65	BEAR POINT

ELEVATION: 6043 ft, with 3000 ft vertical gain

DISTANCE: 4¼ mi up, 8½ mi round-trip

DURATION: 2 hours up, 3–4 hours round-trip

DIFFICULTY: Strenuous. Steady steep, switchbacks, overgrown at times, narrow, scree

Barrett’s penstemon and rebar from the summit of Bear Point gazing SE.

TRIP REPORT: Here’s another noteworthy little gem of a day hike (best late June through September) with plenty of exercise and terrific views toward Jefferson Park and Mount Jefferson only 5 mi to the SE. Several local lakes can be seen as well as Olallie Butte, Mount Hood, Three Fingered Jack, and others once you break out of the thick forest to the rocky summit block. No fee or restroom.

TRAILHEAD: S Breitenbush TH. Take I-5 S from Portland to exit 253 in Salem, turn left for OR-22 E (Detroit Lake/Bend) almost 49 mi, turn left in Detroit on FR-46 for 11 mi, turn right past Breitenbush Hot Springs on gravel FR-4685 over the bridge and then 4½ mi more. Park to the right before a big corner on the road at a “Trailhead” sign (110 mi, more than 2 hours from Portland).

ROUTE: Fill out a free self-issue Wilderness Permit and begin right (E) past the small sign for S Breitenbush Trail 3375 (and Crag Trail 3374 very briefly) more than 2 mi gradually up to the turnoff for Bear Point. Cross a number of little creeks through the jungle of a green forest filled with bear grass, rhododendron, avalanche lilies, and more. The last ½ mi will be steeper and rockier after a switchback to the juncture.

Turn left (N) on Bear Point Trail 3342, following older signage, up much steeper steadily for 21 switchbacks to the (removed) old lookout. You’ll cross a creek, see your goal, and then grind up with thinning flora and better than average views of nearby Mount Jefferson. Finish the narrow path over scree, boulders, and rock to the wide-open summit with rocky wind walls for the occasional camper. Be careful if snow lingers near the top into July. Look SE over Bear Lake to Dinah-Mo Peak, Park Ridge Summit, and Mount Jefferson, even seeing into Washington’s high Cascades on a clear day.