Vista Butte - 6.13.2024
The unsigned Vista Butte Sno-Park is located next to the Cascade Lakes Hwy (3 miles before reaching the Sunrise Lodge entrance to Mount Bachelor)... the Sno-Park is 50 yards in length... and again, it is an unsigned Sno-Park.
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I parked in the Sno-Park where I could see this sign... not very helpful for folks looking for the Vista Butte Sno-Park.
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I started hiking cross-country to the north from where I parked next to the Cascade Lakes Hwy... here looking back at my car in the center of the photo.
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Lots of down trees while hiking cross-country.
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After hiking cross-country for a third of a mile I crossed what looks like a Forest Service Road running east-west... but all of those down trees on the road makes me think it is only used in the winter by snowmobiles... I will continue to hike cross-country to the north.
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A peek-a-boo view of Mount Bachelor as I continue to hike cross-country.
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After hiking cross-country for a half-mile I have found a trail... and I will start hiking on it to the northeast.
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I was on the trail for a very short distance when I found out I was on the Butte Trail (called the Swampy-Dutchman Trail #40 on some maps)... I also noticed that it is 1.25 miles to the Vista Butte Sno-Park... meaning that I cut off three-quarters of a mile of hiking by going cross-country.
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Continuing to hike on the Butte Trail... with another peek-a-boo view of Mount Bachelor.
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After hiking a total of 1.1 miles I reached the trail junction of the Butte Trail and the Vista Butte Trail... or is it the trail junction of 'Swampy-Dutchman Trail #40' and 'Vista Butte Trail #40.2'... at any rate I will take the Vista Butte Trail.
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Nearing the south end of Vista Butte.
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I have reached the south end of Vista Butte... with views of Mount Bachelor on the left, Tumalo Mountain in the middle, and South Sister and Broken Top on the right.
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Continuing to hike on the Butte Trail... leaving the south end of Vista Butte and heading for the summit.
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After hiking a total of 1.6 miles I am standing on the 6,619 foot summit of Vista Butte... with nice views of Mount Bachelor (left), Tumalo Mountain, South Sister, Broken Top and Tam McArthur Rim on the far right.
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A close-up shot of the Swampy Lakes area taken from the Vista Butte summit.
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I have traced my steps back from the Vista Butte summit to where I found the Butte Trail earlier in the day after hiking a half-mile cross-country... but I will continue to follow the Butte Trail back to the car... adding an additional three-quarters of a mile to the hike... but I won't have to deal with any down trees.
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Lots of peek-a-boo views of Mount Bachelor on this hike.
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Still on the Butte Trail... but now I can see the Cascade Lakes Hwy... so I know that I'm getting close to the car.
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I am a stone's throw from my car.
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A better look at the Vista Butte Sno-Park on the side of the Cascade Lakes Hwy... the total hike was 4.25 miles, gaining 749 feet of elevation.
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