Mirror Lake

On Labor Day we decided to go on a hike near Mt. Hood. First we went to a beautiful little lake called "Mirror Lake'. Then we went up to "Tom, Dick and Harry Mountain", so named because of the three peaks, not because every, Tom, Dick and Harry hikes this trail! Although I will tell you that we had plenty of company on the trail! I was amazed at the number of people hiking with their dogs. Oregon is very dog friendly. Good thing the dogs are friendly too as few people seem to use a leash! The lake was sort of a public swimming pool for a whole range of dog types and sizes.

I'm pointing to "Tom, Dick and Harry Mountain." We made it to the peak on the top on the far right. The other two peaks are off limits as they are home to endangered Peregrine Falcons.

Love the trail markers and the beautiful view! Oregon is so green!

Here we are on the top. Mount Hood is directly behind us under all those clouds! We could actually see Mount St. Helen's but I forgot to take a picture of her.

A majestic looking raven was close to us. I'm sure he was hunting for the cute little chipmunks. The little guys enjoyed pretzels and all kinds of human food but didn't stay around on the top of the rocks for too long. Probably good planning or they might have been a tasty meal for one of the raptors!

I tried to get a decent picture of the little chipmunk so that I could remember how stuffed his cheeks were. He must love pretzels and M&Ms and crackers and all kinds of human junk food! I couldn't capture him with my camera. I'm guessing he uses the same speedy techniques to avoid being dinner for the raven or the Peregrine Falcons.

Typical landscape we passed on the hike!

After the hike we went to Timberline Lodge. It is one of the lodges built by the WPA in 1937 and dedicated by President Roosevelt. Only a few peaks in Oregon are at a higher elevation than this lodge....it sits at 6000 ft. The summit of Mount Hood is only 3 miles away!

The clouds just blew in and out all afternoon so the view of the summit changed constantly. Beautiful!

After a good dinner in the little town of Government Camp we headed home. George was so happy that there was no traffic. He was worried about driving home on Labor Day evening and thought we'd be fighting traffic all the way but we were lucky. Another perfect Oregon adventure!