With my Everest climb cancelled (Nepal Earthquake Disaster), shortened summer vaca time (from a month to 5 days) & flew to Oregon – Plan B: Mt Hood, Crater Lake & another marathon (of course).
Briskly left my airport hotel at 5am (Studio 6 was a dive 🙁 ), quick stop at a 24-hour Walmart for lunch supplies & water – then an hour-half drive to Timberline Lodge in Gov’t Camp (trailhead to Oregon’s majestic Mount Hood).
Spent last week googling the multitude of reasons why not to hike Hood in August – but with a smile on my face & a pack overloaded for sub-Arctic conditions, took the PCT (right of the lodge), and started my day journey. Veered off the PCT no more than half-mile in & started UP. No ropes, no ice axe – 2 shirts, double socks, crampons & my bestest boots would have to do today.
Pro: ‘eye on the prize’ – No false summits, Hood is visible from Step 1.
Con: lack of switchbacks – In Colorado we’re spoiled with miles of trail to 14er summits. In Oregon, it’s a straight path UP – 35% grade, no boulders, over volcanic dirt which hasn’t absorbed moisture in years.
Tough hike start – UP 3,000ft+ past Silcox Hut, to the top of a local ski lift (8,600ft).
Two steps up, one step back – like hiking in sand with no rock to steady your step.
Dust – whole lotta dust. Like I imagine what hiking on Mars’ Mount Sharp would be like. This area is generally packed with snow – absorbed directly in the atmosphere before melting into the volcanic soil below. Effects of the California drought are visible up & down the Pacific West. Streams are down, trees brown, forest fires reported from Northern California, across Western Canada, northward to Alaska.
During my ascent, stuck too close to the lift & lost Hogsback, pushing up Zigzag Canyon – Hood’s climbing route. Slow going, dry hiking in August, no ropes – loose dirt & scree, strong smell of sulfur (fumaroles/volcanic vents).
Followed the fall line, hiked left of massive Palmer Glacier. Absolutely stunning!
UP a 1,000ft of Palmer before floor conditions self-frustrated enough to try short steps on the glacier edge itself. Super slick in August. I watched the 2002 accident clip before I left Colorado – one wrong step, fast glissade, then down a crevasse. Wore a bright orange cap this day – wanting to be identified, understanding the inherent danger. Slow and steady.
Nearing the top of Palmer, I could free-climb up & further east – hiking the saddle over to Hood. Is this possible? I could hug Palmer Glacier, reach its top, find a break, traverse the glacier, righting myself closer to Hogsback. Is this possible?
Lack of knowledge can kill ya. Ideal to be hiking with a local or on a weekend, when I could copycat/tag-along other climbers.
Chose the glacier route, saw the glacier break – but ended it there. Summit fail. Not today – lotta snow, lotta ice, no other peeps on the mountain & lack of knowledge/questioned my skills. Ate half a Walmart sub & took in some of the most amazing views.
Not a fan of the desolate hike landscape but Palmer Glacier & Mt Hood (only another 1,200ft UP) – hooked on that vision. I’ll be back.
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- first view — daybreak on Hood
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- the infamous PCT (Pacific Crest Trail, Mexico-Canada)
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- Mount St. Helens, 60 miles north of Hood
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- volcanic rock & dust
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- strong smell of sulfur (fumaroles/volcanic vents)
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- massive Palmer Glacier
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- nearing the top of Palmer – find a break & traverse over?
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- glacier break – mighty steep
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- one wrong step, quick glissade down, killer crevasse below
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- Summit fail — I’ll be back
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- beautiful day, amazing views – LOVED Palmer Glacier — & the best $5 sub ever (expended lotta energy)
Mount Hood’s Palmer Glacier
Best way to celebrate Colorado Day? Outdoors of course 🙂
On August 1, 1876, president Ulysses S. Grant signed a proclamation admitting Colorado as a state. Colorado Day was celebrated as a state holiday on August 1 for many years, and then was moved to the first Monday in August. The day no longer became a public holiday, but rather an observance, when the state started observing Martin Luther King Jr. Day as a public holiday in 1985.
Started the day with an early hour-half drive to Estes Park. Rocky Mountain Half Marathon, my first Half in 18 months. 6am Gun time – something special about racing pre-dawn, settling into pace, then experience sunrise.
Circled Estes Lake. Mile 2 jammed up on the running path – lotta runners, maybe 2 across possible. Picked up pace & caught the 1:50 racers.
Mile 4 thru 8 – UP. Elevation AND incline – but no negativity this day. I dug in, held pace & picked off tens of runners walking the last mile up.
Miles 9, 10 & 11 – big smile. Ripped DOWN (rare for me, generally I pull up, hold back).
UP again at mile 12 to the Stanley, then finished flat to the Fairgrounds. (Kinda weird ending – passed a ‘3’ which we all assumed was mile 13…but that happened another half mile later, then the final tenth mile was actually .3 miles. Not a deal breaker but I went out fast, far too early.)
Good day. 13.1 miles, half the distance – nice to have some gas left in the tank.
Hills & altitude – my new favourite combo. Finding hills to be an age equalizer.
Bib Name City Chip Time Division Place
327 K R Haga Louisville CO 1:52:21 6
Rocky Mountain Nat’l Park – Planned to re-hike Black Lake, hadn’t been in 3 years (2012 challenge: 52 weeks, 52 hikes). 9am in the Park but couldn’t find parking, even RMNP’s Park N Ride advised to come back at 2pm. Seriously? (Easy to get frustrated with summer tourist season but learning to share the love. National Parks are OUR parks as Americans – all Americans, no discrimination.)
Snuck the Prius in Moraine Park campground & hiked the extra mile to Cub Lake trailhead. Not a lotta trees in the meadow (Fern Lake fire burned most in 2012). Temps soon soared near 90, warm day. Last mile forested, blanketed in wildflowers 🙂
Cub Lake – pulled off my shoes & soaked. Lily pads, 2 ducks, dragonflies, small blue fish. Nibble, nibble, BITE. Hey, that’s no fish – pulled off a blood-sucking leech attached to my foot. ‘Nough soaking, hiked back – 4.6 miles total.
½ marathon run followed by a Nat’l Park hike. Colorado Day done? Nope, not yet.
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- a well lived life
Othello
Colorado Shakespeare Festival (Boulder) – 8pm curtain time, biggest concern was sleep deprivation. Half-moon outdoor arena, center aisle seat, Flatirons sunset, temps in the low 70’s – yep, pretty much PERFECT.
From the opening dialogue, was hooked.
Iago couldn’t have been more sinister, nor Othello more tormented. Acting from these 2 overshadowed all other players. Othello a North African Moor, interracial marriage – and Iago’s sheer cunning to drive noble Othello mad.
NOT the Shakespeare of my youth. Far exceeded all expectations – I’ll be back next summer. FAANNN-frickin-TASTIC!
Colorado Day, day after? Sleep 🙂
Spent last weekend with Sis & family, Cheyenne rodeo yesterday, marathoning in San Francisco next weekend – should really be training but it’s summer….sooooo headed to the mountains for a high altitude hike. Good for the head, good for the soul 🙂
Up early & on the road with my friend Cliff & his dog Pita – today’s destination: Lake Dorothy on the Continental Divide (just west of Nederland). Was last here in 2012 during my 52-week hike challenge. Forgot what an adventure it is to reach Fourth of July trailhead – 5 miles of dirt, dodging boulders & potholes in a Prius. Mental note: 2016 might be the Year of the Truck.
Cool temps & rain in the forecast – typical high mountain forecast – packed extra layers, wore a cap & running gloves. It’s July, right? 🙂
Mile up Arapaho Pass trail, another mile on Arapaho Glacier trail, then a mile-half to Caribou Pass. Wildflowers & pine, glacier views & snowed-in mountain peaks. Crossed over glacier-fed waterfalls; hiked thru marshy tundra – initially hopping stone-to-stone to keep the feet dry. Eventually gave into the experience – all part of being outdoors. Lost tree-line just over 12,000ft.
Re-energized with half a Luna bar & soaked it all in. Beautiful hike. Clouds enveloped my landscape surroundings; light rain on the hike return. Nowhere else on Earth I feel more alive & plugged-in. I’ll never leave Colorado.
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- just west of Nederland, hiking to the Divide
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- Indian paintbrush & summer wildflowers
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- Mount Neva
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- tree-line gives way to spongy tundra at 12,000ft
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- SUMMIT SUCCESS x 3
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- clouds rolling in, beautiful hike – LOVE this place!
