Today, we are planning to do lots of things all around Mt. Hood, in what is known locally as "Mt. Hood Territory," but more officially as the Mt. Hood Wilderness Area. We've been looking on the Internet from the hotel, and doing some work with our guidebooks, and plan to see two different waterfalls, a pristine mountain lake and Timberline Lodge on Mt. Hood itself. If all goes according to plan, we'll spend the night in Bend, OR.

A Morning Hike to Little Zigzag Falls

We got an early start from the Best Western Sandy Inn and headed east again retracing some of the driving we'd done the night before. We followed US 26 for about twenty miles, going through the town of Zigzag (where we got confused and thought the waterfalls should be close by) and the town of Rhododendron until we found the turnoff for Kiwanis Camp Road.

As soon as we turned off the main highway onto Kiwanis Camp Road, I realized that I had been here before- that time I was doing a class in Portland and drove out here one afternoon to see if I could get some pictures of Mt. Hood. Right by this sign was the place I stopped to get a picture, and if you have looked at the pictures from that trip in this album, then you have seen this place before.

All the directions we got said that the trailhead for Little Zigzag Falls was at the end of this road and, sure enough, there was a parking area at the end of the paved road for the Falls. The map seems to show that the road continues in a loop back to Highway 26, but that must be the unpaved portion.

We found the parking area with no problem, and the Zigzag Falls Trail was well marked, and we headed off into the woods, which were beautiful in themselves with straight, tall pines and hardwoods. Almost immediately, we came to what I presumed was Zigzag Creek flowing down from Mt. Hood, and for the rest of our hike we were never far from the creek or the sound.

To give you an idea of what the hike was like with the creek beside us, look at either or both of the two movies I made of us walking along the creekside trail. You can watch these two movies with the players below:

All along the hike to the falls, it was a joy to walk beside the creek; movies express this better than anything, and you can watch two of them with the players below:

Of course, the scenery along the trail was exquisite also, and I've put thumbnails for four of our best "trail scene" pictures below; you can see the full-size images by clicking on those thumbnails:

(Click on Thumbnails to View)

After a hike of something over a mile, we reached Zigzag Falls. These falls were certainly not high, spectacular ones, but rather a set of low but interesting and restful ones. The falls had two portions- the main falls, where most of the creek water spills over a rock outcropping and dividing into a curtain, and a set of side falls, where a side channel of the creek falls over a precipice to land in a pool about ten feet below. Like I said, the falls were certainly not anywhere near the highest or biggest we've seen, but they were worth the walk. For scale, here is a picture of Fred at Zigzag Falls.

We took a number of movies here, and I have put players for four of them below:

The trail continued past these falls, and we thought we would go further to see what we could see. First, the trail wound around these falls and came out on top, where we could see the water going over the falls from up above. You can watch a movie of this using the player at left. We could also get a really good view directly up the creek above the falls.

We walked on through the forest for a ways further, always following the creek. The forest was majestic and peaceful, what with the tall trees and the sound of the water. Fred stopped to make a movie of the forest and the creek, and a bit further on I made a movie of a particularly interesting fallen tree (one which had fallen directly into the stream). Even further on, we came to a point where two streams came together to form Zigzag Creek. Take a look at these three features with the movie players below:

The Forest and the Creek A Fallen Tree Natural Bridge

Two Streams Come Together

We continued walking along the trail for another mile or so, just enjoying the forest. Eventually, we decided to turn around and head off to see something different- like Mt. Hood. So I made a movie at our farthest point on the trail and a movie of Fred at creekside, and we headed back down the trail to the parking area and the car. You can watch these movies with the players below:

The Farthest Point on the Trail Fred at Creekside

You can return to the Page Index or continue on with the next section.

Driving Along the Mt. Hood Scenic Byway

We wanted to get some lunch before our next hike to Mirror Lake, and so we drove further east on Highway 26 looking for a picnic spot. We ended up driving about five miles to find one, but also getting some great views of Mt. Hood and the surrounding area. I'll just put thumbnails for the best of these pictures below; you can look at the full-size images by clicking on those thumbnails:

(Click on Thumbnails to View)

You can return to the Page Index or continue on with the next section.

Hiking to Mirror Lake

We drove back west after our picnic through the town of Government Camp, and just a mile or so further on west we found the turnoff parking area for the hike to Mirror Lake. We pulled off the road and parked, and then went to the end of the parking area (there were only a couple of cars here, so we knew it'd be a solitary hike) where the trail began. Running alongside the road here was a very small stream, and so we crossed it on a wooden bridge that led us to the trailhead. The sign told us that the hike to the lake would be a mile and a half, and so off we went.

The hike through the forest was pleasant, but there were not any good opportunities for picture-taking as we went- no waterfalls or streams to speak of. (I did take a couple of movies on the way back, and you'll have a chance to look at those later.) After about an hour's walk we arrived at Mirror Lake. When we arrived, of course, we were looking to the southwest, since that's the direction we'd been traveling; Mt. Hood was behind us. Right at the edge of the lake, we discovered (by reading the sign posted at the trail junction) that the mountain we could see further southwest was called "Tom, Dick and Harry Mountain," for reasons we could only surmise. But we weren't going there; we were going to take the loop trail around the lake.

We could not see Mt. Hood from where we were standing on the northeast shore of the lake, so we took the loop trail around to our left, going clockwise around the lake. When we'd gotten about halfway around, we could begin to see Mt. Hood behind the trees on the other side of the lake, and we stopped to take some pictures. As usual, we took one of each other with basically the same view, so here is my picture of Fred and here is Fred's picture of me.

Mirror Lake is named, of course, for the beautiful mirror-like views that are usually available; the more still the water is the better those mirror images are. Today, the water is pretty still, but there is a slight breeze, so I guess the picture-taking was not exactly optimal. But of all the pictures we took here, I was able to get one that is just about perfect, and you should take a look at Mt. Hood reflected in Mirror Lake.

As we walked all around the lake, we both got many very good views of the lake and particularly of Mt. Hood in the background. Six of these pictures are noteworthy, and I have put thumbnails for them below. Take a look at the full-size pictures by clicking on the thumbnails:

(Click on Thumbnails to View)

I also took a couple of really good movies of Mirror Lake, both of them showing pretty much the entire scene. You can watch those movies using the players below:

We spent almost an hour walking around the lake and enjoying the scenery before we headed back down the trail to the car. along the trail back, I took a couple of interesting movies that I think you'll like, and you can watch those movies using the players below:

You can return to the Page Index or continue on with the next section.

An Afternoon on Mt. Hood

Driving Up to Timberline Lodge

When we returned from the Mirror Lake hike, we drove east again on Route 26 through Government Camp until we saw the turnoff for Mt. Hood and Timberline Lodge. The road ascended slowly at first, and then began to rise in earnest. As we ascended, we got better and better views behind us, exemplified by this view south towards Mirror Lake. Then the road turned around to the east side of the mountain slope, we could look for miles and miles out in that direction, getting an excellent view of Mt. Jefferson off in the distance.

As we rose, the trees started to thin out, and before we lost them completely, Fred got a good shot, looking southeast, of me and Mt. Jefferson. I also made a movie of the scenery on the mountain road up to Timberline Lodge, and you can watch that movie with the player at right. Looking ahead along the roadway, we could see Mt. Hood in the clear, cool air- certainly the best view I have had of it so far. Finally, as the trees started to disappear totally, Fred got his own excellent view of Mt. Hood.

Touring Timberline Lodge

Timberline Lodge is at the end of the paved road up Mt. Hood. It is similar to the great lodges of the National Parks, except that Mt. Hood is not a National Park. But it is a pretty neat place nevertheless. Inside, there is a large lobby with a huge fireplace as its central focus (very much needed during ski season, I imagine). The rustic nature of the ceiling beams and chandeliers adds to the ambience, as do the colorful mosaics that occupy some of the wall space. In the middle of the lobby (actually on the side of the fireplace) is a unique direction list, which I guess is the Timberline Lodge equivalent of those signs with arrows pointing every which way to far away places.

The building itself has very high pitched roof sections; even the dormer roofs are high so that the snow can more easily slide off. I did find an aerial view of Timberline Lodge, but it was taken during the winter, so it is hard to make out the lodge itself with all the snow that is everywhere around.

Fred and I took a number of exterior pictures to show some of the interesting detail work on the lodge, and you can view those full-size pictures by clicking on the thumbnails below:

(Click on Thumbnails to View)

Views from Timberline Lodge

At one end of the front of the lodge there was a large balcony/patio, and some of the pictures above were taken from there. It was also a good place to make a movie showing the lodge and the surrounding views, and you can watch that movie with the player at left.

There were some other really spectacular views from Timberline Lodge. First, from the front patio, you could look southeast at the Cascades and Mt. Jefferson. Also from the front patio, you could look south-southwest at the foothills of the Cascade Range and Mirror Lake. And, finally, from the back of Timberline Lodge you can look up the hill to Mt. Hood itself. That will be the next thing we do- walk up the paved and then gravel trail towards the summit.

Walking Up the Slopes of Mt. Hood

Although it is summer, there is still a fair amount of snow around, and there were even some folks skiing on the long patches of snow that sitll remained. We saw a lot of snow moving equipment, and it looked as if they continually build the remaining snow up so that avid skiers can get in some practice. Out the back of the hotel there was a paved walkway that goes up to some of the ski lifts, and we headed up the hill following it. After a short distance, we could look around and see the entire Timberline Lodge with Mt. Jefferson in the distance.

At this point, we were paralleling one of these long, thin, patches of snow, and there were a fair number of skiers on the snow, and they would shuzss by us every so often. They were interesting enough that I went ahead and made a movie of some of the skiers practicing on the snow, and you can watch that movie with the player at right.

While I was watching the skiers and making my movie, Fred was off to the side examining some interesting mountain flowers, made all the more unusual because most of the terrain was so barren.

A little further up, I stopped to make a movie of our entire surroundings, taking in 360 degrees of view, and you can watch that movie with the player at left.

We took more interesting pictures up here on the side of Mt. Hood and, in fact, we walked quite a ways up the side of the mountain as you can see. I've included below thumbnails for some of the better pictures that we took while out on our walk, and you can look at the full-size images by clicking on those thumbnails:

(Click on Thumbnails to View)

Leaving Mt. Hood

We came back through the lodge and walked around it a bit more (taking some of the pictures in the section above), and then got back in the car and headed on down the road the way we had come.

We got about halfway back to the highway, and were back in the forest again, when we noticed a waterfall that we had not seen coming up the mountain, so we pulled off the road to see what it looked like. The waterfall itself was on one side of the road, and we walked over to take a look at it, one of us taking the picture you see at the right. I also decided to make a movie of the waterfall, and you can watch that movie with the player below:

The stream at the base of the waterfall continued down the mountain, running under the road to continue on the other side, and so we walked over to take a look. Fred went on ahead down the mountainside a bit, following the stream, while I made a movie of the stream (that you can watch using the player at left).

Then, I scrambled a hundred feet or so down the mountainside to join Fred, who was just admiring the pretty stream as it flowed through the forest. He had taken his own picture of the rocky streambed.

We stayed here for just a few minutes enjoying the quiet surroundings before walking back up to the car and heading off to Tamanawas Falls.

You can return to the Page Index or continue on with the next section.

Tamanawas Falls

We had read in one of the guidebooks we'd picked up that there were some beautiful waterfalls around on the east side of Mt. Hood- Tamanawas Falls- and we wanted to see them. To get there, we followed highway 26 a bit further east to its intersection with highway 35 (which goes north to come out at Hood River, OR, one of the towns we had passed through two days earlier when we'd driven along the Columbia River from Portland to The Dalles). We turned north on that highway to go up along the east side of Mt. Hood, shown here as we approach it along the east side from the highway intersection southeast of the mountain. We drove north approximately ten miles towards Hood River, and then found the turnoff for the parking area for the hike to the falls.

This is to be our destination- Tamanawas Falls. There had been a picture of it in the guidebook, and we were looking forward to getting there.

From the parking area, the trail began by crossing a log bridge that made its first crossing of the stream coming down from the falls (or at least I thought it was the same stream, there were so many branches and small streams on this hike). Then the trail led into the woods around to the right and started upward. We'd hiked perhaps a half-mile through the woods when the sound of water grew louder and we found ourselves at another log bridge over the stream that DOES come over Tamanawas Falls. I stopped on the bridge to make a movie of the stream, and you can watch that movie with the player below:

From that point onward, the trail was never very far from the stream as we kept ascending. In all the hiking we've done over the years, the hikes that follow water always stand out. The reasons include the fact that where there is flowing water, there is interesting landscape and perhaps rocks and boulders to climb on. But primarily what makes such hikes most pleasant is the sound, and that sound (and the experience of the stream or river) can only be captured with a movie, and so use the player at left to watch a movie of the stream that we followed all the way to the falls.

Occasionally, the trail led through some densely wooded areas above the stream, and at times it got quite dark in the forest (it was getting on towards late afternoon), but mostly we were out in the open. At one point, we came to a point where there had been a stream crossing, but the log bridge had been destroyed (an indicator, I suppose, that this particular stream is not always the gentle thing that we are experiencing today). The trail seemed to continue without crossing the stream over a new bridge, so I suppose that some work had been done to reroute the trail subsequent to the destruction of the old bridge.

I supposed we had covered a mile and a half when the streambed opened out into a circular clearing and we got our first view of Tamanawas Falls, and you can see what we saw if you watch the movie at right.

The trail led up above the streambed towards the right side of the falls; here is Fred on the trail ahead of me. Right after I took his picture, he had me leapfrog him on the trail so that he could get a picture of me and Tamanawas Falls.

While I was ahead of Fred on the trail, I could see that it led up towards the rock face to the right of the falls and then, apparently, all the way behind the falls; I made a movie of that trail to show you what I mean, and you can watch it with the player at left. Getting behind the falls certainly looked like a fun thing to do, and I was anxious to get up there. Meanwhile, Fred was taking a perfect portrait picture of Tamanawas Falls.

But before I went off up the trail to the falls, both Fred and I just climbed around on the rocks below the falls for a while, snapping pictures and taking movies. Some of these pictures and movies are more interesting than others. For example, I wanted to make a movie with relatively little commentary that would just allow someone to watch the falls the way we were doing and experience them; you can watch that movie with the player at right.

Fred took his own movie of the falls, panning from their top, down the cascade, and then along the streambed and down into the forest. The sound on his movie seems much louder than on mine, so be aware of that when you watch his movie using the player at left.

Fred also took what I thought was a very good picture of the falls, showing the trail leading around behind them (where I am headed next. Take a look at that picture here.

Finally, I went along to the top of the trail and worked my way behind the falls. Just before I went behind the curtain of water, I made a movie of the waterfall from the side and a look down the valley below towards Fred. Then, I went on behind the falls themselves and made another movie through the falling water. You can watch both these movies with the players below:.

A Side View of the Waterfall Looking Through Falling Water

I stayed in the cavelike area behind the falls for a few minutes, just enjoying the scene, but eventually emerged back on the trail and started back down to Fred. That is when Fred took his movie of me coming down from the falls- a movie you can watch with the player at right.

We hung out at the falls for a while before heading back down the trail in the fading light. As we wound our way through the dense forest, it seemed like something out of 'The Wizard of Oz,' as this photo of Fred on the trail. The last image either of us took on this hike (and for the rest of the day) was the movie I made of a small waterfall we had passed on the way up to Tamanawas Falls; it wasn't impressive, but pretty in and of itself. Have a look at it with the movie player at left.

Once back at the car, we knew that what with the fading light we wouldn't be able to do another hike, so we just got on the road to Bend, OR.

You can return to the Page Index or continue on with the next section.

Driving to Bend, Oregon

We headed back south on route 35 to the intersection with route 26 (the Mt. Hood Scenic Byway), and then followed that road south into central Oregon to the town of Madras.

It was about 7:30 in the evening when we got into the town of Madras, and we knew it was another hour or so to Bend, so we thought it would be best if we found a place to eat here, rather than risk everything being closed later. In the middle of Madras, our route split into one-way streets, and as we passed through the center of town we saw an inviting restaurant called 'The Black Bear Diner.' Diners are always good bets for varied menus and reasonable prices, so we stopped in.

We learned about the chain of restaurants from the menu, and saw that they were spread over Northern California and Oregon; there was even one in Bend. And, like most diners, they were open 24 hours, so I guess we could have waited until later to eat, but here we were.

We had a good meal (made all the better after all the hiking we'd done today) and then got back in the car and continued south.

It did turn out to be another hour or so to get to Bend. Once into town, our directions that we'd gotten earlier in the day when I made the reservation were pretty good, although I made one wrong turn when our highway divided.

But we got back on Route 97 without too much problem and navigated our way through town (stopping at a local Baskin-Robbins just before it closed).

Then we arrived at our Super 8 Motel and got checked in. I made a run for some sodas and then we watched TV for a while and talked about the next day's trip which would feature Crater Lake.

	July 21, 2004: Oregon Trip Day 5
	July 19, 2004: Oregon Trip Day 3
	Return to Main Index for Oregon Trip Pictures