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Published: August 1st 2011
Horse Rock Mountain
On our way up! Horse Rock is over the top of the ridge you see in the background.I decided it was time to go for a hike since it has been awhile. I read an article in the Register Guard about Horse Rock Mountain. It seemed ideal since it was so close to home. I was surprised I hadn't heard about it!
We started out at a brisk pace since it was only 1.5 miles in to the summit. I noticed early on I was huffing and puffing.....I haven't been out in awhile, eh???? It is a slow steady climb up through the forest canopy and 161 steps over fallen trees. You emerge after about .7 mile onto a beautiful meadow filled with many flowers. You walk leisurely through the meadow and head up onto a bluff. From this view you can see the Three Sisters and Mt. Jefferson on a good clear day. Another set of hikers were coming down from the ridge and they had their newspaper article in hand, just like us!
We took a quick break (remember steady uphill) and headed off. The trail becomes faint and we had to pick our way through part of the outcrop. We picked the trail UP and headed off; Mason keeps a mean pace! The
sun was heating up by now and we found that we were requiring ALOT of water. Glad we brought extra! We then noticed we were being trailed by an older woman who was making very good time with a LARGE backpack!
We took a few breaks due to the heat, but finally made it to summit. The summit sits at 2818'. I am not sure what the elevation gain was, but it was fairly steep in parts. We had a nice picnic, checked out the cave and headed back down.
All in all it took us approximately 45 minutes to make it to the summit and that was with a few breaks. The views were amazing and well worth the short drive. Be prepared to run into other hikers with the newspaper article in hand.
Here is the Register Guard link to the article:
http://projects.registerguard.com/web/sportsoutdoors/26506413-41/rock-horse-mile-trail-dike.html.csp
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