Day 21 . July 15
The goal was to camp just outside the historic Timberline Lodge on Mt. Hood that night. Originally, the dream was to camp there at night and then storm their legendary breakfast buffet the following morning. However, Josh had called ahead when we had phone service and was told that buffets “were a thing of the past.” Undaunted, our motivation was high.
More climbing this day. However we were fortunate to be able to start the day by taking a side route to see Ramona Falls. This is a reliable waterfall approximately 50 feet high. We knew it would be flowing well with all the snow melting in the warm Oregon sunshine.
The trail to Ramona was well travelled and had some glorious sections where moss covered the ground that surrounded a lively, clear stream. Brad and Cole were just crazy enough to accept a dare from Josh to jump in to a deeper pool.
We passed a lady carrying her dog in her backpack. This was a convenient day-hike so many people were walking without any gear. At the waterfall, we were impressed by the flow. There were several people there. We took many photos, snacked, and spent about 30 minutes there.
Leaving, we all put in our earbuds to listen to audio books or podcasts to help with the climb ahead. I peeled off to heed nature’s call while the Texans surged ahead. Getting back on trail, I found the couple who had come in to our camp and been hiking with us off-and-on. They noticed the Texans had taken a wrong turn. The guy volunteered to run down the trail to alert them. It was an unselfish move and kept them from racking up many “bonus” miles.
As the day went on, we came to open vistas where we could see Mount Hood. It got larger and larger. Although great views, I was struggling with the elevation. We were sometimes crossing snowpatches in the shade. It created another “over the hill” moment for me. Cole and I both stopped to scoop snow into our ball caps. This was a great way to immediately cool down. However, for me and my thinning hair, after about 2 minutes I was getting one of those ice cream headaches from the snow. At the next break, I told Cole this and he said he could hardly feel it and removed his hat to reveal his snow had hardly melted. Oh to have a full head of hair again. At least I didn’t look dangerous.
There was a buildup of excitement as we could see and hear the ski lifts. Mt. Hood is one of the few places in North America where people can downhill ski all year. Way up on the mountain, some hardy folks were skiing in 80 degree weather while we lurched toward our campsite.
Reaching the tentsite, we dropped our bags. I knew the bar was still open and I was thinking about treating the guys to a round of drinks. However, Joshua immediately hit me with the idea of getting dinner at the Lodge. We think alike, he’s just quicker and dreams bigger. We compromised on drinks AND dinner.
It was a great dinner in a wonderful location. The lodge was built in the 1930s by the CCC with massive timbers, stone and an amazing central fireplace. “The Shining” with Jack Nicholson was partially filmed here. I was tempted to ask the bartender for a “redrum” but figured he would be so sick of that joke he would water my drink down.
It was a beautiful starry night. A stiff breeze blew through just at sunset. It was as if the mountain was exhaling. Then stillness. Then, at 5:00 am, the ski lifts squeaked and squealed to life.
backpacking over the hill 