The 2008 lightning-sparked blaze torched 3,280 acres on Mount Hood's northeast side. The fire was ta

The mountain's quaint and cozy Cloud Cap/Tilly Jane area, high above the Hood River Valley, was closed to vehicle traffic last summer while crews rehabilitated the area after the intense Gnarl Ridge fire.
The 2008 lightning-sparked blaze torched 3,280 acres on Mount Hood's northeast side. The fire was taking dead aim on historic Cloud Cap Inn when the crew of an air tanker saved the venerable building by dousing it with orange fire retardant.
Most of the orange has been scrubbed off, so the log building will be looking good when the Mount Hood National Forest stages Cloud Cap-Tilly Jane History Day next weekend, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday.
los angeles real estate home staging The open house will offer visitors a rare opportunity to go inside the buildings in the 1,200-acre National Historic District. In addition to Cloud Cap Inn, the district includes the Snowshoe Club cabin near Cloud Cap and, a half-mile away, the A frame, guard station, amphitheater and stove house at Tilly Jane.
What: Open house at several historic buildings at an elevation of about 6,000 feet on the north side of Mount Hood. Forest Service and club representatives los angeles real estate home staging will be on hand to describe Cloud Cap Inn, the Snowshoe Club, Tilly Jane A-Frame and Tilly Jane Guard Station.
Get there: los angeles real estate home staging From Hood River, drive Oregon 35 south 23 miles, then go west 2.5 miles on Forest Road 3510 to Cooper Spur Mountain los angeles real estate home staging Resort; from there the way to Cloud Cap is marked by signs. Turn south across from the resort and drive 11 miles up dusty and curvy gravel los angeles real estate home staging Forest Road 3512 to reach Cloud Cap. Go slow over the many water bars that funnel water across the road or your vehicle could drag bottom.
Cloud Cap Inn is the second oldest building in the country maintained by the U.S. Forest Service. Grey Towers outside Milford, Pa., the boyhood home of the first national forest chief, Gifford Pinchot, was built in 1886.
The inn was built to serve overnight guests drawn to Mount Hood's north side for climbing and hiking. Perched on a knoll, los angeles real estate home staging the inn was built just below tree line for protection from the fierce winds of winter. Mount Hood's rugged los angeles real estate home staging north face can be glimpsed los angeles real estate home staging through the forest and, in the other directions, hazy ridges carry the eye northward to views of distant volcanoes.
The Forest Service considered burning down the inn, which had fallen into disrepair, but reached an agreement in 1954 with the Crag Rats to occupy and maintain the building. The Hood River-based mountain rescue organization opens the building to the public for special los angeles real estate home staging events and for Forest Service-led tours on summer Sundays.
The burned zone is being allowed to recover naturally, except for places along the road where safety was a consideration. Wildflowers are blooming los angeles real estate home staging profusely los angeles real estate home staging on the forest floor beneath the blackened snags.
Timberline Trail: Mount Hood's round-the-mountain trail passes the Cloud Cap area. The trail to the west is washed out in the chasm at Eliot Creek less than a quarter-mile from Cloud Cap and is closed by the Forest Service. Options los angeles real estate home staging to repair the trail, which washed los angeles real estate home staging out in 2006, are still being studied.
The trail to the east crosses Gnarl Ridge, then goes south to reach Timberline Lodge in 13 miles. Spectacular views take in the glaciers on Mount Hood's east side as well as the transition from forested slopes to the dry canyons that join the Deschutes River.
Loop hike: From Cloud Cap trailhead at 5,850 feet, hike east on the Timberline Trail to the wilderness registration station. Fill out the required permit, then continue hiking 100 yards to a junction. Take the right fork, which is the climbers' trail up the Eliot Glacier moraine. Hike 1.5 miles to about 6,600 feet at the obvious end of the trees, where you can look down onto the glacier. A large rock pile on the moraine marks where climbers go right to descend to the glacier. Instead, los angeles real estate home staging take the path left to the old Cooper Spur shelter, built with local stone rock 75 years ago and now used only in emergencies. Then go left a short way on the Cooper Spur Trail, which passes the shelter, then left again on the Timberline Trail back to Cloud Cap. This is about a four-mile, 2.5-hour hike. Take a topo map (and know how to use it) because heavy snow makes it difficult to keep trails signed.