|
Coffin Mountain and Bachelor Mountain
A nice hike to check out two peaks in Oregon's Willamette National Forest
Coffin Mountain and Bachelor Mountain are located in the Willamette National Forest of western Oregon. Both boast fantastic wildflower displays and excellent views of neighboring Mount Jefferson. These peaks can be reached from their own respective trailheads via good trails, or can be combined into a single outing if you don’t mind some bushwhacking to connect the two. Bachelor weighs in with over 2,000 feet of prominence, so it seems to be more popular with peak baggers. But I would argue that Coffin is a somewhat prettier and a more enjoyable hike.
After checking the maps, I figured the two peaks could be combined into “loop” starting at the Coffin Mountain trailhead. With everyone else worn out from a workday the prior day at my wife’s sister’s house near Salem, I ended up doing this hike solo. The last portion of the drive after leaving the highway was very pleasant, and soon enough it was time to hit the trail.
The trail up Coffin is fairly steep, but offers frequent excuses to stop and rest to soak in the surrounding views and check out wildflowers along the way. I covered the 1.5 miles and 1100’ of elevation gain to the summit in about 45 minutes of hiking. After that, I was ready for a rest and ate my PB&J while enjoying the fantastic views. The deck of the fire lookout was a great vantage point to check out Jefferson and my next objective, Bachelor Mountain.
After a nice break on top of Coffin, I backtracked a bit, then headed cross-country, following grassy slopes to the west. I’d hoped to stay on the ridge, but ended up going south to avoid cliffs. Once off steep terrain, I contoured westerly, then did my best to avoid downed trees in the thick forest, before eventually popping out on the road about a quarter mile from the Bachelor Mountain trailhead.
The Bachelor Mountain trail starts of in a shady forest, which was nice relief from the hot sun. After not too long, it crossed over to south facing terrain with great views and lots of wildflowers. The earlier bushwhack had taken longer than expected, so I did my best to hustle up the trail to make up lost time.
The views of Mount Jefferson from the summit of Bachelor were exceptional. And the steep east face cliffs of Coffin Mountain were impressive too. After a snack, it was time to head back down. I backtracked down the trail, then followed the road back to the Coffin Mountain trailhead. My only stop was to pick a beautiful bouquet of wildflowers for my beautiful wife.
Both peaks were very scenic and well worth the visit. Round trip was 8 miles and 2900’ of elevation gain in just under 4 hours round trip.
Map of the route, 8 miles and 2900' gain round trip. |
Coffin Lookout Trailhead. |
Jefferson and wildflowers from the Coffin Mountain trail. |
Grassy slopes on the way up Coffin Mountain. |
Helipad on Coffin Mountain. |
Bushwhacking between Coffin and Bachelor. |
Mossy trees on the way up Bachelor Mountain. |
Coffin Mountain from the summit of Bachelor Mountain. |
West face of Mount Jefferons from the summit of Bachelor Mountain. |
View of Coffin Mountain from the trail leading down from Bachelor Mountain. |
|
|
|
