PNWPeaks - Nov 1, 2014 8:55 pm Date Climbed: Jun 15, 2013
Green Canyon Way Trail
Got a late start from the Green Canyon Campground leaving the car around 1:00 pm. I made it to the summit around 4:30 and had the shelter to myself. I ate some food and read through some of the stories in the register and made my way back to the car via Kinzel Lake Trail and the Salmon River Trail. Made it back to the car just as it was getting dark. 17.7 miles, 4700 ft.
Bombchaser - Aug 26, 2009 5:44 pm Date Climbed: Jul 25, 2009
Easy Hike
Hiked from road 2613. The route is fairly short and on easy trail. Not much for views on top.
mkpatrick - Nov 6, 2007 2:32 pm Date Climbed: Nov 16, 2005
Cool Creek
Not sure on the exact date. Great old lookout that has been taken care of very well. We were socked in by clouds, new snow ~1-2ft deep on the ridge. One of my first outings in Oregon.
We climbed Devils Peak the same weekend climbers disappeared off of the north face of Hood (Dec 2006). It was our alternative to the Hogsback and the cabin allowed for a warm night and lots of praise for our setting and surroundings. Keep the cabin up and enjoy the food we left for you.
lostman - May 7, 2007 9:32 pm Date Climbed: May 6, 2007
Cool Creek Trail
This hike surprised us because we really enjoyed the steep trail up, while the ridge and the lookout were a bit anticlimactic. The forest was extremely beautiful and had a neat diversity of native plants. We didn't encounter snow until up on the ridge around 4500'. The last half mile was kind of slow, and we ended up at the bottom of the cloud layer so not much in the way of views. My wife is 5 months pregnant, but we still managed to get up in 3 hours and down in 2. I'd hate to be there on a warm sunny day.
About halfway up there was a large area of blowdowns (HUGE trees) that must be navigated, and in some places the trail gets a little faint through there.
BSPclimber - Aug 2, 2006 4:07 am Date Climbed: Jul 26, 2006
Cool Creek trail
Hot day, temperature pushing 80. Lots of bugs, spider webs and bees out this day. Ran out of water on the summit. Enjoyed the lookout and the cots even though the heat was oppressive in there. Had a nice foot soak in the Zigzag river at the end of the hike.
Route Climbed: Cool Creek Trail Date Climbed: February 2003
I solo'd this one, looking to get away. The hike was a pleasant, easy hike for 3+ miles each way. I think I passed the trailhead twice before noticing it tucked away on the rightside of the road just past a small place to park.
At the top, I found the lookout was occupied when I got there. No one home, but a few pair of COTTON socks hanging on a rafter. The mountain was fogged in pretty good, and the wind had picked up. No views, but the terrain was quiet and smooth. There was only a little snow, but the ground was frozen solid. I enjoyed the tranquility for about 20 min, and then descended to my vehicle. I had to hussle a bit, and barely made it out as the sunlight disappeared. I hope to do this one again in the summer, but as part of a longer route.
Route Climbed: Salmon River via Kinzel Lake Date Climbed: 6/25/2005
Planned an overnight backpacking trip with a group of friends. Left from green canyon campground and followed the salmon river trail until the Kinzel lake trail. Spent the night at Kinzel lake (a shallow, smelly lake) with some noisy neighbors that drove up via a dirt trail. Took the hunchback mountain trail up to the summit and followed it until a unmarked trail that went back to the green canyon campground. Overall a very good hike with excellent views from the summit.
NOTE: The lookout at the top is open to the public on a first-come first-serve basis. There is also a active spring about 0.25 miles from the summit that is clearly marked (with directions in the lookout on how to get there).
Route Climbed: Cool Creek Trail Date Climbed: Feb 3 2005
Hiked with Anthony and Willie (my Samoyed dog). Left trailhead around 7.00am. Great views of Hood in early morning sunshine on the way up, making for great photos. Clear trail almost all the way. The open forests are beautiful, tall straight trees with little undergrowth. Got to the Lookout around 10.00am - what an incredibly peaceful refuge in the middle of the forest. Thank you everybody who made this happen, and maintains it today.
Headed down the trail towards the Lake at 11.00am and then down towards the Salmon River. Came back up to the Lookout, had lunch, and sadly, had to leave to get home. Could have stayed a couple days. Will definitely be back.
Route Climbed: Cool Creek Trail Date Climbed: February 20, 2005
My buddy and I starting hiking at 2 pm and saw the lookout by 5:30. We hit snow at about 2500 feet with maybe three feet accumulation at the top. The trail was broken well.
Weather was patchy cloudy with an inch or two of new snow over night and into the morning.
Four people were camping on the ridge and four were already up in the lookout. The four in the lookout were awesome fellas who volunteer there time and skill during the summer to keep the place up. They've been visiting this place for over twenty years.
We spent the night in the lookout and were off in the morning. We hit the car in two and a half hours.
My advice when visiting the Devil's Peal Lookout Tower: bring a donation of food, wiskey, maybe a book because you'll enjoy what's already there. This is a well loved place that is seeing more use and abuse these days (especially during the summertime when the 1 1/2 mile trail is more easy to access). If you want to make a donation of building materials or possibly your own skill, contact the Zig Zag Ranger Station.
Route Climbed: Cool Creak Trail Date Climbed: 8/8/04
Fun hike with nice views. (though trees somewhat obscure a clear view of multiple mountains.) The trail head marker is hard to find on the right hand sign of the road. It's less than a half a mile from where the road turns to gravel and just beyond a turn out on the left.
Route Climbed: Cool Creek trail Date Climbed: March 08, 2004; May 10, 2004; January 05, 2006
March 08 - I made the mistake of doing this without snowshoes. there was almost no sign of a trail above snow level and lots of postholing. I fell in up to my waist 3 times. Warming my feet up over the woodstove in the lookout made it all worth it though. The thermometer by the door registered 58 degrees at 4:00 PM, and there wasn't a cloud in the sky making for superb views of Hood, Rainier, Adams, St. Helens, and Jefferson. From inside the lookout, Mt Hood's south slopes took up the the whole field of view out the door. A very fun hike, but I would reccomend snowshoes for a winter ascent.
May 10 - Did this again in what was a light drizzle most of the way up. Shortly before the summit it turned to snow. I relaxed for a while in the lookout, and a little less than inch of new snow accumulated. a few rhododendrons were starting to bloom on the lower part of the trail. The trail is mostly melted out up to about half a mile from the top.
January 5, 2006 - Used snowshoes for final mile, could easily have been done without them. Nice view of Hood, but not much else. Greal hike.
Brian Jenkins - Feb 22, 2004 9:04 pm Date Climbed: Dec 7, 2003
Route Climbed: Cool Creek Trail Date Climbed: December 7, 2003 and February 22, 2004
12/7/03 Tried to hike this one in December but had to turn back about 4600 feet due to dinner plans and needing enough time to get back. Met some bizarre people on the way down hiking up with umbrellas in one hand and a ski pole in the other. The one lady just kept talking and talking until I finally just walked away. Gloomy weather this day.
2/22/04 Went back in February and hiked up to the summit in 2 hours 37 minutes. Got a late start as I tried to help some teenagers who drove their Japanese econobox into a foot and a half of snow on the road and got stuck. Neat ridge you walk and a somewhat steep (but short) snow traverse on it too. Hung around the lookout and called my brother from the summit as it was his birthday. Back down in 1 hour 50 minutes.
4/20/14 Hiked up with Luna (2:20). Some snow patches at 4300 feet, not real snow until 4750 just below the summit. What's with the low snow this year? Down in about 1:45. Good views, pretty warm.
5/2/14 With Sue and Luna. (2:30/1:50) Same snow level just about a foot less of it. Managed to hit between rainstorms so that was nice. Tried to hike down the Hunchback Trail to check out a rock fin I saw but it was apparent it would be a slushy, trailbreaking hike with no showshoes or gaiters so we turned back quickly. Another time to check that out.
2/20/16 With Luna. Beautiful sunny day with several other hikers bringing dogs. Thigh deep snow up top.
8/7/16 With Luna. Forgot food and drink but did it anyway. This one goes quickly. Up and down in about 3.5 hours, then over to Ramona Falls hike to meet up with Diane and her friend who were PCT partial thru hiking. What was supposed to be a rainy day was pretty much nice all the way through. 16 miles and 4000 feet in today.
7/23/17 With Diane in early morning to beat the heat. Still hot anyway. Drove some lost hikers to their cabin afterwards.
4/1/18 with Diane. Snowy - microspikes helped.
5/5/18 Solo. Up 2 h1m, down 1h40m. Less snowy.
6/3/18 Finally did this one via Green Canyon. Lots of blowdown on the ridge. There is one section where it's a field of blowdown. Must have been a nasty storm. Lots of trail runners today. Nice weather.
PNWPeaks - Nov 1, 2014 8:55 pm Date Climbed: Jun 15, 2013
Green Canyon Way TrailGot a late start from the Green Canyon Campground leaving the car around 1:00 pm. I made it to the summit around 4:30 and had the shelter to myself. I ate some food and read through some of the stories in the register and made my way back to the car via Kinzel Lake Trail and the Salmon River Trail. Made it back to the car just as it was getting dark. 17.7 miles, 4700 ft.
Bombchaser - Aug 26, 2009 5:44 pm Date Climbed: Jul 25, 2009
Easy HikeHiked from road 2613. The route is fairly short and on easy trail. Not much for views on top.
mkpatrick - Nov 6, 2007 2:32 pm Date Climbed: Nov 16, 2005
Cool CreekNot sure on the exact date. Great old lookout that has been taken care of very well. We were socked in by clouds, new snow ~1-2ft deep on the ridge. One of my first outings in Oregon.
YEM - Aug 22, 2007 3:23 am
Cool CreekWe climbed Devils Peak the same weekend climbers disappeared off of the north face of Hood (Dec 2006). It was our alternative to the Hogsback and the cabin allowed for a warm night and lots of praise for our setting and surroundings. Keep the cabin up and enjoy the food we left for you.
lostman - May 7, 2007 9:32 pm Date Climbed: May 6, 2007
Cool Creek TrailThis hike surprised us because we really enjoyed the steep trail up, while the ridge and the lookout were a bit anticlimactic. The forest was extremely beautiful and had a neat diversity of native plants. We didn't encounter snow until up on the ridge around 4500'. The last half mile was kind of slow, and we ended up at the bottom of the cloud layer so not much in the way of views. My wife is 5 months pregnant, but we still managed to get up in 3 hours and down in 2. I'd hate to be there on a warm sunny day.
About halfway up there was a large area of blowdowns (HUGE trees) that must be navigated, and in some places the trail gets a little faint through there.
BSPclimber - Aug 2, 2006 4:07 am Date Climbed: Jul 26, 2006
Cool Creek trailHot day, temperature pushing 80. Lots of bugs, spider webs and bees out this day. Ran out of water on the summit. Enjoyed the lookout and the cots even though the heat was oppressive in there. Had a nice foot soak in the Zigzag river at the end of the hike.
OmachePDX - Jul 29, 2005 3:37 pm
Route Climbed: Cool Creek Trail Date Climbed: February 2003I solo'd this one, looking to get away. The hike was a pleasant, easy hike for 3+ miles each way. I think I passed the trailhead twice before noticing it tucked away on the rightside of the road just past a small place to park.
At the top, I found the lookout was occupied when I got there. No one home, but a few pair of COTTON socks hanging on a rafter. The mountain was fogged in pretty good, and the wind had picked up. No views, but the terrain was quiet and smooth. There was only a little snow, but the ground was frozen solid. I enjoyed the tranquility for about 20 min, and then descended to my vehicle. I had to hussle a bit, and barely made it out as the sunlight disappeared. I hope to do this one again in the summer, but as part of a longer route.
jdstrong - Jul 12, 2005 9:57 pm
Route Climbed: Salmon River via Kinzel Lake Date Climbed: 6/25/2005Planned an overnight backpacking trip with a group of friends. Left from green canyon campground and followed the salmon river trail until the Kinzel lake trail. Spent the night at Kinzel lake (a shallow, smelly lake) with some noisy neighbors that drove up via a dirt trail. Took the hunchback mountain trail up to the summit and followed it until a unmarked trail that went back to the green canyon campground. Overall a very good hike with excellent views from the summit.
NOTE: The lookout at the top is open to the public on a first-come first-serve basis. There is also a active spring about 0.25 miles from the summit that is clearly marked (with directions in the lookout on how to get there).
AussieRules - Feb 22, 2005 7:46 pm
Route Climbed: Cool Creek Trail Date Climbed: Feb 3 2005Hiked with Anthony and Willie (my Samoyed dog). Left trailhead around 7.00am. Great views of Hood in early morning sunshine on the way up, making for great photos. Clear trail almost all the way. The open forests are beautiful, tall straight trees with little undergrowth. Got to the Lookout around 10.00am - what an incredibly peaceful refuge in the middle of the forest. Thank you everybody who made this happen, and maintains it today.
Headed down the trail towards the Lake at 11.00am and then down towards the Salmon River. Came back up to the Lookout, had lunch, and sadly, had to leave to get home. Could have stayed a couple days. Will definitely be back.
Soup - Feb 21, 2005 2:00 pm
Route Climbed: Cool Creek Trail Date Climbed: February 20, 2005My buddy and I starting hiking at 2 pm and saw the lookout by 5:30. We hit snow at about 2500 feet with maybe three feet accumulation at the top. The trail was broken well.
Weather was patchy cloudy with an inch or two of new snow over night and into the morning.
Four people were camping on the ridge and four were already up in the lookout. The four in the lookout were awesome fellas who volunteer there time and skill during the summer to keep the place up. They've been visiting this place for over twenty years.
We spent the night in the lookout and were off in the morning. We hit the car in two and a half hours.
My advice when visiting the Devil's Peal Lookout Tower: bring a donation of food, wiskey, maybe a book because you'll enjoy what's already there. This is a well loved place that is seeing more use and abuse these days (especially during the summertime when the 1 1/2 mile trail is more easy to access). If you want to make a donation of building materials or possibly your own skill, contact the Zig Zag Ranger Station.
jamminjman - Sep 12, 2004 6:21 pm
Route Climbed: Cool Creak Trail Date Climbed: 8/8/04Fun hike with nice views. (though trees somewhat obscure a clear view of multiple mountains.) The trail head marker is hard to find on the right hand sign of the road. It's less than a half a mile from where the road turns to gravel and just beyond a turn out on the left.
cmc56789 - Mar 9, 2004 1:18 am
Route Climbed: Cool Creek trail Date Climbed: March 08, 2004; May 10, 2004; January 05, 2006March 08 - I made the mistake of doing this without snowshoes. there was almost no sign of a trail above snow level and lots of postholing. I fell in up to my waist 3 times. Warming my feet up over the woodstove in the lookout made it all worth it though. The thermometer by the door registered 58 degrees at 4:00 PM, and there wasn't a cloud in the sky making for superb views of Hood, Rainier, Adams, St. Helens, and Jefferson. From inside the lookout, Mt Hood's south slopes took up the the whole field of view out the door. A very fun hike, but I would reccomend snowshoes for a winter ascent.
May 10 - Did this again in what was a light drizzle most of the way up. Shortly before the summit it turned to snow. I relaxed for a while in the lookout, and a little less than inch of new snow accumulated. a few rhododendrons were starting to bloom on the lower part of the trail. The trail is mostly melted out up to about half a mile from the top.
January 5, 2006 - Used snowshoes for final mile, could easily have been done without them. Nice view of Hood, but not much else. Greal hike.
Brian Jenkins - Feb 22, 2004 9:04 pm Date Climbed: Dec 7, 2003
Route Climbed: Cool Creek Trail Date Climbed: December 7, 2003 and February 22, 200412/7/03 Tried to hike this one in December but had to turn back about 4600 feet due to dinner plans and needing enough time to get back. Met some bizarre people on the way down hiking up with umbrellas in one hand and a ski pole in the other. The one lady just kept talking and talking until I finally just walked away. Gloomy weather this day.
2/22/04 Went back in February and hiked up to the summit in 2 hours 37 minutes. Got a late start as I tried to help some teenagers who drove their Japanese econobox into a foot and a half of snow on the road and got stuck. Neat ridge you walk and a somewhat steep (but short) snow traverse on it too. Hung around the lookout and called my brother from the summit as it was his birthday. Back down in 1 hour 50 minutes.
4/20/14 Hiked up with Luna (2:20). Some snow patches at 4300 feet, not real snow until 4750 just below the summit. What's with the low snow this year? Down in about 1:45. Good views, pretty warm.
5/2/14 With Sue and Luna. (2:30/1:50) Same snow level just about a foot less of it. Managed to hit between rainstorms so that was nice. Tried to hike down the Hunchback Trail to check out a rock fin I saw but it was apparent it would be a slushy, trailbreaking hike with no showshoes or gaiters so we turned back quickly. Another time to check that out.
2/20/16 With Luna. Beautiful sunny day with several other hikers bringing dogs. Thigh deep snow up top.
8/7/16 With Luna. Forgot food and drink but did it anyway. This one goes quickly. Up and down in about 3.5 hours, then over to Ramona Falls hike to meet up with Diane and her friend who were PCT partial thru hiking. What was supposed to be a rainy day was pretty much nice all the way through. 16 miles and 4000 feet in today.
7/23/17 With Diane in early morning to beat the heat. Still hot anyway. Drove some lost hikers to their cabin afterwards.
4/1/18 with Diane. Snowy - microspikes helped.
5/5/18 Solo. Up 2 h1m, down 1h40m. Less snowy.
6/3/18 Finally did this one via Green Canyon. Lots of blowdown on the ridge. There is one section where it's a field of blowdown. Must have been a nasty storm. Lots of trail runners today. Nice weather.
10/28/18 Solo Up 2 h 3 min, down 1h22m.
11/10/18 With Jim, snow up top, bright sunshine.