- Oregon County HP: #7
- Difficulty: ⭐️⭐️⭐️ (on a scale of 5)
- Summit Elevation: 6,234 feet
- Mountain Range: Cascade Mountains
- Ancestral Lands: Cayuse, Umatilla and Walla Walla; Molalla; Tenino; Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs; Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde; and Confederated Tribes of Siletz Indians
PLANNING DETAILS
Location: Olallie Butte is a steep shield volcano located approximately 40 miles northeast of Detroit, Oregon. The trailhead sits within the edge of the Hood National Forest, while the peak’s summit and eastern slopes sit within the Warm Springs Reservation
When to Visit: Summer and autumn. Olallie Butte is the highest point between Mt. Hood and Mt. Jefferson and tends to be covered in snow through winter and spring. Moreover, the primary driving route from Detroit Lake uses Breitenbush Road/NF-46, a seasonal road that is not maintained during the winter months.
Fees/Permits Required: None.
Getting There: Olallie Butte’s summit and the northeastern slope (where the high point is located) are most readily accessed by using the Olallie Butte Trail located just 2.5 miles north of Olallie Lake Resort.
Directions from Salem:
- From I-5 (exit 253), head east on N. Santiam Highway (OR-22) for 50 miles toward Detroit Lake.
- Just as you are entering the town of Detroit, turn left on Breitenbush Road/NF-46 (a paved road that is only open seasonally) and drive northeast for 23 miles.
- When you reach the brown sign for Olallie Lake, turn right and drive east for 8 miles on NF-4690. After 6 miles, NF-4690 will transition from a single-lane, paved road to a gravel improved road.
- Once you reach the junction with NF-4220, turn right and drive through an open metal gate, heading south for approximately 6.5 miles.
- Approximately 0.7 miles pass Triangle Lake Horse Camp, you will encounter a wide, clear cut utility road for high voltage power lines. Park on the right side of the road just beyond the power lines. The trail begins on the on the opposite side NF-4220.
Parking: There is no marked trailhead for the Olallie Butte Trail. The parking area is merely a dirt pull out with room for 4-6 vehicles to park where the power lines cross NF-4220.
The closest amenities to the trail are located at the Triangle Lake Horse Camp 0.7 miles north, where there is a vault toilet, but no potable water. The Olallie Lake Resort is located 2.5 miles south of the trailhead and has bathrooms along with a seasonal camp store stocked with food and beverages.
Pets Allowed: Yes. However, the off-trail section to the high point heads down a steep slope through talus and loose scree is not very dog friendly.
Kid Friendly: Children with the stamina to hike 7 miles can absolutely hike to the summit of Olallie Butte. However, getting to/from the county high point on the northeastern slope requires tricky off-trail navigation and some precarious scree slopes and talus fields (with a 40% slope). This section of the hike is generally unsuitable for children under the age of 14.
Hiking Distance: 7 miles roundtrip if going to Olallie Butte’s summit (which I strongly recommend). You can omit 2 miles from this hike by going to the high point only.
The Summit: Unlike most high points, Wasco County’s highest point is not located on the highest ground nearby. Rather it’s on the volcano’s northeastern slope (near 6,300′ elevation) where the Wasco, Marion, and Jefferson county lines intersect. A good GPS track or map is extremely helpful when trying to locate the county line as there is no defined trail leading there and the terrain is mostly talus and scree. A summit register is located near a rock cairn in the general vicinity of the county high point.
TRIP SUMMARY
Date Visited: July 28, 2023
Hiking Route Used: Olallie Butte Trail to the summit, plus an off-trail bushwhacking detour to the high point – 7 miles roundtrip
Wasco County’s high point is what is known as a “liner” in the highpointing community. Rather than the high point being on the most elevated piece of terrain nearby (like a mountaintop), it’s located on Olallie Butte’s northeastern slope at 6,280 feet.
So, even though Wasco County is quite large (it’s 1.5 times the side of Rhode Island) and it has numerous tall peaks within it’s boundaries, none of them merit the title of the county high point. Instead, it’s the ground rising up toward Olallie Butte’s 7,201-foot summit (in adjacent Marion and Jefferson counties) that is actually the county’s highest natural elevation.
This phenomenon occurs in one other county in Oregon (Marion County). And you’ll undoubtedly find some highpointers out there who revel in debating the merits of liners and whether it’s better to (a) reach that county’s highest natural point; or (2) climb its highest self-contained peak. (Note: If you’re like me an enjoy doing both, Wasco County’s highest peak is Flag Point at 5,650 feet and it’s located in the Badger Creek Wilderness just east of Mt. Hood).
And so, I decided to tackle this county high point in late July 2023 as a solo day trip from my home in Eugene. I set out early on a Saturday morning, assuming that I’d be the only person on the mountain. But I was wrong.
During my drive out to the trailhead, three separate USFS trucks passed me. Then, when I got to the utility road on NF-4224, I was surprised to see three other SUVs and pick-up trucks already parked there. Plus a bright yellow dump truck and a scoop loader taking up some prime parking space!
I maneuvered into one of the remaining pieces of free real estate and was just walking toward the trailhead when another pick-up and two semi-trucks came rolling up the forest road from the direction of Olallie Lake Resort! When we crossed paths, one of the drivers pointed to my SUV and asked if it was mine, then he requested that I briefly move it so they could load the construction equipment onto the semi-trucks’ trailers.
And that is the main reason I didn’t get hiking until sometime after 10:30 am!
With the parking logistics behind me, I finally hit the trail with my daypack. The Olallie Butte trailhead isn’t marked in any way with signs or markers. But I spotted a discreet dirt trail just off the narrow utility road that looked promising. Less than 0.2 miles in, the trail crossed over the Pacific Crest Trail and said hello again to my old friend who I’d hiked on earlier this summer.
As I hiked up the nicely graded trail to the 0.5-mile mark, I heard voices above me and then a middle-aged man and young boy came into view. The two hikers told me they were guests at the Olallie Lake Resort and the man brought his grandson out for a morning hike up to the summit. It was proof positive that this day hike was fine for pretty much any kid with the stamina to hike 7 miles.
I bid them goodbye as the trail continued to climb at a steady, but completely manageable grade. And then I was into the massive burn area from the 2020 Lionshead Fire. This recent fire burned nearly 193,000 acres, causing more than $5.8 million in timber damage and completely destroyed 264 homes. Somehow though, the nearby Olallie Lake Resort and its cabins managed to escape the fire’s impact.
As I started through the burn area, I was apprehensive about the trail conditions, especially after my recent experience near Crater Lake (where a 2017 fire obliterated the trail and rendered it impossible to follow). But here, I was pleasantly surprised. Downed trees and debris occasionally blocked my way, but the trail itself was still intact and easy to navigate.
On my way up, I encountered three more hikers descending (a single guy, and a couple). The cars parked below at the trailhead hinted that I might see some others out here, but part of me still expected to be out here hiking the mountain completely on my own as I had been during my recent hikes on Lookout Mountain (Crook CoHP) and Spanish Peak (Wheeler CoHP).
None of my fellow hikers planned to head to the county high point though. They’d hiked to the summit only, so they had no additional information to provide me on the best place to head off-trail. I’d have to just rely on my research back home and hope for the best.
As I got above 6,600 feet elevation, most of the trees disappeared and I was treated to views of Olallie Lake and the lakes to my east. Then Mt. Jefferson appeared, alone with even more small lakes in the foreground. There was a bit of brown haze in the air, but even the dust couldn’t obscure the views of the dominant volcanic peak a mere 10 miles to my south.
As I reached the 3-mile mark of the hike, the trail began a series of switchback toward the summit, and the dirt trail transitioned to soft volcanic sand, scree, and vermillion-colored pumice. And a quarter mile later, I was cresting the saddle that rested between the two mounds atop the butte.
The mound to the south side of the summit contained epic views of Mt. Jefferson, the Warm Springs reservation, Olallie Lake, as well as the rugged onyx-colored volcanic rock formations resting below me on the southern slopes.
Then I wandered over to the mound on the opposite side of the butte, where the predominate feature was the rock base of the old fire lookout tower than was established here more than a century ago.
Built back in 1913, the original lookout tower was a 7-foot x 10-foot structure sitting atop the pumice rock base. The USFS stilled using the lookout in 1967, and the federal government subsequently transferred the land to the Warm Springs Reservation in 1972.
With no-one interested in using or maintaining the tower any longer, it fell into disrepair. The cupola portion of the tower eventually collapsed through the roof in 1982. And pieces of the shelter have been scattered by the elements and time over the subsequent 40 years. And all that remain now is the rocky base and a few pieces of weather-worn timber.
I made my way to the northern side of the lookout , where I could see into Wasco County and toward the county high point below me. It wasn’t that far away, but getting there would be a challenge, as the butte’s northern slope dropped off sharply with the same loose volcanic sand and scree that I’d encountered on the final half mile of ascent to the summit.
Off in the distance, the clear-cut utility path looked like a tan line bisecting the terrain. A bit closer in, I could see the azure water of Blue Lake surrounded by green forest. Immediately below me (to my left) sat a gray and green hillside where a slope of scree and rock dropped down at a steep angle toward a talus flat area where the county high point was general located. I had the lay of the land. Now I just needed to get there.
My plan was to descend back down the trail about 0.8 miles to about 6,600 feet elevation, then bushwhack east toward that hilltop with the trees and scree slope. Then I’d just have to pick a path down the 400 vertical foot drop toward the talus field and use my GPS to find the highpoint where the Wasco county line crossed the northeastern slope. Easy peasy, right?!?
Of course it wasn’t quite that straight-forward or easy. Nothing ever is, it seems, with these pesky “liner” high points.
I quickly hiked back down to 6,600 feet elevation, which was right where the trail made a tight switchback and doubled back on itself. Other county high pointers reported there would be a rock cairn in this vicinity showing me the best place to head into the forest. But, of course, the cairn was nowhere to be found. I’d have to figure out the bushwhack on my own.
I stuck to the 6,600-foot elevation line on my GPS map, curving around the northern slope. And within five minutes popped out of the trees with views of the summit above me. As I scanned my eyes toward the talus field 400 vertical feet down, I wasn’t feeling confident. The slope was steeper than I liked, and every step send sand and scree sliding down. If I feel here or turned an ankle, nobody was going to know. I had to take the upmost care to go slow and take my time.
The descent really was an exercise in patience. I had no way to know which way was best as I zigzagged my way safely down the slippery hillside. I tried to stick to the larger rocks boulders, but even a few of them were loose.
My eventual strategy was to keep one trekking pole out to help balance me on the way down the slope, while I stored the other one to free up one hand or scrambling down boulders, grabbing onto the occasional tree, etc. After the longest 30 minutes ever where I’d worried about the placement of every step, I was safely down to the talus field below.
Now all I had to to was scan a field of boulders and rocks to see which one of the seemingly identical ones might have a rock cairn atop it. This was not an easy visual task because everything look alike. But thank goodness, my GPS map once again pointed me in the right direction.
I wandered over the the tri-corner, where the invisible boundary for the Wasco, Marion, and Jefferson county lines converged. And sure enough, there was a rock cairn sitting atop a large boulder in that general vicinity. But this wasn’t the true marker for the county high point. Someone just built a rock cairn here – perhaps to mark the way to the high point. Or maybe to mark the spot where the three counties intersected.
I knew there should be a summit register tucked inside a red coffee can at the high point. And it definitely wasn’t here at the tri-corner. This cairn was too narrow to conceal anything like that.
My eyes scanned the dozens of shades of gray to my north for more cairns or anything else that looked similar under the hot mid-day sun beating down. After few moments I spotted a boulder that had something atop it. It could just be a few scattered rocks pushed into their position by last winter’s snow. But I decided to check it out. And sure enough, as I got closer, I could see what looked like two small rock cairns with a pyramid mound of rocks in between them.
I’d found it! a red, plastic coffee can was nestled under the pyramid of rocks, and inside it as sat a glass jelly jar with the smallest summit register ever and small sharpened pencil the length of a tootsie roll!
I was only the second person to sign the summit register this year, and I flipped backwards to see that it only had 1-2 entries each year. So perhaps there really wasn’t a need for anything bigger at this obscure high point.
The jar held one other item too – a printed map with hand drawn direction of how to get back to the trail. I examined it for a moment or two before tucking it back inside the jar. It was suggesting roughly the same route that I’d used to get down here. I guess there wasn’t an easier way.
After returning the coffee can back to the safety of its spot under the rock pyramid, I set about climbing the lousy slope back up to the ridge again. I won’t claim it was an easy ascent. But it was about 50% easier to go up than it had been coming down. And within 15 minutes, I was back in the forest bushwhacking back to the trail, then heading the remaining 1.7 miles back to the car on terra firma once again.
BONUS MATERIAL
Camping nearby:
- Detroit Lake State Recreation Area is located on the northern shores of Detroit Lake approximately 30 miles from the trailhead and offers 355 campsites. This popular state campground is open year-round and has flush toilets, showers, picnic tables, running water, and a boat ramp. Cost: $19-30 per site, depending on whether it is a tent site or RV site. Reservations are strongly recommended during the peak summer months.
- Olallie Meadow Campground is located on NF-4220 just 1.4 miles from the trailhead and offers 5 regular campsites and 1 double campsite on a first-come, first-serve basis. This USFS campground is open from in summer and early fall, and it has one vault toilet, but NO water. Cost: $20 per campsite/vehicle, plus $5 for each additional vehicle. Payments must be made by cash or check only!
Resources:
- Highpointing Wasco County (Peakbagger)
- Olallie Butte Hike (OregonHikers.org)
- Off-season hiking details (Loomis Adventures)
- Store Hours for Olallie Lake Resort
