August 22nd, 2022 by Jon
We heard one of the other hikers get up and leave around 5:00 this morning, and I think that because we were robbed of some sleep, it became extremely difficult to get up when our alarm went off. We got our things together when we finally got up, then took them to a table at an empty tent site nearby. The others still seem to be sleeping, and we wanted to be able to talk without worrying about bothering them. We’ve been having some trouble with our JetBoil stove lately. A screw has been getting loose, which means we can’t control the rate of the gas coming out. I’ve managed to tighten it twice with a borrowed pocket knife, which had a flathead screwdriver attachment, but we didn’t have that this morning. I tried and failed to use my regular knife to do it, but Singsong managed it just fine. Woohoo! Once in business, we ate quickly and were on the trail again by 7:00.
The trail passed by a number of great-looking spots in small clearings as we walked towards Panther Creek. The moss here was everywhere. Soon we came to a large footbridge and crossed to the other side, then immediately began a long climb that would go on for about 10 miles. The first 2 miles were brutally steep and full of switchbacks. The forest was full of gray light. There weren’t any sunbeams with such a cloudy morning, but it didn’t seem oppressively cloudy, so we figured it would burn off fairly quickly. We continued climbing, and the trail became gentler after a while. We followed it as it crossed a few dirt roads and old abandoned forest roads covered in bushes and small trees.
Eventually, we got to a large gravel road and took our first break of the day there. We had service, so we were able to send a happy birthday text to my wonderful aunt Cara, catch up on a few things, and download some music. After a short break, we headed up the trail once again. It continued in its gentle ascent through the forest, the sun now breaking through the clouds and streaming in much more fully. We had great views of Mt. Hood on a number of ridges, and when we finally got to the top, we were rewarded with a view of Mt. Adams that took my breath away. The pictures don’t do it justice, and I kinda like that. You would just have to be there.
We began hiking down, and after a few miles, came to a small tenting area where there was supposedly a small stream nearby in the bushes. A short investigation didn’t find any trails, and since we had enough water anyway, we decided to eat some snacks and hit the next water source, which was right on the trail. We haven’t had to do that often, thankfully, but sometimes it just doesn’t feel worth it to get off the trail and go find water that seemingly doesn’t want to be found. We dropped down to a saddle between two mountains, then crossed from one to the other, climbing along the side of the next mountain, slowly gaining elevation.
We came to a pipe coming out of the side of the hill, at about chest height, with a steady trickle of water coming out. We stopped there to get water, and we’re lamenting over the lack of good lunch spots there because it was already 12:40. Then a southbounder came and told us that there was trail magic at the road in 2.5 miles. We jumped for joy and threw our packs back on. It was late, but apparently, they had hot dogs among other things, so we scampered off to get them. The trail to the road took us along a flat path as we worked our way around the mountain, then led to a large trailhead with pit toilets and two large shaded areas, with hikers milling around.
When we walked up, a man introduced himself as Cowboy and invited us to wash our hands, grab a hot dog, beans, chips, and cold beer, and, for dessert, donuts. They also had fresh golden plums from their orchard, which were quite good and very juicy. We ended up staying for a little over an hour. We saw Rune, Bouge, and Stealth, who had taken a road up instead of the trail, which cut a few miles and elevation gain. We sympathized, knowing the hill looked pretty brutal, but we’re just glad to see them. We talked about town plans for Trout Lake for a bit before heading out, leaving them to eat some more.
From the parking lot, we had yet more climbing. We spent the next 5 miles walking along the base of Berry Mountain, then climbing up to nearly the top. There were a few miles of steep switchbacks, but otherwise it wasn’t too bad. We had great views of all the surrounding hills that we tried to enjoy, even though we were starting to get that end-of-the-day tired feeling. We feel like we’ve been making great time, but since it’s been almost all uphill, we aren’t making the miles as fast as we’ve been used to. We got to the top and took a break there for a while. We sat in the shade, and with the slight breeze that was steadily blowing, it almost felt kinda cold.
We got a move on after a quick snack and then descended off the mountain for a mile or two. We passed by several small ponds before reaching Blue Lake. It’s a large, very beautiful lake that’s very popular with the locals. There is a trailhead only 3 miles away and lots of camping by the water. We saw lots of hikers camped around, but couldn’t even see the end of the lake around a small bend, so there would be plenty of room for everyone. We still felt decent, so we pushed on to make tomorrow a bit shorter and to find a spot with fewer people nearby. We passed by a few more lakes and then pushed up a small hill and found the medium-sized Bear Lake nestled in a basin just below the trail. There was a side trail that went along the lake, and after a short walk down it, we found a great spot overlooking the lake from a little outcropping.
We made camp, filtered water, and then had a wonderful dinner just the two of us. The temperature was pleasant, and the lake made for a nice backdrop. The mosquitoes were out, but they weren’t horrible, or at least as bad as what we’ve started to get used to. As it got dark, we finally called it a day and went to bed very much ready for a good night’s sleep.
Gorgeous campsite along the lakes edge.