Trip Report
Mount McLoughlin
McLoughlin is a fun, relatively easy scramble with a satisfying summit, and is definitely worth the long drive. If you go, take a couple of extra days to bag some of the other local peaks in southern Oregon and maybe northern CA.
Nancy Lloyd
- Thu, Aug 1, 2019
- Mount McLoughlin
- Scrambling
- Successful
-
- Road suitable for all vehicles
-
This was a Mazama club climb (our sister organization). I was the assistant leader, so I want to pass the word and encourage Mountaineers to explore that beautiful area. We car camped at Lake of the Woods, Aspen Point Campground where there is a nice restaurant by the lake, a small grocery store, and a fabulous view of our destination:
The approach trail was in good shape, no obstacles. Lots of mosquitoes in the afternoon though, on our way back to camp. The ridge route was completely snow-free with a few large patches hanging below on the north/east side. There is sort of a main path between/over/around the boulder strewn ridge, but it does meander and is hard to follow exactly in places. Just follow the path of least resistance and try to stay mainly on the left side close to the ridge crest on your ascent. Fun boulder scrambling increases as you get higher, mostly class 2 and a bit of class 3. I strongly recommend helmets. The photo below does not show the summit.
Excellent views from the top. There are two summits, the second being only a few feet higher. We had some initial concerns about smoke from a wildfire to the NW, but we were not affected. There is no water on the route, bring plenty.
Descend via the ridge and stay off the tempting scree slope. Mileage to the 9,495' summit, according to my GPS was about 10 round trip, and 3,926' el gain with most of it above 6,500'. Trip time was a little less than 9 hours rt including breaks and a 1/2 hour lunch on the summit. A great trip!
