A Day on the Mountain

We had the full day on Sunday to spend time with my brother, Andy, before I had to take him back to the airport to fly home. We decided to go for a hike on Mount Hood. It was a perfectly lovely day — going to be 90 in Portland but 75 up on the mountain! We were up early anyways–Logan is up when he’s up and Andy was dealing with a time change. So we had breakfast at home, packed up the car, got sandwiches as New Seasons and then drove up the mountain.

After living in Philly and now Minneapolis, Andy has really missed hiking and mountains and was really excited to go hiking up on Mount Hood. I decided Twin Lakes (at the Frog Lake Trailhead) would be the best choice because it’s a fairly easy hike with gorgeous views and nice lakeside spots for lunch. 

It’s a pretty short hike to the first lake, I think about 2 miles? It was warmer up there than we were expecting, though. One of the things I love about this hike is that when you turn the corner on the trail just before you get to the lake, you get a sneak peek of the amazing blue waters through the trees. It’s really pretty. 

We got to the first lake and took a break. I let Logan out of the backpack so he could wander around and explore. We ate lunch and just enjoyed the cool breeze of the lake. There were TONS of butterflies flying all around. It was kind of crazy how many there were.

There were some people swimming in the lake and they said it was pretty cold. But it looked so nice and refreshing. I kinda wished I could swim. 

We saw lots of evidence of horses on the trail, but this was the first time doing this hike where we actually got to see the horses! This was the first time Logan got to see a horse. His eyes were really big and he seemed mesmerized by them. 

After lunch we hiked another mile up the trail to the Upper Twin Falls. We hung out and let Bella off her leash so she could splash around in the lake. You can see some videos of it on my instagram. It’s pretty funny!

It was getting late in the day and Logan was starting to get fussy so we packed up and headed back down the trail. Somehow, it was uphill both ways. 😉

We got back to the car and happily got in the AC.

Hike Stats

Miles: 6.11 miles

Time: 2 hours

Calories Burned: 842

Bella was pooped and fell asleep right away. Logan was nodding off a little bit. We made one stop on the way home: Timberline.

Andy’s never been there so we stopped so he could see The Shining hotel. 😉 We walked around a little bit, took some photos and then it was time to get home.

…with a pitstop through the Burgerville drive-thru for a mini ice cream cone.

Home for showers, bath for Bella (she was filthy!) and Logan and then dinner was hot dogs and salads on the deck. We had a few hours to hang out and then I took Andy to the airport. Sad. 🙁 I was bummed the visit was over. It was fun and nice to catch up. I wish they lived closer to home!