Pahto: The Forgotten Giant

Mt. Adams, second-highest peak in the Northwest, is The Forgotten Giant of Washington. It's certainly the most remote from Portland compared to Mt. St. Helens and Mt. Hood. I climbed the mountain just once, from the standard south side route via Trout Lake, north of White Salmon, Washington and Hood River, Oregon.

Pahto is the third leg of the love triangle that destroyed the Bridge of the Gods. A climber once described the mountain as "unimaginatively designed." Yet Pahto's vast size also lends the peak an impressive dignity. Rising over 1,000 feet above the floor, the southeast slope offers compelling views of St. Helens (below).

According to native lore, when St. Helens preferred Adams to Hood, the latter struck his northern neighbor with a blow so mighty that Pahto's head was utterly flattened. This fraternal battle, lost by Mt. Adams, explains the somewhat ungainly and bulbous appearance of the volcano. Pahto never recovered from its humiliation.

Pahto and Wy'east were those who courted Loowit, the damsel in question. Not seen by the white explorers, including George Vancouver and Wilson Price Hunt, Pahto truly is a forgotten giant. Because of its Johnny-come-lately status, it became a member of the president's club with Jefferson and Washington.

One Thomas J. Farnham, working from inadequate maps, placed Mt. Adams about 40 miles east of St. Helens. Big mistake. Mountaineer Ray Smutek commented recently: "In what has to be one of of geography's greatest coincidences, there was a mountain there to accept (one of the president's club's) names."

On our trips to the Owl Conservatory, we can see Pahto from Hood River all to Yakima via I-84 and U.S. Highway 97. At Biggs Junction, we can also see Wy'east near the Bridge of the Gods in Cascade Locks. On the northern end, we can see Mt. Adams, Mt. Rainier and the Stuart Range. Who's up for a trip to Trout Lake?