Lake swim and high viewpoint loop challenge

On a hot July day, Amy and I headed up to Mt. Hood to get a little higher and avoid some of the Portland heat. We were headed to Twin Lakes which has been on my bucket list for awhile. After all of my adult trips this season, it was wonderful to hike again with Amy!

The flowers were blooming. It was a lovely sunny day.

Our first choice was the dog mountain challenge but it was supposed to be in the 90s so we decided that would not be the hike for today. We enjoyed the shady woods of the Mt. Hood wilderness.

Before long we came to Upper Twin Lake.

Amy was determined to go swimming.

Oreo doesn't like water too much but always wants to be with her pack so she waded a bit today with me.

Amy spent quite a bit of time in the water. She is a strong swimmer and Oreo and I did not venture quite as far.

Part of Oreo wants to like the water but she is just not too sure.

Amy enjoying the lake to the max on this sunny warm day.

Mt. Hood poking out in the distance.

Teeth chattering, clothes went back on.

We then continued up to Palmateer Point to complete a 7.5 mile loop hike.

The high meadows were quite lovely.

Amy started getting warm and tired.

Almost there!

Mt. Hood view, worth the climb.

I took a selfie and enjoyed the view.

The blue sky was lovely.

Amy decided she liked this piece of shade and that the view from here was good enough for her!

The view from the shady tree.

After enjoying some lunch we started down the other side.

Amy and Oreo took the lead.

We got back down to the PCT. We met hiker who said he was "trying to be" a thru hiker. I think he was a Southbounder- Sobo.

All in all a lovely day- we escaped some of the heat in Portland but were still quite warm by the end.

Bull of the Woods LOVE

I had just been camping on the Rogue and Umpqua rivers, come home for a night to celebrate my husband's birthday, and wanted to squeeze the last precious sands of time out of a holiday weekend. On Sunday afternoon, I drove to the Whetstone Mountain trail in the Bull of the Woods Wilderness with my friend Corrine. As we entered the forest, this purple trillium was striking.

It was still spring in the Bull of the Woods. I enjoyed seeing Trillium and still a bit of snow.

The trail descended steeply for a short time and then started climbing.

We climbed through the beautiful forest and I knew I was already in love with this place, then we started seeing mountains! Mt. Jefferson in the distance.

We came up onto a high saddle and soaked in the view and the sunshine.

The rhododendrons were blooming all over the place!

Sheer Joy. Connected to my strong body, open to the gifts of this place, grateful for a friend to share it with.

Cliffside view.

In my element- we continued our climb and then started descending down to the twin lakes to complete an 8 mile day. We got a late start- about 2:30pm but we made pretty good time.

Lower Twin lake- I thought not a lot of people came to this amazing spot but it was PACKED with campers.

The upper lake did not look as accessible and we headed back to the lower lake, checking out any potential flat spot.

We claimed a very small patch of dirt, trying hard not to trample any flowers in the process. It was getting to be a bit on the late side and we needed to call it a day.

I made this yummy stroganoff meal with pork jerky, sweet potato noodles, coconut cream powder, and dried okra. It was a tad "al dente" because I was impatient but the flavor was quite delicious.

In the morning I spent some time filtering water and we found a patch of lake to enjoy after some other campers packed up and left.

After breakfast we headed back up the hill toward the saddle.

All my favorite flowers are hearty in this wilderness- paintbrush.

Enjoyed some more rhododendrons.

We took a side trail up Whetstone Mountain and got quite the views of Mt. Jefferson.

Corrine on top of the world.

The viewpoint was amazing. We could see the three sisters.

We spent some time gazing at the mountains before heading out for the drive home.

Bull of the woods is so great! I think I may have found my new favorite backpacking destination in Oregon!

We completed our 10 mile day and headed home- making the most of every moment of the holiday weekend.