Ever since our founding in 1894, the Mazamas wanted a presence on Mt. Hood in an effort to demonstrate the importance of this mountain and our organization’s devotion to it. The Mazama Trail was conceived as a way to mark our 100 years of existence, which began at the summit of Mt. Hood in 1894.
The closure and abandonment of the Cathedral Ridge trail in the late ‘80s made way for the creation of the Mazama Trail, located on the Northwest side of Mt. Hood. It took nearly a decade from conception. In that time, volunteers tended to constant blowdowns, out-of-control huckleberries, rhododendrons and underbrush that overtook the trail. The Mazamas worked on ridge reconstruction, switchback creation and obvious rest spots.
Photo by Mary Spiering
Since the successful completion of the Mazama Trail in 1994, the area has withstood the Dollar Lake fire in 2011 and ongoing winter storms. And every year, we tend to it, to ensure it remains an enjoyable trail, which we did this past weekend.
Photo by Gina Binole
Over the course of three days in July, and an advanced scouting trip in June by Trail Tending leader Rick Pope, more than 30 people, the oldest being 90, cut out 32 logs, brushed back about 3 miles of trail, cleared out 60 drain dips, initiated ¼ mile of tread repair and hauled 50 buckets of gravel, which was spread, or stashed in strategic locations. It required about 257 hours of volunteer time, plus 36 hours of scouting time in June for a total of 293 hours.
For the uninitiated, the Mazama Trail serves as a ridge crest connector to a number of destinations, such as McNeil Point, Cairn Basin, Dollar Lake and the Timberline Trail. It offers the diversity of shady forest, a couple of springs, a talus-filled gully, a rhododendron alley, gorgeous views of Mt. Hood and more.
Photo by Brandy Quinn
How does one get involved in trail stewardship with the mazamas? I’d be interested in volunteering.
Hi Brian. That’s so great you are interested! We are in the process of resurrecting our Trail Tending committee that suffered from the pandemic along with the rest of us. Shoot an email to ginabinole@mazamas.org. We are taking names to resurrect our trail tending efforts more fully!
Both awesome and shoot… wish I would’ve know about this… I don’t see this shown on the Activities Calendar, I do find one from 2021… Can someone confirm where I can find these ‘before’ they happen – TY
Hey there. All 3 trail tending days were on the calendar and in the eNews. We did fill up with volunteers, which was amazing. If you’re interested in future trail tending, email ginabinole@mazamas.org. We’re collecting names in hopes of resurrecting the committee that unfortunately went mostly dormant during COVID.