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Eliot Moraine Hike

From Oregon Hikers Field Guide

Mount Hood from Tilly Jane Canyon (Tom Kloster)
Cooper Spur climbers shelter (Tom Kloster)
Eliot Moraine - whitebark pine krumholz (Tom Kloster)
Eliot Glacier from the moraine viewpoint (Tom Kloster)
Eliot Moraine Hike (Tom Kloster)
  • Starting point: Cloud Cap Trailhead
  • Ending point: South Eliot Glacier Moraine
  • Hike type: Loop
  • Distance: 2.5 miles round-trip
  • Elevation gain: 1050 feet
  • High point: 6,845 feet
  • Difficulty: Moderate
  • Seasons: July - November
  • Family Friendly: Kids 12 or older
  • Backpackable: No
  • Crowded: On summer weekends

Contents

Hike Description

This spectacular hike begins at Cloud Cap Trailhead, and quickly climbs to a soaring viewpoint above the spectacular Eliot Glacier, Mount Hood’s largest and most rugged river of ice. The route also passes one of the surviving rustic stone shelters that once dotted the Timberline Trail. Historic Cloud Cap Inn is closed to the public, but the grounds of the Inn are worth a stop before or after your hike. Cloud Cap Trailhead is crowded on summer weekends, so try this one on a weekday, if possible.

From the trailhead, walk through the picnic area/campground to a junction on the Timberline Trail. Head left and uphill past a wilderness registration box and then for a short distance to a marked junction, where a spur trail to the South Eliot Glacier Moraine heads off to the right. You will return on this trail, but to continue the clockwise loop, stay left on the Timberline Trail, following the sign pointing toward Gnarl Ridge. The trail continues climbing through a handsome old growth forest of huge mountain hemlock. While the route is well-graded, it also travels across soft volcanic ash for much of the trip, which may make the 1.2-mile climb to the Cooper Spur Shelter seem like twice that, but as you round a bend into Tilly Jane Canyon, and views of Mount Hood loom ahead, you’ll forget the soft sand below your feet. In this section, the trail switchbacks up Tilly Jane Canyon amid boulders and scattered alpine wildflowers. If you’re hiking early in the season, expect lingering snow and watch for distinct cairns with wooden posts to guide your way.

Next, the trail enters a windswept forest of mountain hemlock and whitebark pine, and then exits near a junction with the Tilly Jane Trail. Turn right (uphill) here, following the sign to Cooper Spur. The spur is the hulking, rocky ridge straight ahead, but your route will only take you 100 yards on this trail, before the Cooper Spur Shelter suddenly appears on the right. Walk to the shelter on one of many informal paths, and take a moment to appreciate the architecture and construction. This rustic stone building has existed on the site for more than seventy years, surviving the avalanches that have gradually destroyed many of the other shelters along the Timberline Trail.

After pausing to enjoy the shelter, continue north (right, if looking toward the mountain) past the building, following an excellent use path that leads toward the South Eliot Glacier Moraine. This informal route dips into a tiny draw and then crests the moraine at an enormous cairn. A climber's trail drops to the Eliot Glacier from here, but this route is dangerous to all but experienced mountaineers. The view from here is truly awesome, with the Eliot Glacier tumbling down the north face of the mountain and the occasional sound of ice creaking and weakened rock walls collapsing. When the wind is right, you can even smell the sulfur in the air from Mount Hood’s steaming crater. Below, you can often pick out climbers scaling the ice blocks known as seracs in the lower icefall.

After enjoying the view, turn right and follow the climber’s path downhill along the top of the moraine, being careful to stay on the crest when periodic side paths appear. From this section of the hike, you have a birds-eye view of the business end of a glacier, to your left. The break between white ice and the lower portion of the glacier, which is covered in rock debris, marks the point where snowfall is outpaced by glacial melt. Farther along the ridge, you can see a stream emerging in full force from the terminus of the glacier. Below and to the right, you can pick out the earlier part of your hike, as the Timberline Trail snakes down Tilly Jane Canyon.

As you reach the lower part of the moraine, the trail becomes increasingly choppy, as erosion from the retreating Eliot Glacier has been gradually cutting away the north side of the moraine here, pushing the trail to the south as hikers find routes around the slides. Watch for the best path and stay away from the slide areas. After 0.5 miles of following the moraine, and as you reach the tree line, the route reaches a poorly-marked former alignment of the Timberline Trail. Turn right on the trail that heads down the sandy slopes of the moraine and follow this sometimes confusing path to the marked South Moraine junction with the Timberline Trail, and then back to Cloud Cap.

Maps

  • Maps: Hike Finder
  • Geo-Graphics: Mount Hood Wilderness Map
  • Adventure Maps: Mt. Hood Area
  • U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service: Mt. Hood National Forest
  • Discover Your Northwest: Mt. Hood National Forest North: Trail Map & Hiking Guide
  • U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service: Hood River Ranger District
  • National Geographic Trails Illustrated Map: Mount Hood Wilderness
  • National Geographic Trails Illustrated Map: Mount Hood

Fees, Facilities, etc.

  • Northwest Forest Pass (or America the Beautiful Pass) required at Cloud Cap Trailhead
  • Vault toilets, campground, and picnic tables

Trip Reports

Related Discussions / Q&A

Guidebooks that cover this destination

  • 100 Classic Hikes in Oregon by Douglas Lorain
  • 50 Hiking Trails: Portland & Northwest Oregon by Don & Roberta Lowe
  • Hiking Oregon's Geology by Ellen Morris Bishop
  • Oregon's Best Wildflower Hikes: Northwest Region by George Wuerthner

More Links


Page Contributors

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Oregon Hikers Field Guide is built as a collaborative effort by its user community. While we make every effort to fact-check, information found here should be considered anecdotal. You should cross-check against other references before planning a hike. Trail routing and conditions are subject to change. Please contact us if you notice errors on this page.

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