Moulton Falls Swimming Hole

This past Sunday was a hot one in Portland (90 degrees is no joke when your attic apartment doesn't have a/c!), so when Scotty had the brilliant idea for the three of us to go swimming, I didn't waste time googling swimming holes around Portland. I found this blog post about Moulton Falls swimming hole, and it looked perfect: cold river water, pretty arch bridge, shady trees and dog friendly.

We packed our bags with towels, sunscreen, chairs, dog snacks and books, got our swim gear on and piled in the jeep. On the way there we picked up some sunflower seeds and Sweet Leaf Tea so I could feel like I was back in Austin.

The drive was nice; about an hour over the Columbia into Washington and through some pretty farmland and forested areas. As we drive along the river road approaching the watering hole we saw cars pulled over every few feet and people swimming in the shallow, fast-moving river. We couldn't wait to feel the chill of that cold water!

Once we found our destination, we set up our chairs in a shady area overlooking the river.

Uma went straight for the water, so Scotty and I followed her in. The water was cold, but not too cold. Still, we both had to go in slowly to adjust to the chill. Uma, on the other hand, dove right in and was swimming around in no time. Ever since she has been with her new dog walking group, she's been swimming more and more, and now her old fear of going too deep to touch the bottom is completely gone. We all had a great time playing water fetch, climbing on big river boulders, and laughing as Uma's normal gracefulness disappeared on the slippery, uneven stones on the floor of the river.

After about an hour in the water, we got out, drank our tea, ate some seeds and relaxed with our books. Uma dog lounged on her towel for a bit, but she ended up going back in the water to splash around. We all left feeling relaxed and refreshed. Moulton falls is definitely our new go-to spot when a swim is in order!

Welcome!

Welcome to our brand new blog.  Here we'll post stories of our trips to the mountains, the beach, other countries, or even just exploring our own backyard.  Since the stories go back a few years prior to the idea for the blog, we'll be doing a little bit of time traveling here.  We just got back from a nice car camping/day hike trip today, so I'll start us out with that.


Since I'm on vacation from work this week and Scotty is enjoying his summer break, we made a spontaneous decision on Monday morning to go camping on Monday afternoon.  Influenced by the oppressive heat in the city, we chose to head to the mountains.  And when in Portland, it's hard not to be drawn to Mt. Hood's ever-present icy glory.  After googling a bit I found what looked like a small, lightly trafficked campsite in a great location almost 6000 feet up at the base of the mountain: Cloud Cap Saddle Campground.  Even better, it was right at the trailhead for the Timberline trail, which runs in a circle all the way around the mountain just below the timber line.  Once we made sure dogs were allowed and that the roads were all open, we packed up all our car camping gear and hit the road Monday afternoon after Scotty's meeting was over.

We drove out on highway 84 and then the Mt. Hood highway until we reached Cooper Spur Road.  It wound in and out of farmland for a bit and then climbed up and around until it hit Cloud Cap road, which quickly became a long unpaved road of bumpy switchbacks.   We found ourselves weaving through an eerie section of the forest which had been ravaged by a forest fire a few years prior; its barren landscape of scorched trunks was interrupted only by bright patches of wildflowers and stunning views of Mt. Hood and Mt. Adams.  After what seemed like hours we reached our destination, a small forested campground with 3 walk-in sites.  We were pleasantly surprised to be the only campers around!  We chose the site furthest from the road, set up camp, and then hiked up to the top of the peak we'd just driven up to catch the sunset and some amazing views of the mountain from the Cloud Cap Inn.

Scotty posing by the mountain.

Uma takes it all in.

On our way back down to the camp, we gathered enough firewood to make a nice fire.  We cooked a tasty camp dinner, played a few games of cards, and then turned in for a solid night of sleep under the stars in preparation for our hike.

Bright and early the next morning, I woke up to the smell of a delicious omelet cooking and the sound of Uma dog's tags jingling as she ran around the camp.  Scotty, true to form, had quietly snuck out of the tent and started getting breakfast and coffee ready for us.  Bellies full and pack ready to go, the three of us walked the 20 feet from our camp to the Timberline Trail head and started out on our great adventure.

It didn't take long to reach the edge of the wilderness.

We started out making steady uphill progress on a sandy trail through the forest.  Uma was particularly excited by the abundant squirrel and chipmunk populations.  After about 20 minutes, we turned a corner and got our first view of the mountain.

Mt. Hood, with Cooper Spur to the left.

Cooper Spur is the smaller peak to the left of Mt. Hood's summit.  We realized that must be our destination.  So we pushed on.  We hiked over and up through the rocky ridge in the picture and turned a corner through a small patch of woods before emerging at the junction with the Cooper Spur trail.  We had gone 1.1 miles and climbed from 5850 to 6640 ft; we still had 2.5 more miles and about 1900 feet of elevation until we reached the top at 8514 ft.  Scotty and Uma were excited; I was a little apprehensive, but we all decided we would make it no matter how hard it was or how many breaks it took.  So we turned right and started the steady uphill climb.

At first there were smaller trees and large boulders around us.  Uma chased a few chipmunks around as we pushed upward.  However, it wasn't long until we found ourselves above the timberline and looking right at Mt. Adams.

Just before the timber line.

As we hiked further, we found ourselves among the clouds.

Almost in the clouds!

The plants thinned out to nothing more than flowers and the boulders became smaller and smaller.  The summit of the spur was closer but still seemed more a part of Mt. Hood than a part of our trail.

Our goal.

We started seeing snow to the south.

As we ascended further along the long, sandy switchbacks, we lost our view of the mountain as we became completely immersed in clouds.

If you look closely you can see Hood behind those clouds.

Luckily, we had already seen some pretty spectacular summit views, and at this point we were grateful for the cloud coverage as it blocked out the summer sun.  We paused to take in what we'd accomplished so far.

At the north edge of the switchbacks we were greeted each time by a steep ravine.  Inside was the blue ice of the Eliot glacier.

Eliot Glacier.

At some point soon after this, the switchbacks ended in a fairly narrow snow patch.  Not seeing a clear route, we crossed it, Uma with great ease and Scotty and I with some trepidation.  However, we had only walked about 20 feet when we were met with the full expanse of the Newton Clark Glacier and its steep, slick slide down the mountain.  It wasn't hard for us to come to a consensus that we should turn back and figure out a safer route up.  Once we were back on the switchbacks, we found a narrow trail up the side of the ravine by the Eliot Glacier and decided to take it.

Thanks to the handy altimeter on Scotty's watch, we knew we were approaching 8400 feet.  We couldn't find a trail, so we decided to stop and eat lunch while we thought over whether it was better to scramble to the top or call it a day.  As we sat there, we noticed the footprints of a hiker we had seen coming down and decided to follow her path to try and summit since we had made it so far already.  Before we knew it, we had reached the stone shelters at the top!

Resting in one of the rock shelters at the top.

Proud!

And as luck would have it, the clouds began to clear, revealing an impressive view to the south.

It's a long way down.

Scotty!

Everyone was pretty excited to be there.

One tired, happy pup.

After taking in the sights, we decided it was time to head back to camp.  The views on the way back down were spectacular.  Everything seemed more colorful and impressive to me, but I suspect a lot of that was colored by my relief at making it up and happiness to be walking downhill at long last.

Back below the clouds again.

Sneaking up on Uma.

Success!

Scotty (followed by Uma) hopped up on a rock to demonstrate the scale of what we were seeing: Mt. Adams, Mt. St. Helens, and a far away third mountain (not sure)?

Yay!

Man and beast check out the expansive view.

When we reached the Timberline Trail again, it seemed unreal.  We were excited that we'd reached the highest point on Mt. Hood that was accessible by trail!  And we were really excited to head back to camp, drink a nice cool beer, and relax by the fire.

Back to the bottom, 1.1 more downhill miles between us and camp.

 

Happy campers!

Until next time, happy trails and wagging tails!

--Katie