Now that's more like it!
I don't normally hike to Mirror Lake two days in a row, but Mark and I hiked to the lake on Tuesday afternoon for a short overnight backpack hike. We are so glad we waited until Monday's crummy weather was all out of your system! Oregon, you couldn't have given us a more beautiful outing.
Hitting the trail at 6:00 pm, with our gear loaded into the packs. We powered up the 1.5 mile trail in just 1 hour.
I love your long, late summer days, Oregon! Here's Mark crossing a talus slope on the way to the lake. Fishing pole in hand.
There's a reason it's called Mirror Lake. See Mt. Hood reflected in the water? The sun has slipped behind the mountains behind us, and the mosquitoes are starting to seek fresh blood.
Time to set up our backpacking tent. Thank you Oregon - it was so warm that we didn't even need to use the rain fly! We could look out through the little "skylight" in the tent and see stars at night.
Instant oatmeal and trail mix for breakfast this morning.
Then Mark went down to the lake to torment the fish.
I spied a little bunny rabbit...
...and enjoyed all the bear grass in bloom. Then Mark and I went for a morning hike to the top of Tom Dick and Harry Mountain. That's it behind me, right over my head.
Oregon, you outdid yourself. The views from the top were amazing! There's Mirror Lake down below us, with Mt. Hood showing off in the glorious sunshine...
...along with Mt. Saint Helens, Mt. Rainier, and Mt. Adams, the three Washington volcanoes! Mt. Rainier, the white bump in the middle, is almost 200 miles away!! (Click on the picture to enlarge it and get a better look at those distant mountains.)
And then we turned around, and we could see Mt. Jefferson to the south, about 125 miles away. Oh, Oregon, I do love your beautiful Cascade Mountains, and especially the volcanoes.
Then back down to camp. Time to pack up the gear and head home. Thanks, Oregon, for a lovely outing! It's hard to believe that I was here in this same place, in the middle of a cloud, only two days ago.
Sure do love you! Kathy :)
3 comments:
I love the hike to Mirror Lake. It's one of the only Mt. Hood hikes you could write about that I'd actually recognize. And what a gorgeous day for it. We have a couple camping trips scheduled in July and August, which I'm excited about, plus we'll head to the Oregon coast later in July to celebrate our 10th wedding anniversary. A couple quiet nights in a beautiful beach house is just my style. Thanks for sharing these fun trips with your readers.
Awesome! (told ya so...)
Glad this was a fun (and warmer!) outing.
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