Timberline Lodge, Mt. Hood
Word of the Day: Celebration
Legasorus and I celebrated our 25th wedding anniversary on Sunday. Our actual day was Aug. 23, but due to quite a bit of other stuff going on in our lives at that time, we put off our celebration until now. We drove up to Timberline Lodge at Mt. Hood for their breakfast buffet, and a late morning hike. Below is a picture of the iconic Timberline Lodge in all her glory.
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| "There's always the feeling of getting stronger. I think that's what keeps me going." ~ Frank Shorter - Marathon Gold Medal Winner, 1972 Olympics |
We had never been up there for the breakfast buffet before, so we were excited to experience for ourselves what other thru hikers in the past were raving about. Truly, I think you have to have hiker hunger before you can fully appreciate the buffet. We found it to be mediocre at best, and Legasorus' orange juice never materialized. But it was still fun to be up there on the mountain.
Before we went into breakfast we ran across Emily, who was waiting for her thru hiking friend, Hannah, so she could join her on the trail for the trip to Cascade Locks. Since she had a while to wait for Hannah to hike in, we invited her to have breakfast with us, and she accepted. She was great company and good times were had by all.
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| Emily |
After breakfast, we saw a couple of thru hikers, who we later learned were team 2BadDogs. We asked them if there was anything we could do for them, and she mentioned that she had run out of duct tape, which were keeping her blisters together. Voila! We have that! We brought them to our vehicle, where my hiking poles were waiting, complete with duct tape. That should get them to Cascade Locks.
Then it was off to the PCT for a little training hike. We headed northbound, and it was as beautiful as we remembered it being.
As we headed away from the lodge, the trail was mostly downhill, so we made good time. It sure felt great to be back out on the trail! The only bad thing about this hike were all the other people out enjoying the trail also. We knew it would be crowded since this was Labor Day weekend, and we weren't disappointed.
We ended up on a ridge overlooking ZigZag Canyon and had our picture taken there. Mt. Hood looks a little naked this time of year, but is a glorious mountain despite it all. Then we got to joking about it erupting while we were standing there; we managed to escape without so much as a puff of smoke.
The hike back up to Timberline took a little longer for me. I didn't realize how a summer of doing no exercise can really bring you down physically, and I had little stamina. So this winter will be nothing but trail hiking as much as possible. The treadmill isn't as good as actual trail walking, since you can't simulate the way your foot turns on rocks and ruts, and the uphills on the trail are a lot tougher than on the treadmill. Plus the treadmill doesn't allow for downhills, where your knees really take a beating. So this hike really brought home the need for serious training, and getting stronger again. (And losing about 40lbs).
To top off the day, we headed over to the ski lifts, and enjoyed the trip up the mountain to the Palmer ski area. Here people can enjoy year round skiing. The PCT also goes right under this ski lift.
Legasorus enjoying the trip out of the barn on the ski lift:
The same Legasorus finding out we are going very high up!
We could noticeably feel the temperature getting ever cooler as we approached the Palmer glacier. Thank goodness it was a warm day, so we weren't uncomfortably cold. It is hard to see, but Timberline Lodge is in the middle of this picture, just at treeline. That is how high we went up the mountain.
The landscape up here is lunar looking, and we were able to look out and see Mt. Jefferson on the horizon. That is the mountain sticking up in the middle of this picture. (Above)
As we were coming back down the mountain, I opened my email, and our hiking friends from Arizona, Will and Roadrunner, emailed and said they were heading into Timberline lodge, and were about 12 miles away at 11:30. We were hoping to be able to see them, but alas, we had to go home and feed our dog, and we never ran into them. Found out later, they got into Timberline at 4:30, we left at 4:00!
Overall, we had a great anniversary celebration, being out on the mountain! Nothing better!
"Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the Lord your God goes with you; He will never leave you nor forsake you". ~ Deuteronomy 31:6
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