On a gorgeous late summer day I hiked to the top of 7,215-foot Olallie Butte. The third highest peak in Northwest Oregon is ten miles north of Mt. Jefferson.
The Butte is the remnants of an old shield volcano with large basalt rock pinnacles exposed on its east side.
After about three miles the trail left the sub-alpine forest and swung around to the southwest side of the Butte, providing great views of Mt. Jefferson and the myriad of lakes on the Olallie Plateau. Black and red volcanic rocks of all sizes covered the alpine landscape on the upper Butte with whitebark pine becoming the dominant tree.
From there it was a short, but steep climb to the top which covered an area the size of a football field. On the north end was the remains of an abandoned fire lookout cabin built of volcanic rock with Mt. Hood visible in the background.
I took off the pack and spent a couple of hours enjoying the views. It is truly one of the beautiful spots in the Pacific Northwest.
Mt. Hood behind the old lookout cabin on Olallie Butte
Mt. Jefferson behind the lakes in the Olallie Basin
The handmade trail sign
Mt. Jefferson behind the summit of Olallie Butte
The upper trail ascending through volcanic rock and Whitebark Pines
A natural arch in a large plug of lava
The only wildflower blooming on the trail, a member of the daisy/aster family
Deep-blue Olallie Lake
The remains of the old cupola-style lookout cabin
Mt. Adams sneaking out behind Mt. Hood
A small herd of Roosevelt Elk near Jewell
Those are some of your best landscape pictures yet.
Thanks Jason. It was a beautiful, late summer day.
Enjoyed the post – its been a long time since I have done that hike. But what are those elk down in Jewel doing in this post ?
Tom Sidley
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The elk added a little variety. In truth, I had been hoping to see some elk in the Olallie Butte area.
I think this might be my favorite post so far. Spectacular scenery and your photography is stellar. Sandy
Sent from my iPhone
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Thanks Sandy. Late summer, sunny days are hard to beat.