This was a very pleasant surprise hike that I didn’t even have on my radar. While discussing with Val on potential backpack routes for an overnighter she mentioned Horseshoe Meadow and Looking Glass Lake. At first I thought it sounded familiar and also that it was in Mt Hood. Boy was I wrong. The plan changed and we decided not to do an overnighter as it would’ve been a lot of prep work just to get going, besides, we had a long weekend coming up so we opted for planning something for those days. Then, when we looked at the distance, elevation change and driving distance, we realized it was a potential day hike route so that’s what we did. The first part of the hike is quick and easy as you climb on Stagman Ridge towards Grassy Hill. It’s sort of a warm up as there are no views and you just gain elevation but then you cross an almost imperceptible saddle and everything changes. The views of Mt Adams just open up in front of you as you traverse a wild flower covered meadow. The views don’t change much but go with you as you get to the PCT and turn towards Horseshoe Meadow. You don’t stay long on the PCT but the trail that continues on towards the lake is equally beautiful. There are several small, unnamed creeks that eventually dump their waters in Cascade Creek. There was one crossing that looked a bit more challenging than the rest but as we got close to it, we realized it wasn’t such a big deal. Then, the trail turned away from the views and started descending again until we got a glimpse of the lake below us. A small trail veers of the main trail and goes to the northern shore of this green/turquoise colored lake. Needless to say, the name Looking glass Lake suits the lake entirely. There was a nice campsite on the northern shore but we opted for hiking around the lake to the opposite shore thinking we would get a view of the mountain. We did and it was splendid. A bit further we found another campsite and a perfect lunch spot where we stopped. The lake is pretty shallow so Val and I thought about jumping in before returning. Well, the lake is shallow but man was it cold. Neither of us where able to get the water above our knees before coming out in pain. After that failed attempt we rested a bit while drying our feet before hiking back. We got a bit more views until we got back to the fork that continues down on Stagman Ridge back to the trail head. We made a point of turning back so we could enjoy the views with different light as we hiked down. As we did, we took the opportunityto take some silly pictures and be eaten by gigantic mosquitoes before we got back in the forest and then the car.
Interactive map
To see the full map, click Menu and select Full Screen. You can also click Terrain to change the map style
No comments:
Post a Comment