Belknap Crater…Who knew??

First time hiking Belknap Crater…what a gem!  Views of Mt. Washington are stunning and, of course, the other nearby peaks.  There is still snow on the east side of the peak and a few small snow crossings as you emerge from the tree island and along the way to Little Belknap.  The large snowfield is easy to cross but it would be helpful to download the trail map if you haven’t hiked the route before.  We missed the turn off the PCT (it’s shortly after the lava field ends) and ended up route finding through the trees.  Not difficult..just added some distance.  We had the summit to ourselves.  Retraced our steps off the summit and connected with the real trail on the way down.  Detoured to Little Belknap on the way back to the trailhead.   A splendid day hike in Central Oregon.  Highly recommend…just don’t forget that you need a Central Oregon Cascades permit available on recreation.gov.