Umbrella falls – Elk Meadows Loop, Nov 1st

Finally I moved to my new home and the basics are in place. With that, it was time to go hiking again although I know I won’t be able to do it as regularly as I was before, at least for some time. Since I had a lot of ‘Hiking Energy” in me that needed release, I decided to take a group to this well mixed loop. I had read before about the Umbrella falls but the hike was not long enough. Doing a bit of research, I found that it was possible to do a big loop by combining part of the Elk Meadows trail and Timberline trail. Furthermore, this loop would offer very interesting perspectives of Mt Hood. The hike started from the Mt Hood Meadows Nordic Ski area ascending gradually toward Newton Creek. Shortly after passing Clark Creek we got there and made our first turn to follow the ridge up towards the Timberline Trail. This portion of the hike gave us some very interesting views and scenery. On one side we had the huge Newton Creek that clearly shows what water can do when it’s rushing down the mountain. Looking up, we had a great view of the Gnarl Ridge with its line of dried trees on the top, and on the other side, a big grassy meadow.
Once we got to the Timberline Trail, we took a left turn and followed it over a ridge and down to Clark Creek. This side was completely different from the previous one, all dry, sandy and with little or no vegetation. It was like descending into a crater on the moon. Once down, we had to explore around a bit to find the best spot to cross as this creek does not have a bridge. Being nearly noon and having a good, sunny day, we decided to make a stop for lunch. After resting for a bit and taking some pictures of some little waterfalls, we continued our hike up a second ridge from where we crossed almost the entire Mt Hood Meadows Sky resort. You might remember or have seen pictures of me skiing there. It was interesting to recognize some of the slopes I have skied on in the winter. After walking for a couple of hours, we got to the Umbrella fall turn out. From this point on it was all a slow descent following the meadow until we got to the water fall. From that point, we continued down and took a detour to see Sahalie Falls which can also be seen from the old Mt Hood highway. Once there, instead of hiking back up to the trail, and considering it was getting late, we just continued on the road back to the cars not without enjoying our last view of Mt Hood illuminated with late afternoon sun. I guess we can’t get tired of this mountain.