Hunchback Mountain, Oct 12th

This is one of those hikes that has been forgotten for one reason or another. I do remember doing this trail ate least a couple of times before. On one of those, we went up with a group and at some point lost the trail due to snow. We followed the ridge as much as we could but after a couple of hours of negotiating rhododendrons we bailed and came back down. A second time I remember doing this hike was with Val when we started dating several years ago. It was a fall day when the clouds didn’t clear up so we got no views and the day kept cold. Back then, we reached the Rock Pile, had something to eat, and came back down. This time around, we didn’t have a big plan but we wanted to go a bit further. On this trail that is easily doable as you can continue all the way to Devils Peak which would require a very long day or staying out for the night. There are several places along the trail though were you can stop, take a break and return so we picked a view point past the heliport that is a bit over 5 miles in. Being a fall day again, we wanted to be back down at a reasonable time. We got to the trailhead pretty early and started hiking getting a couple of surprises. The first one was the greenery. The day was overcast and it had rained the previous days. All that recent water was enhancing the moss. The other surprise was the trail itself. I remember on the past times I’ve done that there were some blown down trees you had to jump over or go under. There were one this time. The trail was easy to follow and well maintained. As we gained elevation, the fog from the lower valleys started to raise and come thru the trees filtering the light a bit. At moments we got some pretty magical views in the forest that we had all to ourselves. On the way up, we past the Rock Pile without stopping but making a note to do so on the way down. Further up and just for a brief moment, the clouds parted and we got a clear view of Hood. It didn’t last for long but enough for a picture. We got to our intended destination where we stopped for a quick bite and then retraced our steps back down. Perfect fall day.



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