Leaving the Summit & Descending a Flowery Mountainside Wonderland! | 4K | Crescent Mountain | Oregon

This was a day-hike in Central Oregon, Willamette National Forest, hiking to the Summit of Crescent Mountain, approximately 10 miles & 2400 FT Elevation Gain, as an Out and Back. At the Summit you get a panoramic vista of NINE mountains, and the section before the Summit is a flower laden Meadow that gives serious "The Sound of Music" Vibes! You start in the Old Growth Forest, cross the one and only Creek across a wide and sturdy rustic bridge, and ultimately ascend to the Alpine Zone (over 5000') above the tree line all the way to the Summit. Just before the Summit there is a fork, GO RIGHT which takes you to the Summit Zone Area. The temperature was classic Summer weather, low of 51 officially but in the low 40's in the shade of the forest canopy, with a high in the high 70's to low 80's. This was hiked on 7/16/2022 and there were a handful of mosquitoes at just a few spots on the trail that were strategically waiting to attack as you ascended, I got 4 bites overall which wasn't bad all things considered - they were NOT distributed evenly throughout the trail it was 90%+ clear, there were just a few bottleneck areas they lay in wait the sly little Machiavellian micro vampires they are. As far as road conditions, it's highway and then a well paved forest road, and then a few tenths of a mile down a pretty bumpy forest road that is narrow, so drive that section very slowly and carefully. In my opinion, the road does not require 4-Wheel Drive despite the short bumpy section, however do watch for road conditions, particularly snow/ice depending on the time of year.