Mount Hood — What We Saw, What We Read

The day began at our Trilium Lake campsite with a hot bowl of farina and raspberries which warmed us on the cool autumn morning. We finished breakfast, washed our dishes, and set out for a hike to McNeil Point in the Mount Hood National Forest. Our drive to the trailhead would take us through a few small ski resort towns before entering a densely forested stretch on gravel roads with unforgiving potholes. Our Prius prevailed and eventually, we arrived at the Top Spur trailhead, which would connect us with the McNeil Point Trail. We packed water and snacks, got out our hiking poles, and set off. Our pace was quick and we soon met up with the Pacific Crest Trail and Timberline Trail (which circumnavigates Mount Hood) and continued climbing through a dense and verdant forest. We emerged from the tree cover a few times and were struck by the magnificent views of a snow-covered Mount Hood. We continued climbing, making our way through some wet snowy patches, and arrived at McNeil Point. It was a clear, crisp day and the view of Mount Hood high above us was spectacular as were the views of the many other mountains in the area. We stayed until we got cold (not long) and decided to head back down. We stopped occasionally along the return route and gazed up at Mount Hood, still struck by its pristine snowy slopes. We returned to the car shortly before 2 pm, satisfied, to say the least, by the 8.5-mile hike.

As we made our way back to our campsite, the weather started to turn. Clouds rolled in and wind picked up around us. Luckily we had reception and were able to check the weather in the surrounding areas. Impulsively, we found a site near Smith Rock State Park just an hour and a half away that offered warmer temperatures and no rain! We quickly packed up our tent, simultaneously eating toasted PB&J sandwiches and jumped in the car. Passing out of Mount Hood National Forest we descended through Warm Springs and then through the grasslands of central Oregon. The sunset views were incredible and the temperature reading in the 70's only reinforced our great and spontaneous decision. We wished we could have had a few more days of warmer temperatures near Mount Hood and we're looking forward to coming back in the future!