August 21We left Portland a little after 7 am to get to the Mt. Hood area for a little run on the Pacific Crest Trail with some fellow participants in the trail running camp Larry attended earlier in the summer. We got a car shuttled and were on the trail by 10am for a mostly downhill jaunt from Barlow Pass to Little Crater Lake - just over 13 miles. The trail was mostly in the woods, but we got a few nice photo opportunities for Mt. Hood, and took plenty of stops to regroup, snack on huckleberries, etc.
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| Goofing around on a 'Giants Ladder' |
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| One of many nice view of Mt. Hood |
Little Crater Lake was super little! A pretty blue, cold, artesian well that is apparently 45' deep in one spot, and only 1/4 mile from a trail head, had plenty of visitors!
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| In case you're interested in the formation of Crater Lake... |
Post run, the organizer provided some nice refreshments and we had some good socializing - runners love talking about running! Next weekend's Hood to Coast relay was the big topic, most of the group was participating somehow.
Happily, Rudy's feet held up better today (socks help I guess!). The rest of the group departed back to the start, and Rudy and I did a little exploring of the nearby Trillium Lake - still tons of people around on Sunday afternoon, so we avoided the main congestion of the lake and found a nice little spot to park for the night on a relatively quiet forest road. We took a short stroll along the road and noticed there seemed to be a lot more diversity of the plants and trees than at least what we've observed at other places.
At one point we heard a loud crashing and thump as something fell to the forest floor, followed by a couple more - we found a large pinecone to be the culprit - I believe this was what Larry was describing to me earlier as 'noble fir' - it was fun to make that connection!
Also notable were trailing blackberries - apparently the only blackberry actually native to the PNW.
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| Tunnel for the bike path under the old Oregon Trail |
August 22
Cool morning in the early 50s! At least the sun was out, that helped things warm up. I spent a little time picking some huckleberries to get incorporated into breakfast. We basked in the sun just a little, then made our way to Government Camp to check out some of the biking trails there. We opted for some 'easier' trails near town - I just did a little out and back of ~8 miles while Rudy went all the way to Timberline Lodge and back down for ~14 miles. There were quite a few clouds around, and it only reached ~60F, so I was actually bundled up and whining about the cold most of the day - lame. We parked for the night at Little Zigzag Falls trailhead, and took the short easy hike to check out the falls before making dinner.
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| Little Zigzag Falls |
We finished off the millet I bought for some recipe long ago and will probably never buy again - there are just more enjoyable grains out there! The addition of sundried tomatoes, basil, parmesan, and balsalmic vinegar made it taste great though. Another early evening with time for Trivial Pursuit, another GOT episode, and another book finished for me!
August 23
40s this morning! We kept the van closed up, so weren't too cold, just dipping into the 50s inside, but still a good excuse to set up the stove and have some hot beverages and oatmeal for breakfast. Today was pretty clear and the sun warmed things up pretty quickly, while Rudy did some window shade maintenance and awesomely picked up some trash around the trailhead, and I scoped out the cliff and learned about the local geology - a lot of dacitic and andesitic lava and some intrusive formation too - dorky!
When we were about ready to move on, I ran the Pioneer Bridle Trail to Rhodedendron, where Rudy planned to catch a shuttle back to Timberline Lodge and bike the 15 miles of trail back down. The trails are pretty decent - a lot of soft piney stuff, but also some loose rocky areas that dulled my interest for much biking on it - of course Rudy loved it! Temps reached the 70s, but a good breeze kept it from feeling 'hot'. While Rudy was still riding, a guy showed up that was waiting for his friend to finish the trail too - turns out they had started out with Rudy! So chatted with him, and even accepted a fantastic beer they picked up in Hood River.
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| Delicious |
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| And looks cool |
These guys also informed us the Hood River trails we were considering are not in such great shape right now, so made us feel better for skipping them :) We found some camping near Sandy River - another open woods area with lots of people for a Tuesday. Made a fancy dinner of mac 'n cheese with farmers market jalapenos and had another chill evening.
August 24
Another late morning, but a little nicer temps. I looked around at the rocks in the river, I think volcanic tuff - cool!
The Sandy Ridge Trails were checked out today - I stuck with the easier ones - mostly downhill runs with a paved road to climb back up - overall, a nice little system. We got our spot back on the Sandy River, and I got in a little jog, we played in the river a bit more, and had another fancied up dinner of ramen noodles with bell peppers and basil and another quiet, early evening.
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| Rudy thinks river pushups are fun |
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| Another view of Mt. Hood |
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