McLoughlin, A great 4th of July day climb

Having driven from Grant county via Burns and Lakeview, the night before, narrowly missing deer on two occasions that almost did me in, I made to a motel in Klamath Falls, exhausted from the long day that had started a 4 a.m. I met Bob Bolton in Klamath Falls and together we headed up to the
trailhead after driving the bumpy last few
miles before the TH parking lot which has a great modern vault toilet and the usual NW Forest Pass parking requirement. They should spend some of the money on the road. Immediately upon getting out of our vehicle (my Honda Accord), the mosquitoes were swarmed to the attack so I kept long pants on while Bob had elected to go in his hiking shorts (not a good decision as it turned out) You had to hike fast to keep fromproviding them with lunch regardless of what you were wearing and so we made good time up the trail until we finally rid our selves of them near where the tree line ended. Once the trail broke out onto the ridge, the mosquitoes left us be.

Mt. McLoughlin is a bigger mountain than most people might suppose. An eleven mile round trip effort is required and factor 4000 feet of elevation gain into the picture and you are going to get a good workout before you are through. If you stay with the ridge going both up and down, you'll pretty much stay out of trouble. We saw several people who would have been more
at home playing golf, but they thought this would be an easy hike. No water nor proper foot wear for this volcanic mountain and Bob and I had a little concern for some of those who were obviously unprepared. It isn't easy for anyone not in condition but it can serve as a great conditioner. The summit itself is a great place to be. Expansive views in all directions and a high point that leaves no doubt in your mind. We spent much more time on the summit than we intended but we enjoyed every minute. The summit became very social and it seems you meet the nicest people in places like this. Well, we did have to go down as Bob and I intend to climb Mt. Thielsen on Saturday. The time up for us was ??? because we stopped and talked
so much with the friendly throngs but the trip down took us three
hours. Don't forget sunscreen, plenty of water and yes, mosquito repellent. This was a great hike. My third in three days but the best of the three.

We met future signposters Tom (Cornvallis) and his special friend (very cute) Shelby. I had the pleasure of doing Sacajawea Peak with them in late September. Oh yes, Bob and I climbed Mt. Thielsen the next day so my 4th of July weekend looked like this:
July 2nd, Oregon Butte (Wa)
July 3rd - Strawberry Mtn (Ore)
July 4th - Mt McLoughlin and
July 5th - Mt. Thielsen. What a great way to spend the holiday period. The day after we climbed Thielsen, Bob went on to climb So. Sister so he had an active weekend as well.