Day 144 Descent of Mount Hood

21.41 miles
From trail camp (mile 2101.8, elevation 5619)
To Huckleberry Mtn Trail intersection (mile 2121.6, elevation 4047)
Upload 4058
Descend 5631

Last night it was very windy. There were no clouds, but I could hear the wind blowing steadily through the trees. Luckily, my tent site wasn’t one of those with a great view. It was in the trees, which also allowed those trees to protect it from the wind. Only occasionally did the wind blow at ground level.

I moved slowly this morning and things didn’t really get better when I started walking. I felt like my legs still wanted to be sitting in the Timberline Lodge.

The morning hike consisted mainly of walking around Mount Hood from the south to the northwest. This involved a lot of hiking in and out of washes and over ridges without too many sudden elevation changes. It descended slowly from the 6000 foot elevation at Timberline Lodge to about 3600 feet at Ramona Falls.

I met GottaGo along the way. I was making a short trip south to Barlow Pass. He said he got soaked in his Zpacks tent and asked me if (besides the zippers) I liked my Durston. I was able to tell him that it has kept me dry this whole trip.

I met a couple of other guys who quickly hiked the Timberline Trail around Mount Hood. Yesterday they walked 25, stayed at the Timberline Lodge and today they had 21 to walk. That was a neat way to do that hike with just a backpack.

fly agaric

After reading reviews about Ramona Falls, I made a detour to have lunch there. The falls definitely lived up to the reviews. They were incredible. The water fell in many small waterfalls that ended up being quite wide and also high.

While at the falls, I met an older couple. We talked quite a bit about backpacking and hiking. They said they went out on their birthday to escape the Portland heat. I took out my little guitar and played/sang Happy Birthday before we parted ways.

Ramona Falls

The old narrow bridge over the creek below Ramona Falls

After Ramona Falls, the trail descended along the creek, a fairly gentle 800 foot drop for the next two miles. After that, it was back up to a ridge, where I spent most of the rest of the day around 4,000 feet elevation.

I met a SoBo hiker at the creek near Lolo Pass. It was my last stop of the day to get water and I picked up water to take back to my campsite. He opted to prepare dinner instead of carrying water. I’m glad I brought the water as it was quite windy. Since I was at my campsite when I made dinner, I was able to set up my tent and enjoy dinner without the wind.

Mount Hood from near Lolo Pass

Trail after the Lolo pass. I liked the single strip of land illuminated by the sun.

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