All week we’ve had stunning views of Mt. Adams looming over us wherever we go, the bright glacier white gleaming through the trees. We’ve just been waiting for the weekend to go and climb it…
It wasn’t long before we gained some elevation and could see Mt. Hood rise into view. Then Mt. St. Helens! A swarm of butterflies kept following me and flying in circles around my head.
I’ve fallen into a deep state of ennui. After having so much freedom and fun over the past couple of weeks it has been difficult to re-acclimate to my work routine. It’s also been very hot, oppressively so, the kind of sweaty hot where your clothes stick to your skin and you just can’t escape it. The heat saps your energy, motivation is low…
With only one day left of our two-week adventure blitz, we opted for a day hike up to Monte Cristo peak. The first portion of the trail took us through a lush forest, dense with greenery and thick underbrush. It looks like no one has been here for a long time, and the trail hasn’t been maintained. There are fallen trees blocking our path, and we have to climb over or around.
Up, up up, then down, down down, then back up again! The trail opens out onto a beautiful wildflower ridge with views of Mt. Adams and distant Mt. Hood.
It was well worth the tough hike to get to those views. We found out later that there was a fire lookout cabin if we had gone further, but we had thought we were at the end of the trail. Oh well, maybe next time!
We woke up at 5:30, ready to go! A cop had pulled into the parking lot next to us and sat there for a while and probably ran our plates. We weren’t sure if we would get a ticket for where we were parked, but then he moved on.
We took a quick stop by the lake to watch the sun come up. The fog was rising off the water like steam, and the fish were jumping and skittering across the surface like skipping stones. It was completely silent. All of the world was still asleep. Time to hit the road. It’s nice to get an early start.
The views today were even more magnificent than yesterday. Not only can we see Mt. Hood, but now Mt. Adams has come into view. That is where we are headed, to a little place near Mt. Adams called Trout Lake.
Still not quite sure where to head next, we buttoned down everything in the bus and headed to Sisters where we would have signal to do some research. This is the view where we pulled off the road.
Now that the skies are clear you can see how magnificent these mountains really are! They’ve been mostly hidden from sight for the entire two weeks that we’ve been here.
Lake Billy Chinook campgrounds all look full, so we decided to lay down some tracks and head further north to the Hood area and explore some campgrounds near Timothy Lake. It’s so hard to know if they will have availability since the sites are “first come first served”. We will have to just head up there and find out.
I absolutely love being on the road again. More than a few days in one place makes me feel restless, and I love the excitement of heading off to who knows where, some unknown place that will hold the next adventure.