We woke today around 6:30am. I slept well but I was tired. I wished we could’ve slept in but I wanted to get moving. The lake was so quiet and beautiful. When we arrived last night the moon was reflecting off it so brightly. We broke camp and left around 7:30.

The trail was beautiful and the air was cool. The sun peeked in through the trees and made the forest golden. I had Robin lead the way and set the pace since it was her first day on trail. Boy, was she slow! Just kidding. She kept a great pace. We passed by an old parking lot at Barlow Pass where I used to camp by myself 5 years ago. That was weird to see. At this parking lot we cross the old Barlow Road which was one of the routes of the Oregon Trail. I have always been fascinated by that so I stopped to walk down it a bit.

We hiked on and took a nice break at a water source. Having company for a break was just so wonderful all over again. It made me realize how much I’ve missed having Rugy out here. Regardless, I was glad to have Robin out here. We pushed a little more and came out of the woods and had a grandiose view of Mt. Hood. Wildflowers lined the ashy trail. Each step was challenging as it ascended and our feet sunk into deep sand. We skirted a massive canyon where glacial melt roared below. Shortly we had a glimpse of Timberline Lodge.

We stopped in for lunch and I saw Big Bird. I introduced her to Robin and we chatted. She’d been stuck in horrible smoke after she tried to jump ahead to Olallie Lake and instead got a ride to where we started last night. We looked in the distance and saw a massive smoke plume and smoke south of us and covering all of the eastern sky. I was glad we moved ahead and weren’t in that thick mess.

Timberline Lodge is the lodge from the Shining. At least all the outdoor shots. I’ve been here loads of times before but it was fun to be back as a hiker. The place was overrun by dozens of us. We went to the famous buffet and sadly didn’t eat too much. My favorite was a Belgian waffle with thick, house made whipped cream, topped with strawberries. We ate until we were too full, rested for 30 minutes and hit the trail.

Again the views were gorgeous. We followed along gorges and meadows and had excellent views of the peak above and then finally made it to camp. It was a gorgeous and lovely day. I was so happy to be out here. It’s such a wonderful feeling having Robin here and having fun. I feel like I haven’t in a while.