took Emma to the Red Butte Wilderness.  It's a place that I've always wanted to visit, but have never been to despite seeing it plenty from afar.

In planning the trip, I wanted to find somewhere that of course was beautiful, but also remote.  I don't like sharing my wilderness experience with others.  I landed on Towhead Lake which is situated between Red Butte and Kangaroo Mountain at the top of Hello Canyon.

As an added bonus, the access to the site is pretty easy.  Long, but easy.  Rather than follow the Pacific Crest Trail, I opted for a jeep trail that parallels the PCT.  I figured the hiking would be easier and the views better.

 Kangaroo Mountain (left) and Red Butte (right)

 Red Butte (above and below)

We got up at 6am and headed out.  We parked the car at Cook and Green Gap at 8:30am and started hiking.  Not only was I right about the jeep trail, but there was nobody to share it with.  Perfect.  The trail steadily rose about 1,200 feet over 4 miles as it skirted the bottom of Red Butte.  At the top of Hello Canyon, the trial drops a few hundred feet to Towhead Lake which we reached at 11:45am.

 Lunch at the edge of Towhead Lake at the top of Hello Canyon

 Lily Pad Lake (above and below)

 The Red Butte jeep trail that we hiked in on (above and below)

Unfortunately, the only water in Towhead Lake was about a foot or two that feel in rain a week or so ago.  But although the lake was unremarkable, the mountains and canyons were phenomenal.  Turns out the red rocks are iron and magnesium and the whole area used to be seafloor that has been uplifted and sculpted by glaciers.  The only record of civilization is an old chromite mine on the side of Kangaroo Mountain from the 1940s.  There's nothing left of the mine except for a jeep trail that we followed for a short distance before losing it.

 Cook and Green Butte.  Our jeep trail can barely be seen at the bottom of the picture

 West Fork Seiad Creek (above and below)

 Kangaroo Mountain

 Mount Shasta

Red Butte

 

After a short picnic lunch, we started hiking back.  I'm super proud of Emma who carried all of her own water, food, and pack the whole way.  We're already planning next year's trip!

 Cypress Ridge and Goodbye Lake (above and below)

 The glaciated top of Hello Canyon

 Kangaroo Mountain

 Lily Pad Lake and Cypress Ridge (above and below)

 Mount Shasta and Cypress Ridge

 Mount Shasta and West Fork Seiad Creek

 Red Butte

Towhead Lake at the top of Hello Canyon

 

I'm also posting a few pictures of Emma's recent accomplishments.  She got Student of the Month for her first month of school which was cool.  Also, here are her two photo submissions for 4-H.  She won a red ribbon for her flower picture and a lavender ribbon for her blue bird picture at the Jackson County Fair.  The blue bird picture was good enough that it went to the State Fair where it won a blue ribbon!