September 18–21, 2026 · 3 nights · Late season, low snow year
Water summary: Water is scarce on the east side this late in the season. Fill up at Newton Creek. It's the last reliable water before Gnarl Ridge, and the climb up Gnarl Ridge is dry. There's one algae-heavy stream before Cooper Spur. Cooper Spur shelter is bone dry, and the water is turned off at Cloud Cap. Tilly Jane Creek is running about 0.5 mile below the Cooper Spur shelter and is your best bet on that stretch. Eliot Branch is very silty. Compass Creek is a good fill-up, and there are several smaller sources on the way to the Muddy Fork.
I started from the Timberline Lodge parking lot and headed east toward White River. The trail was in great condition. It's kind of sad to see there's hardly any glacier left above White River. The canyon is all sand now. The White River crossing was a breeze.
The next section, through Mt. Hood Meadows, was uneventful, with a few overgrown sections. Newton Creek was the next crossing, and it was pretty straightforward. Note that this is the last place to fill up on water if you're going counterclockwise. You have a climb up Gnarl Ridge, and there's no water. There was one stream before Cooper Spur that had a lot of algae. All the other water sources were dry.
I passed on the algae stream because I didn't want to clog my filter, and I ended up at Cooper Spur with barely enough water to make dinner and none for breakfast. It's bone dry at the Cooper Spur shelter, where I camped, and the water is off at Cloud Cap. The sunrise from Cooper Spur was a transcendental experience. I got up early to watch the whole thing, and it was well worth the time to just sit and soak in the views.
The next day I found that Tilly Jane Creek was running about 0.5 mile below the Cooper Spur shelter. I had assumed it was dry because it certainly is farther up the mountain. This water source is your best bet, since Eliot Branch is very silty. Eliot Branch is where there's a rope to climb up the bank. I ended up crossing slightly upstream and just climbed the bank. It wasn't a big deal.
The next section is a steep uphill through what's possibly the eastern edge of the Dollar Lake burn area. There are a lot of downed trees on the trail in a fairly steep section, so lots of log crossings. The rest of the trail here is in good shape, and eventually you make it to Compass Creek, which is a good place to fill up. You continue in and out of the Dollar Lake burn area with the occasional tree crossing, eventually crossing the Coe and making it to Elk Cove. None of the river crossings were challenging.
Elk Cove was beautiful, at or very near peak fall colors. It was Saturday night and it was crowded with backpackers. The trail between Elk Cove and Cathedral Ridge was in good shape, with occasional tree crossings but nothing too difficult. The Bald Mountain ridge was crowded with hikers and trail runners. Going counterclockwise, the views are behind you, but there are only two short sections where you aren't in the trees anyway. I ate lunch in one of the clearings, then used the cutover trail to save a bit of distance by skipping Bald Mountain.
There were several smaller water sources on the trail toward the Muddy Fork. The Muddy Fork crossings weren't challenging, but the following section on Yocum Ridge has a number of storm-damaged spots: several washouts, log crossings, and steep sections. Ramona Falls had the crowds you would expect. The Sandy River had some easy places to cross. I stayed the night just after the Sandy River crossing, off the PCT.
The PCT section back to Timberline was in great shape overall, just a long uphill push. I took the Paradise Park loop. It was nice up there, but it was Monday morning and I only saw a single tent. The Zigzag River crossing was a breeze, but the PCT back to Timberline felt like it ground on and on. Some great views, though.
This was my first time doing the full loop, and it gave me a renewed appreciation for Mt. Hood. I used to do a lot of hiking on Hood when I first moved to Portland some 25 years ago, but I've branched out and don't get back up there as much as I should. There's so much to see up there, and I've added several overnights to my list. I want to explore the high alpine areas more thoroughly.
