Life is breezing on by, as it does. The last time we went hiking, we sweat it out in tank tops or short sleeves. Granted, it has been a while since we’ve hiked, thanks to Eric’s travel schedule and my penchant for jobs that require my nights and weekends. But our most recent trip to the woods was met with the unmistakable hint of fall. Sweaters, fog, a mountain that stayed hidden until the moment we reached our car. All the stuff of a classic fall hike. Although I have complained endlessly about this summer’s heat (95 degrees and no AC is NO JOKE, my friends), I’m a little sad that we’re jumping into the next season so quickly. I know that fall is lovely and full of sunny days (I’m sitting on our balcony in the sun as I type), but I can’t help but associate the end of summer with the beginning of winter. In my mind, there are only 2 seasons: the rainy one and the dry one. But Oregon does fall just fine, and I’ll try to soak up this last bit of vitamin D before we settle into an 8-month Netflix binge.
A few weeks ago, all the stars aligned for a glorious weekend of NO WORK FOR EITHER OF US. This has become so rare that is truly does deserve all caps. I really am yelling this. I planned a full weekend of outdoor fun, not wanting to miss a single moment of joyous outside time. (Except for Friday night, which we spent watching Tag, for which I have zero regrets.)
On Saturday morning, we woke up early to beat the crowds to Vista Ridge on Mount Hood. I hiked there last summer with my soup snake, Karlie (during our delightful few months of funemployment, when we could do literally anything we wanted as long as it was cheap), and it was so beautiful that I desperately wanted to return with Eric. This trailhead is not particularly convenient to Portland (it took at least 2.5 hours to get there, mostly because of narrow gravel roads winding up the mountain), so I was super surprised to see a full parking area when we arrived.
This hike is super beautiful and eerie at the same time because it spends a few miles in a burn area, which has left all the tree stumps white. And those contrast so starkly with the bright wildflowers in bloom all along the trail. On a day when the mountain isn’t completely encased in fog, the lack of foliage provides some really lovely views.
The trail we took had 2 crossings of the river. Forever fearful of falling off of slippery things (a valid fear, in my opinion), I very carefully crept over the river (which is probably as small and powerless at this point in the year as it will ever be). Obviously, Eric just jumped over it (one of many benefits of being 10 inches taller than me).
The super scenic viewpoint with multiple summits in view was a bit of a disappointment with the cloud cover, but Oregon is beautiful in any weather, so not a total loss. But of course, as soon as we made it back to the car, the clouds cleared and Mount Hood would have been perfectly visible from the trail. Early worm doesn’t always get the worm, I guess.
We spent the following afternoon riding bikes in the woods and devouring a cheese plate in the sweet, sweet sunshine. Praise be.
-Ally
Betsy Ringer says
Sooooo glad you got to experience this wonderful weekend!! It IS so interesting to see the white burned trees in contrast to the flowers! Hope you get in a few more hikes before winter arrives!!