Mount Hood

With yet another weekend forecasted for sun Jamie, Chuck and I headed for Mount Hood. I had read about a trail in one of the wilderness areas, about a 7 mile round trip, with a rewarding view. We had no idea how intense the scene would actually be.

After a somewhat uninspiring climb, the trail leads up to the base of ridge with nothing but sky above it. As we approached we were both wary of the not uncommon dissapointment that potential views only lead to yet another climb. Not the case here. This is the best view I've had of Hood in a year. Last November it took three weeks for the rain to clear for me to even see the mountain after we arrived.

Wallowa day one

I'll post the entire array of pictures with Jamie on a slideshow, but for now these will do. This here is only a couple of hours into the trip as we headed up the Minam river valley, a glacially carved valley leading to Blue Lake. To be in such immense country had us giddy with anticipation. I searched the high ridges all day for mountain goats and rams but no dice. The only mammmal we saw that day was this sqawking pika.

Blue Lake, day one's destination, might have been the most striking scene of the trip. For the rest of the trip we all longed for one more cast there. The fishing was by far the best. Full of native brook trout, Blue Lake was one of those rare bodies of water that gets your heart racing. No one can say what trophies still swim there.

Wallowa Trip 2007

This creation is fresh so I'll begin with making up for some lost time. From September 16-22, Fargus, Tim, Justin and I embarked on the first annual trip of many hopefully to come. For five days we trekked through Northeast Oregon's Wallowa mountains. It's often reffered to as Oregon's Yosemite or Little Switzerland. The pictures tell a better story than words.