not all who wander are lost

but i sure as hell was. it was another gorgeous day here in northern oregon. and so i figured since it's supposed to be one of the last beautiful weekends before winter sets in i might as well get out and do something. found an awesome hike to do (vista ridge to owl point) even though it was kind of a ways out. actually, not too far from where tim and i had been camping. so i read the directions and had mapped out a route, was making good time when i came to split in the road, and this was expected, however the way i was supposed to go was VERY unfinished road, HUGE potholes and i tried it for .3 miles, and wasn't sure i could even turn around and get back, it was AWFUL. so i figured that was it, turn around, go home. but a road nearby said to "lost lake" and i'd read about a short hike there so i figured why not?

thus far the day was spectacular and the views had been nothing short of that as well. so i followed yet another unnamed national forest development road. never made to lost lake. ended up on a road that should have gone to the trail i wanted in the first place. eventually made it to the trailhead, albeit much later than i originally intended.

i don't even have words for the trail, unbelievable. not too long, moderately strenuous. the views were UNREAL. as you will see below, there are more pictures of mt hood than anyone actually ever wants to see (and this isn't all of them!)




unfortunately given the late start of my hike, i didn't have time to hang around at owl point - would be a great spot for a picnic, wanted to journal a bit, but had to get back to the car and hopefully off the mountain roads before dark!

was happily following my gps home (avoiding the scary evil road) when according to the gps there was a road and according to the road there was a river. that was interesting. eventually sorted another way home, but ADVENTURE!

look at some maps when i got home, and found the crazy route that i took through the mts...

(blue is the way there, red the way back, and the turquoise markers are the start and end pts of the hike, the blue markers are where the road ended due to a river and i had to re-route)

i am definitely going to feel this all tomorrow - am already icing my knee... it's not used to the rigors of the outdoors. but the hike was most definitely worth it despite being lost in the mountains, and giving my knees a hard time!