Recently I took a day off and decided to head up to Mount Hood with Miss Bella! First stop: iced coffee at my favorite local coffee-shop. Then settled in with good tunes as I drove up to Mount Hood.
I had a few hikes in my mind but once I got up to Zig Zag, I decided to try a different hike. I took Lolo Pass Road a few miles to where I thought I would get to the Lolo Pass hike. But I drove almost 10 miles and then got to a sign that said the road was closed. So I wasn’t sure if I’d have to park and hike 5 miles just to get to the trailhead. Hmmmm….
So I backtracked and decided to try and do Ramona Falls. If you’ve been a reader for awhile, you might remember the time we took visiting family on the Ramona Falls hike and accidentally did 7 miles!!! WAY TOO LONG for all of us and we were not prepared for it at all. That trip taught us what a “dog-bone loop” meant!
Bella and I arrived at Ramona Falls and got ready to hike. I saw this sign at the trailhead:
Apparently the bridge that was there to cross the Sandy River was gone. I read through the guide and was like, eff that! I am SO not crossing glacier streams and getting soaking wet. It did not sound fun. So I decided to take the Sandy River Trail instead.
It was going to be a hot day–99 degrees. I was there early-ish and it was already pretty warm. The air felt murky and heavy. Due to the wildfires, the air was hazy from smoke and it felt like a big, hot, wet blanket hung over everything. But at least it didn’t smell smoky.
The trail was really quiet and empty. I didn’t see anyone else on the trail. I guess everyone in the half-full parking lot decided to try and cross the river to do Ramona Falls.
The trail was gently rolling so it was “easy” except that the ground was mostly sandy so that made it kind of difficult to walk easily on.
It seemed like the trail was probably mostly for Equestrian hikes. I could hear the roaring river near the trail as we hiked. There were a few spots where you could see the view. The river looked really nice and peaceful.
Once I was about half-way through the Sandy River Trail, I looked at the river and saw a lot of spots where Bella and I probably could have crossed the river easily without getting drenched. Good to know for next time, I guess.
Bella and I drank a lot of water. It was hot! Then we turned around to hike back. I was getting tired and hungry.
Here are the final stats:
I stopped for a quick lunch on the way home, showered, gave Bella a bath and then Bella and I crashed for a very luxurious nap! She cuddled next to me and snored and I was immediately out. After my nap I got a pedicure and did some shopping. It was the perfect “me” day. 😀
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