Mount Defiance

Mount Defiance rises 4,959 feet above the Columbia River at Starvation Creek, and the Mount Defiance Trail #413 from the river to the summit is commonly cited as the hardest day hike in the Pacific Northwest. The vertical distance is comparable to the gain from Timberline Lodge to the summit of Mount Hood — serious mountaineers use this as a late-winter training climb.

The route passes the graceful two-tiered Cabin Creek Falls, threads through forest partially burned in the 2017 Eagle Creek Fire (with two areas of crown fire), and grinds steadily upward with almost no flat relief. The summit itself is anticlimactic — communications towers, limited direct views — but the traverse to nearby viewpoints delivers the payoff: Mount Hood across the Gorge, the Columbia River far below, and a sweeping prospect of the Cascade range.

This is not a hike to misjudge. Pack more water than you think you need, start early, and turn around if weather closes in. Fire-weakened snags create an ongoing obstacle risk after storms. Many prefer the Mount Defiance–Starvation Ridge Loop variation for a more varied route.