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| | Hamilton Mountain Loop, WA | | | |
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Hamilton Mountain Loop, WA
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| Hiking | 8.00 Miles |
2,640 AEG |
| | Hiking | 8.00 Miles | 3 Hrs 15 Mns | | 2.46 mph |
| 2,640 ft AEG | | | | |
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| no partners | | | Got to the trailhead a little before 9 and was surprised to only see a couple cars in the lot. I was glad the gate had been opened so that you could park at the trailhead rather than parking at Beacon Rock trailhead. Hardy Falls was nice and I even took the short little side trip to the view point. While nice, it doesn't really provide a good camera spot. Pretty nonetheless. Shortly thereafter you come to where the trail splits. One is marked "difficult" while the other is labeld "more difficult". I opted for the left turn on the "difficult" loop (clockwise). The climbing starts but then is some downhill sections which made me wonder if I was losing all the elevation gain I had just worked to achieve. The trail then comes to a service road which you follow up the ridgeline of Hamilton mountain. Once there you get great views on both sides. As you continue the last push toward the summit you get great views of Mt. Adams and Mt. Hood although since it was still before noon, the views of Mt. Hood were directly into the sun which didn't make for good pictures. I saw a couple guys coming down on my way up to the summit. Once at the summit the crowds began. Must have passed at 20-30 people on the way down. Guess I was the only one who didn't go for the "more difficult" route. Both ways take you to the same point, but I'm not convinced the counter-clockwise loop is the more difficult one. Steeper climb up for sure, but taking the route down was not easy on the knees and toes! You do get more sun exposure on that route as well. In March not a big deal but it could be a very hot climb in the summer. Although the guide I used listed it as a 9.4 mile loop, I clocked it as just about 8 miles. |
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