Hiking Mirror Lake

Mirror Lake is one of those places we've driven by many, many times but never stopped at, usually for good reason because we are on our way to somewhere else.

We were missing out.

The access to the trail is just after civilization ends on Highway 26 east of Portland. The highway says goodbye to Welches, narrows to two lanes, and heads through some forest before widening to four lanes again and starting towards Government Camp. Off to the right the land drops steeply into a valley for awhile, but then you go around a curve and suddenly that same side of the street has a steep hill. Usually here you will see a mess of cars parked with no real signs - this is where you park to head to Mirror Lake.

This hike is a little over three miles round trip and is generally referred to as "easy." To be honest, calling this easy is a bunch of crap. Easy is walking on flat sidewalks. This hike involves steep hills and uneven surfaces, so to call it anything less than moderate is plain wrong.

Most of the hike is uphill over a myriad of switchbacks, crossing a creek or two on narrow bridges, over ground riddled with stumps and rocks. Going up the terrain isn't a big deal, but going down following a crazy little Shiba named Misaki who apparently would rather run it's kind of dangerous. Be careful! (As always, click the pictures to see larger versions.)

One example of a switchback.

I wanted to get a picture down the hill, but the trees were too dense and they didn't really turn out.

There is a rock slide that the trail switches back and forth across about three or four times on the way; Misaki was quite pleased with herself for conquering the boulders.

Misaki is quite proud of herself.

Here's a pic of one of the bridges, this one just before the trail splits to go around the lake. Misaki continues to amaze me at how fearless she is. The creek rushed underneath, but she took a measure of what it would take to hop onto the narrow bridge and just did it. Most dogs, especially smaller ones, would hesitate, but not her.

Fearless pup.

Guess who was the first one to see the lake?

Zen.

And what did she see, a little over a mile and a half into our hike? It's breathtaking, really. They don't call it Mirror Lake for nothin'.

No words.

Wifey and I had packed a lunch, so we sat on the rocks at the water's edge. We tried to enjoy the quiet, but it was shattered by a bunch of out of control kids with no sense of personal space.

One interesting note: You can make this a longer hike. Turning away from Mt. Hood, if you look up to the right there is a ridge - Tom Dick and Harry Mountain (really) - far into the distance (another four miles each way, I think). Someday, when I'm better prepared, that would be a fun (you know, if by fun I mean exhausting, mentally draining, and likely to induce massive hamstring cramps) hike to do. I can just imagine the amazing pictures one could take.

We had some chipmunks hang out with us for lunch, as well as this little guy and some birds we'd never seen before.

Our dining companion.

Misaki generally leaves the wildlife alone, but I was wondering if maybe she was going to go after some of the fish darting around in the shallows.

Looking for noms.

We had a great time. It's a great workout (moderate, not easy - I want to see their definition of easy) and not too far away. However, get their early, especially on a nice day on the weekend because that parking area can fill up and you don't want to be forced to park on the very edge of Highway 26 as cars fly by at 60+ miles an hour.

It's worth the effort, especially when you see something like this.

Finding Lost Lake

Call this our Summer of Lake Hikes. Up today: Lost Lake. About 20 miles outside of Hood River, up in the hills, Lost Lake is a "resort" that you have to pay for to use the day use area ($7). We actually drove all the way up here late in the day quite a few years ago when we had a NW Forest Pass, thinking that would get us in (FYI, it does not). We ended up just turning around because we didn't want to pay the fee so late in the day.

By the way, did you know there are 19 "Lost Lakes" in Oregon?! Holy... !

And then we just never made it back. I had been there once a long time ago - I remember renting a pedal boat with Mom and my sister and having fun - but Wifey had never been. So, we packed Misaki, lunch, and water in the car and headed out.

This is the sign outside of, well, the general store (as always, click the picture for a bigger version). This is where you can get snacks and rent the boats (they have row boats as well) and, as the sign says, there are no public restrooms. Lame, because they probably have the only flushing ones in the whole "resort."

This (above) is one end of the lake from the 3.2 mile trail that circumvents the lake. The day was overcast most of the day, with occasional breaks and occasional darkening, even sprinkles. This one ended up with nice color

This is the opposite end of the lake - I'm a sucker for reflections, even when they aren't clear.

The trail is generally flat, though riddled with roots, rocks, and the occasional muddy spot. Misaki didn't mind. We managed the whole lake in about two hours, with plenty of stops for pictures. The trail is well maintained for the most part with a lot of "boardwalk" type construction, which always makes my day.

Like I said, occasional sun breaks. Very occasional. This pic probably did the best justice to the colors of the water, which when you look into it up close is clear all the way to the bottom.

And this is quite obviously not a sunbreak. The mountain in the background is Mt. Hood. Supposedly on a clear day you can get some spectacular pictures, but not on this day. This is the best view we got of the mountain. Sure isn't Trillium!

MISAKI'S VIEW

Here is Lost Lake from the point of view of the little red ninja.

This is what Misaki saw from the boat ramp in the late morning.

From the bridge near the parking area, mid-afternoon.

Her best view of the day, from a small floating dock.

FLORA

I don't claim to be a naturalist, expert or otherwise, but some of the plants at Lost Lake jumped out at us - like this one. Check out those spines on the leaves!

Below is a leaf from the same plant, with my hand over it for perspective. This one, thankfully, did not have spines. I have no idea why some do and some didn't.

Some more pretty red berries, different plant.

If you, dear reader, have any idea what these are, please leave a comment. The internet wasn't very helpful.

FAUNA

We didn't see much when it came to animal life. People were fishing, but we didn't see any jump and none were visible near the edges of the lake. There were plenty of tiny chipmunks, but those guys don't hold still for pictures.

However, when we sat down to eat our lunch of course the birds came to visit. This first one is the ubiquitous - and extremely loud - Stellar's Jay. This spot in the tree was probably 10 feet from our picnic table. He was closer at one point, but then noticed Misaki.

This bird was interesting. He would announce his entrance like we should fall to our knees and grovel - sort of like what Sera (our Bengal cat) expects.

He also cracked us up. After disappearing once he came back literally 30 seconds later, only he looked like he just came from a dunk in the lake. I wasn't quick enough on the camera to get him really roughed up, but he still looks a little wet below.

Anyone have an idea what this bird is?

MISAKI LOVED THE LAKE

This is Misaki on the trail, at the edge of what looked like a landslide into the lake at some point. As we crossed this she continually reminded us with her running over these loose rocks she is much, much more nimble than us. She'd run a few steps, then turn around and gives a look that said, "Are you coming?!"

This is Misaki deep in concentration at the edge of the lake. About a minute after this was taken we pounced on a bumblebee that was buzzing around here head - quite the exhibition of quickness.

Misaki got water breaks just like we did, though she stubbornly refuses to drink. The look on her face says it all. "Are you done yet?! We need to GO!"

And finally, Misaki under the picnic table as we ate lunch. She doesn't get breakfast on days like this when we leave the house early, because with dogs it seems like breakfast ends up on the back seat or floor of the car. Since she sits on Wifey's lap during the drive, we prefer that not to happen. Here she is practicing her Shiba Mind Control on me, trying to get some of my sandwich (or even better, some potato chips).

Sorry to say, her skills need a little more work. Sorry puppy!

And yes, she did get a good-sized meal for dinner, despite what she will tell you.

The weather wasn't great, but the pictures sure turned out well and we got some good exercise. Not sure we'll be in a hurry to return, but we can check it off the list.