Day 112, 16.1 miles

This morning I tried to sleep in as best I could and was semi-successful! I woke up st 6:15 instead of 5:00am, and hit the trail by 7am. The others had left a little before me. I was a little tired and sore but really not as tired or sore as I thought I’d be after a 41 mile day.

There was only 10 miles to Timberline. 5 miles in between highway 26 and 35, and then 5 up a big sandy hill to the Lodge. In the first 5 miles between the highways, there wasn’t much for views but there were SO MANY huckleberries!!

Left and right lining the trail were plumpy, ripe, huckleberries! 

Needless to say I stopped A LOT on the way up that first stretch. So did Manza as I caught up with him shortly, and together we continued on towards the lunch buffet! The trail grew steep and the sand deep after highway 35. We passed Chilly Bin taking a break. The trail was slow going because of the deep sand but beautiful nonetheless. It felt great to be back on familiar ground!

Manza nearing Mt. Hood!! 

Last night I had service and was able to call Claire. She decided to come up and join for the lunch buffet at the lodge today! Knowing that I’d see her soon boosted me up the last 1.5 miles! Outside of the lodge there were about 15 backpacks. There were plenty of hikers there, including some I hadn’t seen for a very long time like Tips and Turtle! (From the Sonora Pass trail magic with Retro and Cheryl and Lily.)

Fruit and cheese!!!

This is just the antipasto table...

Deserts for daaaaaays!!!

Claire arrived just before 11:30am, and Happy, Chilly Bin, Manza, Goatman, another hiker named Mango, Claire and I all sat at a big table and devoured plates and plates of food from the all you can eat lunch buffet. There were 3 more tables that I didn’t even take pictures of! At the end an older couple offered to pick up our whole tables tab!! We had just paid with our own cards but thanked them very much for the offer! That would’ve been over $175!!

After this, Claire took Manza and I ~8 miles down the road to Government Camp to resupply for a little more food. We only have 50 miles left until Cascade Locks and then Washington!! We got some food and then she drove us right back up to Timberline Lodge. Thanks Claire!! 

While she was visiting, Claire got word that she got a part in the upcoming production Pippin RIGHT after she finishes Guys and Dolls! So exciting! She left Timberline to go to the rehearsals for that show! Way to go babe!!

Back at the Lodge, I spent a couple hours catching up on the blog. I knew I wanted to hike out a few miles, and I was hoping to get to a really neat spot that I’ve always wanted to camp at. Around 6pm Manza and I decided to roll out. Clean Turkey was also hiking out and decided to join us!

The three of us pushed 6 miles up to the Paradise Loop Trail, just above the PCT. It’s a sweet alternate that adds some elevation and maybe a couple tenths of a mile, but it gets right up close and personal with Hood! Following are a TON of pictures taken by 3 different phones in the hours that followed...

Hazy Mt. Hood above Zig Zag Canyon

Beautiful wildflowers. See Hood in the back?

Paradise Loop

Favorite pic of the day from my phone

Manza and I taken from Clean Turkey 

Manza and Clean Turkey

We made it!!

We had pushed up to a great place named Split Rock, just as the last light was hitting Mount Hood. The alpenglow was amazing, and the evening was so beautiful! Manza and Clean Turkey could not believe their eyes, as they had never been here before. I have been up here about three times but it was still so pretty and I have never seen Hood this close with the light from the sunset. There was a father and son on a backpacking trip and the dad kindly offered to take our group picture in front of the majestic mountain.

Taken on Manza’s phone by a father and son 

Split Rock!!

Me on Split Rock taken from Clean Turkey

Me again from Clean Turkey

Taken by me from Manza’s phone

Ah man what a great day!! I got to see Claire again and eat a BUNCH of food! I got to see many hikers who I haven’t seen for awhile! As you can see, we all tried to capture the beauty of the evening, but these photos still don’t even do it half the justice! I’m just glad we were able to see this beautiful place at this time of day. Manza and I decided to cowboy camp under the tree and Clean Turkey set up her new tent. Verde came rolling up the hill in time for dinner, and then we all shared the pictures we took with each other (surprisingly good service up here).

Thanks for reading!!