Zigzag Overlook

The 50+ hikers led an easy hike from Timberline Lodge to Zigzag Overlook — about a 2 mile walk each way with some 500 feet of elevation difference to give us a workout.

It was brisk in the morning but warmed up to a beautiful day. Here we are at our destination. (That’s Mt. Hood in the background.)

At this time of year all but the glacial snow is gone. Looks odd to my eyes. That’s the Palmer glacier behind Timberline Lodge — looking pretty sad.

There was a 2-man crew upgrading a microwave tower. (Tourists gotta use their cell phones!) It was “high wire” work. They had a great view — not that they had much time to enjoy it.

It was a short hike but plenty of a workout for me. The air smelled terrific! The sky is so blue at higher elevations. It made a great back drop for the flags in front of the lodge.

I spied this marker on the steps up to the lodge. Clearly it was built at a time when the word “public” wasn’t a dirty word! Built by the WPA in the 30’s it is now privately operated.

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Forever Young

Well, I don’t know about “forever” … but hiking in the Cascades sure is good medicine. The local parks and rec hosts a 50+ hiking group. I ventured out on my first hike on Wednesday.

The views of Mt. Hood were AWESOME! You just don’t get that color blue sky at sealevel.

There were some 25 of us. Our first hike was to Mirror Lake. Click on the link to see Mt. Hood “mirrored”. Somehow, I missed it!

The wildfloweres were awesome! Beargrass was in full bloom.

As was the gardenia-fragrant Washington (Shasta) Lily.

We lunched at the Timberline Lodge where this bar window caught my eye.

Our last hike was Zig Zag Creek.

The falls were lovely and on this 90 degree day, we were cool and refreshed.

An ice cream stop followed our last hike before the drive back to Vancouver. Click here to view the entire slideshow.

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