Mt Beachie is a peak in the Willamette Valley region just north of Detroit
Lake. To reach it, follow my other blog about Battle Axe. This blog begins
at Beachie saddle.
From Beachie Saddle go southwest on the trail that is marked, keeping a
level altitude along the north flank of Mt. Beachie. The trail sign is
up very high, badly weathered and nearly unreadable. Do not follow the
faint trail to the left at the beginning that leads up the very exposed
northeast ridge of Mt. Beachie.
The trail skirts the northern flank of Beachie through several talus slopes
interspersed with forest. Being on the north side, this trail was pretty
hard to follow as it was well snow covered and very overgrown. I had a
difficult time making my way through several sections wondering if I was
still on the trail and getting caught in a profusion of overgrowth.
After about a mile the trail takes a hard south turn ascending to Beachie's
ridgeline. This portion was very steep and slippery. I fell several times.
After reaching the ridgeline, there are several great views of Battle Axe
and the northeast ridgeline of Beachie. Proceed SSE about another half a
mile until the trail just starts to descend. At that point turn back about
75 yards and ascend directly up to the summit of Mt. Beachie. A good map
and GPS are helpful here.
I reached the summit of Mt. Beachie from Beachie Saddle in 1:40. The summit
area was pretty narrow with only one tree near the ridgeline for supporting
my EFHW. I set it up as a sloper and all was well. The views were pretty good
but not as good as Battle Axe. Once again, the chasers were waiting and it
was fun working many of the same folks from earlier in the day.
Descending Beachie, I really noticed now steep some of the sections were. I
fell several more times in the snow covered underbrush. This trail really,
needs some maintenance. Its a nice climb, but I wondered at some points
if the name "Beachie" was a misspelling of a more family unfriendly term.
All said and done, Mt. Beachie is still a pretty cool summit.
