Here in Portland we can take Mount Hood for granted. It's just always there,
at least when the skies are clear
But when you think about it, we don't usually see the whole mountain. So if you
find yourself getting bored with that western view or the ski areas on the southern slopes,
there's an easy way to mix things up: head north, where you'll find hiking, camping, rivers and
lakes that maybe you're not quite so used to. So we're here at the Top Spur Trailhead on Mount Hood
and today we're hiking up to McNeil Point, which is a really really beautiful place and where we're
going to see some I think amazing views of Mount Hood. So we're here on the PCT, gonna go around
Bald Mountain, cut up to the Timberline Trail, head around here to McNeil Point. Let's do it.
Oh my god, what? This view is incredible! I mean Mount Hood is just
just right here, it's like smacking you in the face it's so good. This spot on
the trail around Bald Mountain, only about a mile from where we started. offers one
of the best views of Mount Hood you can find anywhere. And seeing it from this northwestern
vantage point was breathtaking, with the still-rising sun from the east bathing it
in magical light. It already made what was going to be a tough 10-mile hike worthwhile
So Mount Hood at 11,240 feet tall is the tallest mountain in Oregon although it's only the fourth
tallest mountain in the Cascade Range. What folks I think sometimes don't realize is it is still an
active volcano. The most recent volcanic activity was between 1781 and 1810 when a big bulge came
up on the western side that today is known as Crater Rock, but otherwise Mount Hood has
been a pretty quiet volcano here in the Cascades. Putting worries of an unexpected eruption aside,
we continued on along the trail, where things were about to get a bit more difficult. Not unexpected
eruption difficult, but difficult nonetheless. So we're about three miles onto the trail here
and we've reached this kind of rough scramble trail, this leads you right up to McNeil Point
and a lot of people use it as a shortcut to get up or back down from that point, so today we're
gonna take the counterclockwise loop and go up the trail and come back down this way on the way back.
The scramble trail may cut off some mileage, but as they say,
there's no such thing as a free lunch. Or, in this case, free elevation gain. Ascending this
trail was a ton of work. Man, this scramble trail is no joke. The views here are amazing,
as you can see, but gosh this is a real steep trail. Would not recommend this for anyone but
experienced hikers. What came next did nothing to make me reconsider that recommendation.
Even for an experienced hiker like myself, this trail was a real challenge.
By the time I got to the top, I was hot, sweaty and tired,
but glad that I'd made it up in one piece. So a very steep half mile later
I'm here at the top of the scramble trail. The thing about that trail is that it's not only
very steep, but there's a lot of loose rock, a lot of dust, so it's very easy to lose your footing,
slip down the mountain, bad things can happen. As much as I was ready for a break, it wasn't
time to turn around quite yet. I was only a few yards away from a small stone structure that has
a connection to another Oregon journalist. So I'm up here at McNeil Shelter at McNeil Point,
and both of these areas were named for Fred McNeil, who was a journalist for the Oregon
Journal back in the first half of the 20th century. Fred was a big fan of Mount Hood,
loved to ski, loved to hike, and this point, this shelter, this trail were all named in his honor.
The view from McNeil Point is spectacular, especially on such a clear day. Mount Adams, Mount
Rainier and Mount St. Helens were all visible, and I took a moment to gaze at each of them
before making my way back down the slope. On the less-demanding return trip, it was easier to enjoy
the wildflowers and other splendors the wilderness has to offer, and before I knew it I was back at
the car. It was, it was a good, strenuous hike, in about 10 miles or so up and back but the views
were just beautiful, like like you know really some of the top Mount Hood views I've ever seen.
But more incredible views awaited, so we pressed on and headed further north towards Lost Lake.
All right, we just got to our campground here at Lost Lake,
we're going to set up camp and I think take a load off, cause it has been a long day already.
Who needs a rubber mallet when you've got rocks, y'know?
We'd worked up quite an appetite by this point in the day,
so once our gear was all set up it was time to start thinking about dinner.
There we go
A propane stove, some made-ahead ingredients and a few fresh veggies
was all it took to make our campsite feel like a food cart pod back home in Portland.
I love the way that looks. Well, close enough.
Mm-hmm, that's good, comfort food in the campground, can't beat it. After dinner
there wasn't much left to do but clean up and hit the sack. It had been a long day,
full of both adventure and exertion, and there was more to come in the morning.
Oh yeah, oh that's the stuff. Once we were properly caffeinated and our campsite was struck,
we packed up the car and got ready to hit the road. But we had one last adventure to
go on first. All right, so we're here at the boat house at Lost Lake and we're gonna go for a little
bit of a morning paddle before we pack up and leave. Camping at Lost Lake without experiencing
the lake itself just wasn't an option, and with perfect conditions for getting out in the water,
renting kayaks at Lost Lake Resort was a great way to spend our morning.
Oh it's so clear, I don't think I've ever kayaked and had such a good view before.
What I love about kayaking is just how peaceful it is. We're out here
in the morning, there's no motorboats on this lake,
The lake is still, the mountain is out. I always forget how much I love kayaking until I'm actually
out here doing it, and now that I'm here I feel like I never want to leave, it's amazing. But
all good things must come to an end. Eventually we turned in our kayaks and set off for home.
It had been a short trip, but one jam-packed with adventure,
and the easy drive back to Portland was a great opportunity to start thinking about our next one.