Today, Tuesday, we went back up I-84 about 6 miles to the town of Hood River, then took Scenic Hwy 35 south to Mt. Hood. It’s a little over 30 miles, and all along the way there are great views of the 11,240 foot snow covered mountain.
Once in the area of Mt. Hood, there are several US Forest Service campgrounds and day use areas. One of the most scenic and popular is Trillium Lake. There is a fantastic view of Mt. Hood across Trillium Lake.
Just up from Trillium Lake is the Barlow Road of Oregon Trail significance. When the emigrants were on the last section of their journey, the majority of them followed the Columbia River. However, a man from Kentucky named Samuel Barlow built a road over the Cascade Range south of Mt. Hood and a lot of the Oregon Trail travelers used it rather than follow the Columbia River. It was named after the builder and some of it is still drivable - we did a short section, but it is very rough, so it didn’t take us long to get enough.
The elevation at the base of Mt. Hood is around 3800 feet, but there is a highway that climbs up the mountain to the famous Timberline Lodge - a National Historic Site. It is at 5900 feet elevation and as the name implies, it is right at the timber line on the mountain. It is a very popular place - year round snow skiing and snow boarding. Today we made the drive up to the lodge, watched some of the skiing, and went in a couple of gift shops.
From up on Mt. Hood at the Timberline Lodge the views are spectacular. The Cascade Mountains are awesome, and off to the south is a great view of Mt. Jefferson - 12,276 feet. There are five noteworthy mountains in this area - Mt. Hood and Mt. Jefferson in Oregon, and Mt. Adams, Mt. St. Helens, and Mt. Rainier in Washington. Tomorrow we are going to a place where all five mountains can be viewed from the one spot.
On the return trip today from Mt. Hood back to Hood River, there are a couple of places where there are really great views of Mt. Adams - the closest of the 3 big mountains on the Washington side.
Tomorrow - more sightseeing.
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