Black Butte – Clatsop…
A very cool area. I’ve been wanting to come here for a while now. Ever since spotting it from the summit of Onion Peak. This area doesn’t see much recreation as it’s owned by the timer companies. Figuring out how to get here was the biggest challenge. Unfortunately, it costs $75 annually to play here…and that doesn’t include access by vehicle. I was able to find a 4-mile approach that includes a short coastal thrash, and a maze of logging roads. Glad I got my annual permit to wander these roads.
This is my first time up here so it was all about confirming the approach and exploring the summit of Black Butte. Just like most of the peaks in the Northern Oregon Coast, Black Butte has an interesting rocky-top.
Black Butte is not my objective for exploring this area…it’s the random rocks all over the area. Some of the rocks look like stand-alone pinnacles.
Next trip will be all about exploring the rocks… I’ll call them The Black Butte Rocks… EDIT: They are now called the Clatsop Towers.
Let the thrash begin…
First obstacle…small trib of Coal Creek. Not much of an obstacle.
Squint your eyes and imagine the PNW giants these stumps belonged to.
First sight of Black Butte (right) and Onion Peak (left)
Onion Peak…
Another favorite of mine, in the northern Oregon coast…Sugarloaf Mountain. A cool summit rock with a nice 2-pitch climb to the top…
The rocks I came here to see…I call them, The Clatsop Towers
…these too…
…and these…
Next trip, I’ll take a closer look.
The tallest one in this group is about 30′ tall…
The route up the north side of Black Butte…
Random rock…
Summit ridge of Black-Butte…
The summit is rock with cracks (gaps) you can walk through…
Nearing the summit…
Summit of Black Butte…
A view of Onion Peak…
…and the rocks below…
Nehalem Valley…
Fuckers…
Headed down the south side of Black Butte…
Gee, I wonder how that happened… 🙁
The massive Onion Peak…
Random rock hidden in the trees…
Last look at Onion Peak (left) and Black Butte (right)
Today’s route…
