Battle Axe is a peak in the Willamette Valley region just north of Detroit
Lake. To reach it, head towards the town of Detroit, Oregon. Just northwest
of Detroit at milepost 50, take Road 46 north at the Corner Post store. Head
north on road 46 and travel 4.4 miles and turn left on FS road 4696. 0.7
miles later, turn left onto road 4697. This road is not recommended for
passenger cars. Sure, you could make it to Elk Lake, but your car will never
be the same. ;^)
Proceed on road 4697 about 4.6 miles. You will reach a fork in the road
where road 451 goes to the right and a faded green post is beside the left
fork. Take the left fork. Continue until you reach the Elk Lake campground
sign. The sign is 11.9 miles from the Corner Post store at the intersection
of Hwy 22 and road 46.
I suggest you park your car here in the wide area of the road or go down to
the campground and park there. If you proceed ahead on 4697, there is only
one place to turn around and its full of washouts and exposed rocks. Besides,
you will only save about 10 minutes of walking. From the campground you can
look directly up towards Battle Axe. Its an impressive peak.
I took the more direct route up Battle Axe. I walked up 4697 which turns into
a rutted, overgrown old road bed. Continue to Beachie Saddle. From the campground
to the saddle took me about 30 minutes. On the way to the saddle, there are
great views of Mt. Beachie to your left.
When hiking Battle Axe, you might consider doing Mt. Beachie also, since it's so close.
At the saddle, head northeast up the unmarked trail towards Battle Axe. The
trail is in pretty good shape and has a southern exposure. The climb is pretty
steep, about 1200ft in 1.5 miles. There are some great views of Mt. Beachie as
well as Elk Lake on the way up. From my rig, it took an hour and forty-five
minutes to attain the summit.
The summit is really nice. There is an almost perfect rock seat with a scrubby
tree growing out of it for an antenna support. The views in all directions were
amazing. I could see Mt. Rainier to the north and Marys Peak to the west. The
chasers were all primed and a good time was had by all. It was really hard to
leave this summit. One of the nicest days in the mountains all winter.
The trip down to Beachie Saddle was uneventful and fast. Cooper and I took some
lunch at the saddle and headed up Mt. Beachie next. It was the start of a great
day in the mountains.
