Carpenter Mountain and Terwiliger Hot Springs

Blue River Valley

Carpenter Mountain Trail with Wolf Rock in the background

Carpenter Mountain Trail and Lookout

Carpenter Mountain Trail with The Three Sisters in the background

I took a day off to line up with Dohnele's weekend and to take advantage of really great weather.  It's been too cool for a paddleboarding trip, but I took Dohnele to Carpenter Mountain to hike to a fire lookout.  We had the trail to ourselves (passed one other group on the way down) and the views were amazing.  The trailhead is below treeline, but gradually goes up through some sub-alpine forest and blueberry scrub and a few meadows and eventually breaks out at the top of a volcanic plug with sweeping 360-degree views and a staffed fire lookout.  We actually chatted for a bit with the guy who was staffing the lookout at the time; he was down to his last few weeks of duty since cooler and wetter weather are imminent.

Blue River Valley

Mount Jefferson and Three Finger Jack

Three Finger Jack, Hoodoo Ski Resort, Hayrick Butte, and Mount Washington

The Three Sisters (above and below)

The Three Sisters (above and below)

Wolf Rock

To the north you can see Mount Jefferson and Three Fingered Jack.  To the northeast you can see Hoodoo and Mount Washington.  To the southeast you can see The Three Sisters.  To the southwest you can see the Blue River Valley.  To the west you can see Tidbits Mountain.  To the northwest you can see Wolf Rock which amazingly I had never heard of considering how imposing it is on the landscape.

After hiking back to the car, we had a choice: leisurely drive home OR hurry to get to Terwiliger Hot Springs before it closes at sunset.  We chose the later.  We got there right at 4pm which gave us the full two hours before they closed for the night.  We hiked in and had the springs to ourselves for the a bit.  Three large pools which filled up with other folks who came in after we arrived.  A really fantastic day!