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We enjoy the Starvation Ridge approach to Mount Defiance but would like this
hike better if it was a loop (that didn't involved the knee-busting traditional
Mount Defiance trail). There are rumors that Cabin Creek Ridge may be an option
although it's unclear whether this trail actually punches through so that you can
get over Warren Lake way. This will be a scouting mission to see what I can learn.
The Starvation Ridge trail is lightly used and Cabin Creek is probably even more so.
It would be VERY cool to be able to do Defiance and run into little or no people!
Previous hikes in this area are documented
HERE and
HERE.
GETTING THERE
Starvation Creek exit (Exit 55) off of I-84. No pass required at this time.
Hike West a short way and then turn up (left) the trail as seen in the upper left
picture. About a 1/2 mile from the trailhead, you'll come to a fork as seen in
the picture on the upper right. To do Starvation Ridge, you'd go left and up.
For Cabin Creek Ridge, go right and downward
You will lose some elevation and after a short distance you will cross Cabin Creek.
Then you will once again gain a few hundred feet of elevation. You'll come up on
a rise with a nice view of the Columbia River. Dog Mountain will be almost directly
across the river and Wind Mountain will be to the West.
Just ahead (West) and to the South, there is a power transmission line tower that
can be seen from the Starvation Falls parking lot. This is where the Cabin Creek
ridge trail *OUGHT* to be. But... no trail, not even a faint one, was anywhere
to be seen. It would have been an easy "bushwhack" to the top and in retrospect
I suppose we should have done that to look around up top. But, since no trail
was evident, we continued West.
If this turns out to be the correct way to enter
Cabin Creek Ridge, I will
update this page with a link to
the full trail guide.
Continuing on, the rest of this trail report would be more accurately described
as the Warren Creek Ridge trail.
You'll continue to lose and then regain elevation. You'll cross Warren Creek
which feeds the Hole in the Wall Falls.
You'll come up on the next power transmission line tower which is on a ridge
between Warren Creek and Wonder Creek. There is a well-worn, clearly visible
trail heading up toward the tower. As you can see, the trail is steep and has
some significant exposure. Once you get up another few hundred feet, the trai
gets very faint. It's clear that many who come this way have their own ideas
on what direction to go. There are a few boot tracks but no clear trail. There
is a lot of brush, shrubbery, blow downs and poison oak to deal with up there.
The ridge is also fairly steep to the East and impossibly steep to the West of
the spine.
If this is indeed the route to the "Cabin Creek Ridge trail", you can save yourself
some grief and just hike along the traditional Mount Defiance access trail and turn
left (East) at the sign below, which is just past the tower in the above picture.
There are some nice views up here but this hike is definitely not for the faint
of heart. We didn't have much problem since the grass and moss was very dry and
stable. It would have been a whole different story if there was snow or mud up there.
We got up to around 1,000' of elevation and saw no clear route South. The ridge to
the East of the spine seemed to be the way to go but it looked like it would be a
bushwhack at best, with a *VERY* steep drop if either of us slipped. Since it
would be 4-5 miles before we got to Warren Lake, I figured it would be smarter
to do more research before attempting this one, especially since there may not even
be a trail heading South up here.
We were hoping to find a nice Mount Defiance loop where we could avoid the the
traditional Mount Defiance knee buster route and go up Cabin Creek Ridge and back
down Starvation Ridge instead.
We stopped at the Hole in the Wall Falls for a photo op which made Julie happy.
Then a quick stop at Starvation Falls before heading off to the Panda for kung pao
which made me VERY happy....
If Warren Creek Ridge turns out to be a legitimate route to Warren Lake, I'll
post an update with a link to it on this page.
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