Weekend Gem- The Badger Loop

Flowers!

This 23 mile overnight trip could be spread out into two nights if so inclined and with quiet trails like these, you probably should! Pick up trail 480 at a pullout near Mt. Hood Meadows on Hwy 35, you don’t need a NW forest pass to park here overnight. Climb trail 480 to Gumjuwac Saddle and make a right on TR 685 and follow it to dumps out onto logging roads, take hard left split onto Rd. 3580 and walk down the road a 1.5 miles. Next, you come to a poor car camp on your left with a unmarked trail behind it, this is TR 479, you can spend a night here at a overused Badger Lake camp if you like. Next, take it till TR 477 and hike it until it turns onto the Divide Trail 458 by Road 200. Hike up past lovely meadows and viewpoints to the trail to Oval Lake, a great camp is on the west shore, or carry water up to the ridge for a camp with great views and cool rock formations. Today take TR 458 over Lookout Mountain, where views stretch out for miles letting your imagination wander. The next steps bring  you back to the saddle you started at, make that right and cruise downhill for 2.4 miles to you car soaking in the views of Hood’s East Face. Why go now? Little to no mosquitoes, only a little snow, miles of ridge walking with diverse flower meadows and views of the Cascade and fairly remote trails.

Views south from the Divide Trail

Mt. Hood from Lookout Mountain