Hunchback Trail, ZigZag Oregon

We think we made it to Spotted Owl Knob.

Hunchback Trail - 9.1 miles (one way)
Elevation..............1500-5000 feet
Level.....................Most Difficult

Suited up and ready to go! At the Zigzag Ranger Station.

The hubby and I did this one with both pups and my mom, my dad sat this hike out.

Trail Description from USDA.gov
"Starting from the Zigzag Ranger Station, this trail climbs steeply for 1.9 miles, gaining over 2,000 feet in elevation to a viewpoint."

And that is as far as we got...did you see the elevation it gained?! We wanted to go to Devil's Peak but to get their we should have either counted on an all day hike and maybe a pickup spot, or started at a different trailhead.

Want to know why it's called Hunchback Trail?  Because it's sooo steep you're hunched!  Haha, I was still getting over (am still getting over) a cold with a lot of congestion and sinus pressure. I'm normally a very athletic person but I thought this hike would kill me at a few points.

The dogs did great! They were in heaven, Dante got to wear his backback and carry his and Ziva's water. After a mile or so into the trail we unleashed them because their wasn't much undergrowth and they stayed right with us on the trail.

Dante and Ziva had a blast! We only went 2 miles, to a look out point but it was well worth it. It took us about 2 hours to get to the false summit. We would've been moving faster but they were being kind and waiting for poor sniffley me.

 

Very Steep - we were at about 3500 feet elevation and had started at 1500.

Viewpoint

"Leaving the viewpoint, the trail traverses the Hunchback ridgeline until descending into a saddle and junction with the Green Canyon Trail #793A (3.6 miles). The trail continues for 2.4 miles as a series of steep climbs and descents that can be rocky, narrow and covered with fallen trees, to the Devil's Peak Lookout trail...From the Lookout, continue southeast for 1.2 miles to the southern trail head at Kinzel Lake. Some segments of this trail are primitive with minimal tread surface, which can lead to several scrambles."

They were not kidding! We took one look at that narrow ridgeline and decided now was the time to turn around.

This is what we were heading into - picture courtesy of portlandhikers.org

On the way back down we had a bit of fun with the dogs, my hubby being the fastest and me the slowest we took turns calling the dogs back and forth up and down the trail for the 2 mile hike back. It was really funny and they certainly got in their exercise! We also ended up walk/jogging our way back down due to the steepness.

Hard work deserves a nap!