Conquering McClellan Butte

Yesterday we went on a hike to McClellan Butte (http://www.wta.org/go-hiking/hikes/mcclellan-butte). It was a 9.0 mile round-trip hike and we gained 3,700 ft of elevation.  Needless to say, it was a steep hike up the mountain, but worth it.  This was probably my favorite hike we've gone on since we moved here.  It's very peaceful and quiet, not a lot of people use this trail, has beautiful scenery and the top has a really fun scramble.

We started the trip on a pretty flat fire road before entering the trail and as I was walking down the road, a HUGE elk with a giant rack stood about 50 feet in front of me!  It was beautiful and magical --- it looked like Santa Claus's sleigh should have been there (if there was snow).  Once it saw me, it turned and ran away, unfortunately, I didn't get a photo.  Just after that, a pretty black lab named Jackson came running out of the trail with his owners dragging behind.  He was such a sweet dog and had so much energy --- he loved being out in the woods!  Jackson accompanied us for about the first half of the hike and would run back and check on his owners every now and then (they were slower than us), making sure they were still coming.  Well, the fun ended for him when he and a little Yorkie got into a tussle.  I blame the Yorkie because it kept trying to get up in Jackson's business.  Nevertheless, I think Jackson and his owners turned around at that point.

Will playing with Jackson.

We continued up the trail, gaining elevation rather quickly until reaching the summit.  The views from the top were worth the hike up and we enjoyed a nice Class 3 scramble up to the very top.  

Overlook on the trail, Cascades.

About to climb up the Butte.

Very top --- after scrambling up.
The views were AMAZING!

Me, on the way down, acting like I'm the
giant elk we saw earlier.

Will coming down the scramble.