BCEP 2025 Team 13: Mt Defiance

Activity Notes

At 4,959 feet, Mount Defiance is the highest point normally recognized as being part of the Columbia River Gorge. This hike, along with the accompanying Mount Defiance-Starvation Ridge Loop Hike, are commonly referred to as the most difficult day hikes in our region, starting at a mere 130 feet above sea level at Oregon's Starvation Creek State Park along Interstate 84. From there, it's a long way up, comparable to the vertical distance between Timberline Lodge and the summit of Mount Hood, making Mount Defiance an excellent training hike for mountaineers in late winter or early spring. In warmer months, it's simply a spectacular day-long adventure. In September 2017, a large section of the forest on the Mount Defiance Trail #413 was burned in the Eagle Creek Fire, including two areas which experienced crown fires. The trail remains in decent shape and constituted in places the easternmost extent of the burn, but as the fire snags age, they will fall down and create potential obstacles.