Weather once again did workout on a hike up to Hardy Ridge. Clouds and hazy hampered getting good views of the Gorge. Few flower left to see. I did about 8 miles and little under 2000 ft. elevation gain
Hardy Ridge Hike
Gearhart Walk
Lori, Jeanette, Sylvia and I follow park of a walk I found on Oregon Hikers field guide. It ended up being about 5 miles long. Afterwards we went back to the beach house for beer tastings and munchies.
Mt. Hood Meadows Photo Hike
I did a hike at Mt. Hood Meadows and took my SLR along.
By the numbers: 8.5 Miles, 1650 ft. elev. gain with 4 1/2 hours moving time and 2 1/2 hours photographing.
Old Salmon River Trail Hike
I was out this time Lori, Jeanette and Sylvia for an easy 5 mile hike along the Old Salmon River Trail in Mt. Hood National Forest. This trail is one of our favorites with easy access to a scenic river and old growth forest. It is an easy trail to hike and well maintained. After the hike we went to Scooter’s for lunch.
Zigzag Mtn. Trail East Hike
For this hike I had to hike up Burnt Lake Trail to where it meets ZigZag Mtn. Trail and go East on it to where it meets Paradise Park Trail. I had to pass through a lot of brushed over trail that was very wet from a morning dew and I got soaked. Most of this trail goes through huckleberry fields that look like they were once tended by the indigenes population but now are being over grown by new trees.
By the numbers: 17 Miles, 3700 ft. total elevation gain and on the trail for 11 hours. Most of this hike was done at an elevation between 4000 ft. to 5000 ft.
Notes: Breaking through overgrown trails slows you down a lot. It is also less safe as you do not know where you are stepping and you hit rocks or sticks that will trip you. This is the first time when hiking that I did a full face plant as a stick on the trail tripped me and thick brush kept me from getting poles forward to catch me.
There are many clues that in the past this trail got a lot more use then now. The trail tread is very compacted with steep sides. I have found several camp sites and warn view point that have not been used in many years.