The Wygant Trail

Two weeks ago, Keeley's parents came to town and we went to Triple falls. because I'm an idiot, I left my camera battery charging at home so my camera was useless and I got no pictures. The following week a friend came to town, and we took him to Cape Horn. It was late and kinda rainy out, so we just did the 4 mile out and back to the major farm viewpoint.

This week Keeley had a half marathon in Hood River, the Columbia Gorge Half Marathon. We drove out there early morning to get her ready, then she gave me permission to bail and do my own thing for the expected 2 hours and thirty minutes she would be running. That was her estimate. I estimated closer to 3 hours, because she hadn't been training and we ate like crap the day before. I figured I'd have plenty of time, so I went back to Mitchell Point, but not actually Mitchell Point. My goal this time was to investigate the Wygant trail.

The Wygant trail is an overlooked trail on an already overlooked trailhead. Despite being an official trail, the Wygant trail has a bit of a reputation around hiking sites and books as being neglected and very very poison oak-y. Every place I read about it brings up the extraordinary amount of Poison Oak. There are supposed to be a few nice viewpoints on the hike (though nothing on the top of Wygant peak) so I figured I'd explore and risk myself instead of the both of us. I got to the trailhead at 9:15am. She started running at 9:30. I figured I had till 12:15 to hike, so I got started.

First thing I did was climb up a short rocky path on the Mitchell Point lower rock outcrop just to see what it offered.

Then it was down to the parking lot and off along the Wygant trail. For the first half a mile the Wygant trail isn't a trail, but a section of the old historic highway. You're walking on history. After that the actual trail appears, cutting up to the left. A short 100 foot switchback scramble puts you about 200 feet above the freeway and the trail takes on the personality of Gorge trail 400. The highway noise is never far away. The trail goes for a while through the woods, then hits a junction. To the left is the Chetwoot trail, a pedestrian made trail that loops back onto Wygant peak, and is apparently very overgrown and busted up from a storm in 2011. I decided to stay on the Wygant trail. 10 yards past the Chetwood junction is another junction. The right leads to a viewpoint and the left is the main trail. I went to the viewpoint.

The first of many, many blowdowns

The "Viewpoint"

The viewpoint may have been a viewpoint 30 years or more ago, but it is not one anymore and I almost tore the sign down for how utterly false the advertising was. I headed down the trail to the bridge. Up until this point the trail has been in good shape, but when I reached the creek, it finally became clear how ignored this trail is. This is what the Perham Creek Bridge is supposed to look like:

And this is how it looks now:

Now it's 3 bridges for the price of 1! The trail from here goes up and briefly crosses the power lines, stays level for a while then comes out on a nice low open space called the Lower Wygant Viewpoint. You get a great panoramic view from a lower angle in the gorge. I could see rain coming from the west.

Trail under the power lines

Markers for the trail near the low viewpoint

Mitchell Point looms to the east

Mitchell point

Looking ominous to the west

Backtrack a bit to a previously passed junction marked with pink spots on the trees and you cross under the power lines again and begin the Wygant peak ascent in earnest. Also at this point the trail begins to deteriorate. There has been no real maintenance since the 2011 storms, and so many trees have fallen across the path that it would take ages to saw them all apart. Thankfully someone nice at least carved notches into each one for easy footing when stepping over.

The trail switchbacks up the hill for a while, and at one point you can reach middle Wygant viewpoint. Shortly after that, the trail encounters the other side of the Chetwoot loop and continues climbing at a nice manageable incline. Finally you come out on a little spur and you are at Upper Wygant Viewpoint, the last thing of note on the trail.

 It was 11am when I hit this point, so instead of continuing the final 1.5 miles to the viewless peak, I headed back to make sure Keeley wouldn't be waiting a long time. I had 30 minutes till I reached the car and I get a text. Keeley had picked today of all runs to get a personal best half marathon time (just over 2 hours). So now I was running back to the car to look less terrible as a boyfriend.

On the way back the trail gave way under my foot 3 times, and on the first one I slid several feet down the hill. It's not in that bad a shape, but it's getting to a point where no maintenance soon will make this trail into a "former" trail that only local adventurers in the know would even know about it.

Another thing: I know it's late season, but for all the poison oak reputation, I saw practically none of it. Maybe it's dead by late October. I saw more on my hike to Triple Falls two weeks ago than I did here. On the plus side, I saw nobody the whole time so if you need solitude, it's a good spot.

There are a few more things I'd like to investigate from the Mitchell Point trailhead before I'm completely satisfied. I'd like to make it all the way up Wygant next time, Apparently there is a nice meadow a bit past the summit down the other side. I'd like to hike the Chetwood trail too. There was a fire road coming off of the historic highway at one point, I'd like to check that out, and a few other side trails under the power lines up by Mitchell point itself. Then I can consider this place "done".