#mckenzie pass

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McKenzie Pass Drive June 2026 - Photographer: Chris Rummel

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Ashley ‘Giggles’ Brown (Class of 2015) submitted these four wonderful photos as her response to our prompt, “Images to Inspire You to Walk the PCT”. And they are wonderful.

Ashley is from Seattle.  “I am a writer for an outdoor company,” she tells me. “I decided to hike the PCT after hiking the John Muir Trail and loving it :)”

That feeling of pushing yourself to the limit and beyond and succeeding is such as important part of the PCT experience.  The Goat Rocks is a perfect place to experience such exhilaration.

The quesadillas on the wood stove (below) occurred after getting “caught in a lightning and thunder storm and fortunately being right near Benson hut! We made quesadillas while riding out the storm.”

And please send us your images to [email protected] in response to the prompt, “Images that would inspire someone to go walk the PCT.”

McKenzie Pass area with its lava flows and two of the Three Sisters in Central Oregon.

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Mt. Washington

This is a continuation of our series on the less heralded peaks of the Oregon Cascades passed by the PCT.  Earlier we covered Mt. Jefferson, Ollalie Butte, and Diamond Peak.  Today, we will focus on Mt. Washington.

Despite being one of the smaller volcanic peaks in the Oregon Cascades, Mount Washington (7,795′) is the most prominent landmark between the Three Sisters and Three Fingered Jack.  Mt. Washington is part of the informal group of volcanoes known as Oregon's Matterhorns, which includes Mount Thielsen, Three Fingered Jack, Mt. Bailey, and Diamond Peak.The volcano has a pinnacle appearance resembling the spire-like shape of Mt. Thielsen although the profile varies depending upon the side from which it is viewed.  From the PCT, it is not a particularly impressive peak although, as seen from the northwest (as is the case below) it looks much more striking.  It is a technical climb to the top regardless of route you select.  The PCT, which is routed west of the peak, stays between 5,200 - 5,700 feet until is begin its modest descent (going north) to Santiam Pass.

Like many of the other Oregon volcanoes, Mt. Washington is the result of plate tectonics as the Juan de Fuca plate gets forced underneath the North American plate.  The last eruption was some 1,350 years ago.

Mount Washington has barren surroundings, which have seen little historical recreational use although as the popularity of the PCT has grown in recent years so has the exposure of Mt. Washington. A wagon road at McKenzie Pass (5,280′) was built in 1872, which was later paved during the 1930s. On August 26, 1923, the mountain was first ascended by six boys from the neighboring city of Bend. The surrounding 50,000-acre area was designated the Mount Washington Wilderness by the federal government in 1964.

View of Mt. Washington from the east

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My PCT Best...

On November 9, 2019 we posted Rees’ 9th and 10th most memorable PCT experiences.  Today, we post Howard’s.  We will continue this process until we complete the final and top two experiences.  Each experience is accompanied by a story . . . well worth reading.

By Howard Shapiro

Since recently finishing the PCT I have been thinking a lot about what have been my most memorable moments, those parts that have stayed with me over days, months, and years. Both Rees Hughes and I have compiled our ‘top ten’ lists and over the course of the next several weeks we will share what for us has been our PCT best. We will each share our respective lists. We will start at number ten and make our way to number one.  

In full disclosure this was no easy task to compile a list that accurately reflected what I considered my ‘best’. I thought long and hard about those places, those experiences that have stuck with me.Interestingly two experiences that made it on my list occurred on my first two PCT hikes after finishing Washington and thinking that might be enough for me.  Instead these two hikes stand out  as the beginning of my PCT endeavor. Like a first love, these places and experiences have stayed with me. In reflection they bring smiles and pleasant memories. Truthfully, at the time the experience may not have been as wonderful as I remember but like a first love the hard parts have mostly faded and the great parts remain. 

Starting with number ten would be the section from McKenzie Pass north to Timberline Lodge in Oregon. What made this memorable were several things. First, after a hiatus away from the trail, Rees, Jim Peacock, and I were getting back on the PCT. Each of our lives had gone in new directions in the ensuing years. We were all married, had children, and two of the three of us had moved to new places geographically. This was a reunion of sorts. When we had first embarked on the PCT none of us had actively imagined doing more than the Washington sections.Now here we were in Oregon, back on the trail.  

Our starting point was McKenzie Pass.This is a vast black lava field. It was a very hot July afternoon as we started out. Nevertheless, here we were together again. That alone made for a very significant beginning to a full ten days of walking.Despite only making seven long, hot miles that first day we found our groove as a threesome. It was like no time had passed since our last hike together ten years prior.

We encountered few others on the trail. This was truly our hike and ours to experience to its fullest. Part of the that experience included aching muscles, sore feet, and heavy loads. A much bigger part of that experience were the really unexpected natural wonders that followed us north. From Belknap Crater we traversed the spine of the central Oregon Cascades through Jefferson Park north to Timberline Lodge. This was not the ‘green tunnel’ that Oregon gets tagged with. The views, the unexpected blow downs from a turbulent winter, and  the mosquitoes who seemed to lie in wait for us to slow long enough to get over one more fallen tree did not take away from this experience. This is why it remains on my best ten. To be spending time along the ‘crest’ really was memorable. We were on top of the world! 

Number nine on my list began on another hot July day from McKenzie Pass, only this time we were heading south to Crater Lake. Once again we had a bit of a break of a few years from our last trip north. Only this time we were met by snow, a lot of snow, as we entered the Three Sisters Wilderness. We did not have any kind of GPS. Half Mile nor Guthooks existed. Thankfully we did have a map and compass as we worked our way across snow bound lava tubes. Because it appeared we were the first ones on the trail (there were no other tracks)as we successfully navigated our route and this buoyed our confidence as a whole and individually.

Our next challenge was the failure of our stove. Again, we were not to be deterred. We put our heads together and made the best choices we could under the circumstances and came out all the stronger for our efforts. Several days later a good friend and ‘trail angel’ met us at Diamond Lake where he came bearing sushi and a new stove. 

The reason this trip makes my ‘best’ list is how clear it was that the trust we put in each other rose to the top. It was clearer than ever that we were not just hiking partners but kindred spirits. Realizations like that don’t come along every day. Some people will go a whole life missing having people like that in their lives. In my case I have the good fortune of two in Rees and Jim. The experiences from these two hikes solidified that for me. The surroundings were phenomenal and that by itself stands out in my memory.In addition, the daily effort was memorable. We hiked some of our longest days together. The culmination of all this continued to be a motivation for the days and years ahead as we have continued to hike together.

It is challenging to determine the ‘best’. These two hikes in Oregon rise to the top on many levels. Looking back, it is no wonder these two sections will start to be metered in 2020. We got to experience some of the best Oregon and the PCT have to offer. Sadly we are loving it all to death.     

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Mark aka ‘Uphill’ has reached central Oregon as of mid-July, 85 days into his thru-hike.  This photo of North Sister, one of the trio of volcanoes lying just south of McKenzie Pass.  I think of the Oregon’s volcanoes as a string of pearls beginning with Mt. McLoughlin in the south and ending with Mt. Hood in the north . . . with Mt. Mazama, Mt. Thielsen, Diamond Peak, the Three Sisters, Mt. Washington, Three-Fingered Jack, and Mt. Jefferson along the way.

South Sister looking north toward Jefferson and Hood

North Sister, also known as "Faith", is the oldest and most highly eroded of the North, Middle, and South Sisters. It is a shield volcano that overlays a more ancient shield volcano named Little Brother. North Sister (10,090′) last erupted about 46,000 years ago.  It is South Sister (10,363′) or ‘Charity’ that you need to keep an eye on . . . it last erupted about 2,000 years ago.

Follow Uphill’s progress north on his blog:

http://uphillhikes.com/category/pacific-crest-trail/pct-thru/

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McKenzie Pass

Diamond Peak

Taken near Hoodoo Ski area.

Mt Washington

We stopped a few times on the way home to try to get some photos. The blue sky with the snow peaked mountains and green forest was just amazing to see. I love this area!❤️

#colecampfireblog, #photography, #oregon,

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Fairytales at Proxy Falls by Matt Payne Via Flickr: I think I found my new favorite waterfall here in Oregon. Proxy Falls is likely one of the most majestic, beautiful, serene and just downright surreal spots in Oregon. Located off Old McKenzie Pass Highway between Eugene and Sisters, this waterfall produces a serious display of nature. My understanding is that in earlier years the water flow was much greater; however, I was still very enamored by this great scene. There were a few prominent light rays coming through the tops of the trees behind me to light up the water at the top of the falls and in the stream at my feet, which was quite cold! This is actually two horizontally composed images stitched together using the Nikon D800 and the Nikon 14-24 with the fotodiox wonderpana filter kit attached. I employed both a CPL and a 5-stop ND stacked.