One of my favorite aspects of Portland is that, within 90 minutes, I can surround myself with forests, mountains, and wide open sky. Sometimes you just need to get outside.
A few weeks ago Leah and I drove East toward Mt. Hood. After a few miles on forest roads we set out toward Burnt Lake. Hiking anywhere near Hood in the summer usually means hiking with a crowd. We hit the trail head at 9:45am, though, and passed 1 other group on the entire hike up. Really relaxing way to spend a morning.
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- About a mile or two up the trail you can take a short spur path and sit along some wonderful cascades.
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- The lake’s pretty shallow and surprisingly warm.
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- Our view from lunch.