Hike Broken Top before it snows

Quick, before snow blankets the mountain roads, get yourself to Broken Top.

That’s my takeaway thought from a jaw-dropppingly beautiful hike I took late last week.

My friend Kate Ramsayer was visiting Bend from the East Coast. She lived here for many years and used to be my regular hiking companion. She knew she wanted to hike somewhere off the Cascade Lakes Highway while she was here — Kate missed the mountains, she missed the crisp, delicious air. It was my job to figure out the details.

I searched my memory for the perfect hike. We needed something we could do in a few hours and we wanted spectacular, quintessential Central Oregon mountain views. That’s when I remembered this hike I had gone on with my dad and husband after first moving to town some seven years ago. My dad drove up the incredibly bumpy road in his small SUV. We loved the hike, which took us into the crater of Broken Top, but for years we couldn’t go back because there was no way our small car could make it up the road.

But now we, like so many other Bendites, have a Subaru. Finally, I thought, I can get back to that Broken Top hike.

The trip

We headed out after lunch Friday. At Todd Lake, I turned and headed up Forest Road 370. Bumpy doesn’t even begin to describe it. Even in my Subaru, I feared bottoming out or damaging the car in some way. I longed for a Jeep. It took me about half an hour to drive five miles up the road to the parking spot. There are several trailheads along the way, but we opted for the Broken Top Trail, which is the shortest hike closest to the mountain.

Driving up the road was difficult and tense, but it also made us feel like we were on an adventure. There was no question, we were heading into the mountains.

The hike

From the small parking area, we started down the trail and were immediately wowed by the views. Broken Top seemed so close already. The pointy crags of the mountain become more pronounced as we approached. And I began to notice the many stripes and shades layered on the mountain.

For the first mile or so the trail sloped downward. Kate and I were confused — we thought we were hiking up to the mountain and it felt as if we were walking away from it. This changed once we reached a stream and old canal system. From here, we headed upstream. We lost the trail for a few moments.

The key was to continue along the south side of the stream and just keep following it up along its rocky banks. After a hundred yards or so, we found the trail again.

From here on, we headed up, up, up.

The trail itself is interesting. There are times it winds though small forest patches and other times it leads through open meadows with streams. Looking around, we took in lovely views of Mount Bachelor.

After walking along the side of a rocky slope, the trail again petered out into a field of smooth, rounded rocks.

(After getting back home, I called the Forest Service to ask about this trail. Turns out, there isn’t really an official path to the crater of Broken Top. After crossing the canal area, we unknowingly headed off on our own adventure. The path we picked up farther on was well-worn and distinct, but apparently entirely unofficial, which explains why we had a hard time sticking to it. While there was no harm for us to go our own way, it is something to keep in mind in case you attempt to follow our footsteps.)

We just kept on chugging up the rocks, which then turned into scree. Our goal was to make it to a flat spot to sit and enjoy the chocolate chip cookies we packed.

We made a final push and came up over the top of a mound of crumbling rock to find a relatively flat, open, rocky area, right at the base of the crater of the mountain.

The mountain

Broken Top is my favorite mountain, I think. My feelings on this important matter shift. We have so many good mountains around here — Mount Jefferson is so perfect and pristine; South Sister has a classic quality; Mount Washington is just so weird and funky looking, shifting its appearance entirely depending on your position around it. But there’s something about Broken Top that I love. Maybe it’s the name, so perfect in description. Or the color, or how it just seems to be different than the more traditional looking mountains around it, a rebel mountain doing its own thing.

My love was only enhanced by proximity. As we got closer to the peak, I began to notice more and more interesting features. The color striations, in particular, were stunning. The craggy rocks contained stripes of intense color — orange, tan, yellow, gray and brown, but also red and even purple.

Up close, Broken Top seemed less like a mountain with a specific peak and more of a series of interesting rocks and cliffs looming up in front of us. From a distance, Broken Top seems like a cohesive unit, but inside the crater, it felt very spread out. Kate and I sat and ate our cookies and stared at the beauty of the mountain for a while. We took dozens of pictures, but I’m not sure any really captured the feeling of being in that spot, seemingly surrounded by a mountain.

Kate and I had stumbled into the perfect hike for us to take on together — with its bounty of mountain views, it felt like quintessential Central Oregon.

If you go

What: Broken Top Trail

Getting there: From Bend, head west on the Cascade Lakes Highway. Turn right at Todd Lake and follow Forest Road 370 up a steep, narrow, bumpy road. A high-clearance vehicle is required. Keep straight onto Road 370, past a turnoff for Forest Road 378. After about four miles, turn left onto Forest Road 380. It will be another mile until you reach the trailhead and a small parking area.

Difficulty: Moderate

Contact: Bend-Fort Rock Ranger District 541-383-4000

Cost: Free

NOTE: Forest Road 370 can close due to snow. Check for updates: www.fs.usda.gov/detail/centraloregon/home/?cid=stelprdb5347630