This weekend we went backpacking around Mt. Hood. The first day, Mom and Jacob went counterclockwise around most of the mountain, and Dad and I went clockwise and met them part way around.
Earlier in the week Mom had suggested that we try to go around Mt. Hood on the Timberline Trail since we'd never done it before. Unfortunately on Thursday I crashed while mountain biking and really banged up my right quad. I figured there was no way I was going to make it around the mountain in 2 days so we needed to change the plan. So Mom and Jacob took light packs and did most of the loop the first day, while Dad and I carried a bit more weight (mainly the tent, pads, cooking gear...) and met them part way around. This was the first time we've ever split up like that on a trip so Dad and I were happy to see Mom and Jacob coming around the mountain Saturday evening.
The first day was mostly cloudy so we didn't get too many views of the mountain, but the cool weather was certainly a nice reprieve from all the heat we've been getting this summer. The second day was still fairly cool, but with clear skies. The trip was a lot of and was a great way to explore a new place. As for my quad, I started out really gimping, but by the end of the trip its was hardly an issue. Here's some pictures from the trip:
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| Just above Timberline Lodge |
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| Mt. Hood |
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| The clouds starting to roll in |
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| Looking down the Zig Zag Creek drainage |
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| Zig Zag Creek |
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| Huckleberries |
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| Dad at Zig Zag Creek |
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| Clouds to the west |
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| Paintbrush |
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| More huckleberries |
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| Looking up toward Mt. Hood |
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| Possible the Sandy River or at least a stream that feed into it |
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| The Sandy River drainage |
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| Dropping down to the Sandy River |
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| Dad at the Sandy River |
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| The Sandy River doesn't look like much here, but there was a little bit of a creek to cross |
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| Ramona Falls |
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| Dad and I at Muddy Creek |
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| Muddy Creek |
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| Muddy Creek |
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| Looking down the Muddy Creek drainage |
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| This was an awesome ridge |
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| Early Sunday morning with Dad and Jacob |
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| Mt. Hood |
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| I've never seen a tree separate quite like this before |
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| Ramona Falls |
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| Back at the Sandy River |
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| Mt. Hood |
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| We could see St. Helens on the horizon, but its probably indistinguishable in this picture |
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| We could see St. Helens and Rainier here, just take my word for it |
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| Mt. Jefferson |
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| Mt. Jefferson with the Three Sisters to the left of it, you can't see them at all in the picture |
