Pyramid Rock
From Portland Hikers Field Guide
- Hikes including this location:
- Latitude: 45.73407
- Longitude: -122.25286
- Maps: Portland Hikers Maps Google Earth
- Elevation: 3588 feet
Contents |
Description
Pyramid Rock is a large rock outcrop to the southwest of Silver Star Mountain. It gets its name from pyramid-like shape. It is marked the highpoint of a rocky spine leading up to Silver Star right along the Grouse Vista Trail. The exposed rock is the result of lost vegetation and hydro-erosion after one of the most wide-spread forest fires in Northwest history swept through this area in 1902. The fire, called the Yacolt Burn is responsible for all the deforestation from here all the way east toward Three Corner Rock, and also the abundant wildflowers that grace the surrounding meadows in early spring.
Like nearby Sturgeon Rock (visible directly to the north), Pyramid Rock is mislabeled on USGS maps. In this case the error is not as egregious. (See the map at the bottom of this page to see the discrepancy)
One can summit Pyramid Rock with a short scramble, although doing so may seem a bit anticlimactic after reaching the summit of Silver Star. You can access it by taking Grouse Vista Trail from the trailhead a bit over a mile and 1000' gain.
In the winter of 2006, a mountain goat took up solitary residence on the Pyramid Rock, much to the delight of snowshoers who noticed him hopping around effortlessly around its summit. In has not been reported in subsequent seasons.
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