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.

White River Snow

Lori, Marilyn and I were going to do a snowshoe up the White River on Mt. Hood but once we got there we found we could just hike it with micro spikes. Nice sunny day. About 3.5 miles. Afterward we went to Smokey Hearth for lunch.

Paradise Park Trail

I started the summer hiking season with the Paradise Park Trail and I wanted to see if my conditioning had improved by finishing the season with the same trail. I went further and higher this time and finished strong but diffidently tired. Some Fall color was out and all of the plants were dying back getting ready for the first snow of the season. There was still a hazy in the air that kept from getting clear view of the surroundings but Mt. Hood stood out very clear. I did 16.5 miles with a little over 3500 ft. elev. gain. I was on the trail for about 10 hours (spent an hour and half of that stopping to take pictures) and got to around 6200 ft. on the mountain.

Mt. Hood Meadows Hike

A late season hike at Mt. Hood Meadows with Lori and Marilyn. We put together several of the lower trails to make a loop. Fall was setting in with most flowers gone to seed and fall colors coming on. We did about 4 miles and 400 ft. gain. Afterwards we went to Smokey Hearth for lunch.