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Oregon Challenge – Diamond Peak
As anyone in Bend area done Diamond Peak recently in 2021? We are looking at doing it via the Rockpile trail. If so, what trail did you hike? How did you get there and what were the road conditions like? Any advice appreciated.
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2 Replies
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We've had a number of folks hike Diamond Peak recently, and you can check out their trip reports here: https://socialhiker.net/six-pack-peaks-challenge/central-oregon/2021-hike-logs/diamond-peak/
Personally, I'm waiting until the air quality improves. Current levels in Central Oregon can cause damage to your lungs.
As for the route, there is an “easy” route from Oakridge here that can be driven in any 2WD car. It's more circuitous than the default route Google Maps recommends, which takes you past Crescent Lake on a very rough forest service road that high clearance and 4WD is recommended on (though Google won't tell you that).
It's a long haul from here in Bend… part of the challenge is getting there.
I'm heading to Grand Teton NP next week (and this week isn't looking promising) and am targeting Diamond Peak from Summit Lake TH probably the week after I return (~9/24). I'll probably spend a night at Summit Lake for an early start at Diamond Peak in the morning.
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We did it yesterday. From RockPile. Roads were great, just the three hour drive each way made for a loooooong day. And there’s no cell service on the road, so pay attention to the route for the return!!!!! We found we quickly hiked out of the bad air, and so for all of our hikes in the past few days, the smoke masked our views, but we were breathing clean air!! We used AllTrails to help us keep somewhat on track – especially for the last mile or so (which was absolutely a slog, and somewhat of a choose-your-own-adventure!!!!
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