Tilly Jane to Cooper Spur via Cloud Cap
Being a Portlander, heading to the east side of Mount Hood isn’t something I had done until several years into my now 4-year stay here. The Tilly Jane campground was to be a staging area for a 3-day Timberline Trail hike. Our plan was to come up a day before our hike would start so we could live temporarily with some elevation, 5,700 feet of it, before we would begin our big hike.
My companion Mike and I arrived early enough to get in a little hike of our own before dark. After claiming a campsite, we set off on foot towards Cloud Cap (a more popular camping spot as it is more on the intersection of several trails). From there we jumped on the Cooper Spur trail.
It is worth spending a bit of time at Tilly Jane to get acquainted with the history of this place. I’m seriously impressed by those black-clad adventurers of the early 1900s who ascended Hood in their Sunday best! And during the winter the A frame is a throwback to simpler times, and you can still stay there for your own unique ski adventure far from the crowds at Timberline Lodge or Mt Hood Meadows.
The last few miles of the road to Tilly Jane or Cloud Cap are fine for most vehicles with decent tires. We got there and back fine in an old beater ensuring we took is slow whenever we came upon ruts and holes. But a higher clearance vehicle would certainly be more welcome.
There is ample water at Tilly Jane despite what we had researched before. Very nice toilet too.
