On Top of the World- Basking in the Fall Mt. View

It was a beautiful SUNNY October day. Oreo dog and I set out for the Mirror Lake trailhead on a Monday without the crowds with our friend Sarah who I have missed hiking with. I have been under an amazing amount of work stress so hiking with or without children has been a huge priority.

With Oreo dog pulling me up the hill we made it to Mirror Lake in record time.

We wandered around Mirror Lake. The reflection of snow covered Mt. Hood was lovely.

We continued up toward the top of Tom Dick and Harry Mountain stopping to enjoy the fall color.

When we got to the top we enjoyed the amazing view of Mt. Hood!

The panoramic mountain view was fantastic- Mt. Adams in the distance.

Mt. St. Helens and Mt. Rainier could also be seen in the distance.

We savored in the view from the top and worked on cooking some lunch and making coffee.

Oreo dog tried to steal the lunch and drink the coffee as well as wanting to chase a chipmunk off the cliff. I held tightly to her leash.

Sarah enjoyed the view while Oreo dog could not figure out why we had stopped!

Mt. Jefferson?

Enjoying being so close to Mt. Hood.

Oreo dog and I hanging out at the mountain viewpoint.

Mt. St. Helens looking lovely in the distance.

We headed back down and enjoyed the fall colors reflecting on the lake.

What a wonderful fall day to let go of stress, catch up on future hopes, and bask in the mountain views.

We gave the lake one last look and headed down toward the car.

Oreo dog led the way. I gave her a B for hiking today because she is pulling hard after all the little animals but having a dog pull you up a mountain is not always a bad thing!

On top of the world- Breaking in Celebrity

 It was a sunny warm fall October day.  Everything in me needed to get to the woods.  I invited our International Student Celebrity to head out on her first real hike in Oregon!









We headed toward Mt. Hood and up the Mirror Lake trailhead.  Getting to Mirror Lake is a treat and I thought we might get all the way to Tom Dick and Harry Mountain for a wonderful view.  I only had one child for this adventure, baby Analise, now one year old.









When I don't have Amy I look for a challenge that I could not do as easily with her.  Climbing with 45 lbs on my back is hard as well especially if the load is grumpy!  However, it is often easier than motivating a five year old who is tired.









We made good time up to the lake.  When we got there, Celebrity practiced skipping rocks and baby Analise played in the rocks and dirt and practiced her walking.









We decided we had plenty of energy for continuing up to the top.  Celebrity did great.  Analise complained bitterly about getting back in the backpack and would have preferred to wiggle at the lake.









We climbed the 1.5 more miles up to Tom Dick and Harry Mountain and were rewarded with an incredible view!









Mt. Hood was very close but we could also see Mt. Adams, Mt. Rainier, Mt. St. Helens, and Mt. Jefferson.









Celebrity did a great job with the climb.  It was a great start to much more hiking together to come.  I don't think I scared her off as I have with many first timers with my overly ambitious hiking plans.











We enjoyed playing with rocks on the top and soaking in the amazing sun and mountain views!  The season for getting up to high places is close to over, so I was so happy to have this chance to get to a new high destination!









We saw the lake below and eventually left being "on top of the world" back down to the trailhead.  Very soon we will be snowshoeing near and on these mountains.

Mirror Lake Snow Adventure

It was a snowy, windy day just after a big storm. The snow level was quite low and we decided it would be fun to make it to Mirror Lake. I dropped off Sarah and Amy at the trail head and drove the .5 mile to park at the Snow bowl ski area.






Unfortunately, there is not a good way to walk between the two. I tried walking on top of the snow for part of the way, but the drift was quite high. Then I walked on the highway for part of the way and got honked at.
Amy was forging ahead on the trail and it took me quite some time to catch up. The trail itself was really nice but a bit of a hike up toward the lake.






The clouds and the wind gave us a feel of wilderness adventure.






The lake itself was amazing and we stopped to take it in before heading back down the trail.






There was a little too much powder to build a snowman but we did enjoy throwing powdery snow at each other!






Despite the clouds, there was a little bit of a view of the valley below.






The trees were all covered and walking through the forest was lovely. We enjoyed the snow covered bridge at the end.






Unfortunately, we still had the .5 mile stretch of Highway to the car. Amy was very tired after the hike and I was newly pregnant and not so eager to carry her. We tried walking on the snow but had to walk on the highway for much of the way. It took us a very long time to get back to the car. We all made it in one piece, a little grouchy and tired but glad to have seen Mirror Lake in the snow.