This Reference Video section is designed for subjects that will aid seekers of information on specific subjects.

For now, the Timberline Trail around Mt. Hood is officially closed at the Eliot Creek crossing due to a washout that occurred in 2006. However, many people have completed the circuit since then and plenty of information is available to anyone searching the web. My daughter and I did the loop in the middle of August 2015, starting at the Timberline Lodge and proceeding CW around the mountain so that we would negotiate the Eliot Creek crossing on day 2 of our trip. Navigation through this area is straightforward with plenty of trail clues provided by hikers who have hiked this area over the past 9 years, no thanks to the Forest Service. There are even ropes in place to help negotiate both banks of the Eliot, although we found these to be mildly helpful but certainly not necessary. Crossing the Eliot, which we did in mid afternoon, can be straightforward if one takes the time to find a good place to cross further up stream. I crossed right where the trail meets the river from the west side but this is not recommended, the hydraulics in the first section were on the hairy edge of control. My daughter had a much better time of it by proceeding up stream and finding a much milder section to cross. Exercise caution, take your time analyzing the creek, and don't proceed into the creek if you are unsure of your abilities in this area. There were quite a few "feet wet" crossings on this trail and it is possible I misidentified the ones preceding the Eliot Creek crossing in the video. However, Eliot Creek was the most difficult in the circuit and we found the others to be "milder." We even crossed a few on the south side, prior to White River, in the dark.

EDIT (Oct 13, 2016) This off trail crossing is no longer needed.......The 1.5 mile re-route takes hikers farther south, to a safer crossing of the Eliot Branch. There is no bridge at the crossing, so hikers will need to be comfortable with river crossing to hike it, according to forest officials. "We tried to locate the trail so that it would be minimally impacted on an annual basis by changes in glacial flow." (Claire Pitner, eastside recreation manager for the Mt. Hood National Forest )