Cooper Spur

Cooper Spur is the high shoulder on the northeast flank of Mount Hood, reached via a spectacular climb from historic Cloud Cap Inn. The trail begins in a cathedral of ancient mountain hemlocks, switchbacks up soft volcanic ash through Tilly Jane Canyon, then breaks into an alpine zone above the yawning crevasse field of Eliot Glacier.

At 8,510 feet you stand on a rocky crest with views across Washington's volcanoes — Adams, Rainier, St. Helens — and straight up the glacier to the summit of Hood. Alpine wildflowers and stunted whitebark pine dot the spur in late summer. Early season means lingering snow and distinctive cairns-on-wooden-posts as route markers; September and October offer dry scree, sharp air, and thinning crowds.

Cloud Cap Trailhead sits at the end of a rough access road and gets crowded on summer weekends, so weekdays are your friend. The rustic stone Cooper Spur Shelter en route is one of the last survivors of the original Timberline Trail structures. Cloud Cap Inn itself is closed to the public but worth a look.