Oregon PCT 2016: Day 14

Mount Hood, here I come!

 Day 14 (my 3rd day southbound) was beautiful! I awoke to a crisp clear morning although there was not a sunrise for quite a while because Hood was towering above me to the east. I crossed the south fork of the Sandy River, had a chat with some hikers there, and started my climb out of the valley.

Sandy River

View down the valley to the west

Climbing to meet the sun!

I enjoyed the cool shade of the mountain as I climbed several thousand feet up toward the timberline. By about 9 o-clock, I arrived at a really amazing viewpoint. I could see the entire Sandy river valley along with the whole mountain and a waterfall above Ramona falls. I took my time here and enjoyed the amazing view. As I was leaving, I was hit by the first rays of sunlight. So I walked back to the viewpoint to say good morning to the rising sun.

Hard to recognize Hood this close

Waterfall!

Sunrise!

View to the west

Morning light

 

The hike to Timberline lodge became increasingly populated as I approached it. It started with a few PCT hikers and people hiking around the mountain. I even ran into some old friends, Kat and Conrad from London! They had hiked all the way north across Oregon since I saw them on my second day of the hike. The snow had put them a bit behind schedule but they were excited to start crossing Washington.

View to the north. You can see Adams and St. Helens

Bear Grass

Pretty stream

Another cool view of Hood

Trees are getting small and sparse

By about 10:30, I arrived at the lodge. The PCT actually passed above Timberline lodge. It looks like a simple hike to the summit and one can see Mount Jefferson in the distance above the lodge. I was excited to visit the breakfast buffet but it was already closed! So I waited for the lunch buffet to open and relaxed while charging my phone.

The summit is so close!

View south toward Jefferson

The lodge

Waiting for food

Yummy buffet!

Yummy food!

Smiley face of desserts

The food at Timberline is amazing! I ate so much! I also met some more people. Marina, who I met on my very first day of hiking, had begun hiking north again and was staying at the Lodge with a few hiking friends. It was really cool to hear her talking about her plans confidently, in contrast to the girl who was worried that she could make it. I also met the support crew for Scott, the trail runner I had met at Fish Lake. They informed me that the trees had definitely slowed him down but that he was still on track for one of the records... I believe the supported speed record for the state of Oregon. He was due to arrive at the Lode later in the afternoon.

Stats on the lodge

Bye, Timberline!

At about 4, I set off from the Lodge, having charged everything and rested. I took one last look at the summit of Hood and headed down the mountain toward Mount Jefferson! I ran into Scott on my way to Barlow pass. I wished him luck with the speed record and continued on my way.

Bye, Mount Hood!

Heading south

Cool old road

Resting with my feet up

After a short rest next to Barlow road, I continued my evening walk south. There was a long ways to go without any campsite but I had conversed with someone at Timberline who swore that the Twin Lakes, a couple miles off trail, were a great place to stop. So I took the detour.

Upper Twin Lake

Evening light

Hood

I arrived at Upper Twin Lake first. It was beautiful and had an amazing view of Hood to the north. It was also packed with people. I wandered around for a bit looking for a campsite but soon found nothing was available. So I hiked another mile or so to Lower Twin Lake. There were plenty of sites here and I got to people watch for a while. There were three families with a bunch of little kids camping over the weekends. Those kids were hilarious!

Heading to Lower Twin Lake

Campsites

Lower Twin Lake

Soon, the sun was setting over the pristine lake and I was ready for bed. I had hiked about 16 miles even though I had stopped for quite a few hours at Timberline. It got me to thinking about how many miles I might be capable of if I tried my hardest.

My camp site