Elk Cove Trail - Mt Hood Wilderness, Oregon - Sept 13, 2010

A fine Sunday for a hike, finally got one of those bluebird days. Hiked the Elk Cove Trail to a beautiful meadow at the base of Mt Hood. 5.1 miles one way, 2700' elevation gain. Hike was on the spine of a ridge, mostly in the woods. One awesome viewpoint about halfway and the end of the trail is a huge meadow with great views of the mountain.

Shot from the car on the drive up - darn near the trailhead.

Shot from the viewpoint about halfway up. Nice contrasty photo, if only all were like this.

Rather stern looking fellow -- hmmm. I'm thinking Pink Floyd -- If you don't eat your meat, how can you have any pudding? How can you have any pudding if you don't eat your meat?

Shot from Elk Cove, nice little lunch spot.

Here is the Roddy Dog, couple of happy hikers.

Portland Farmers Market - Labor Day 2010

To market, to market to buy a fat... ('mater, 'tater & berries)

The mushroom guy was there.

Deep Roots is one of our favorites.

The final product, everything from the farmers market.

Twin Lakes, Mt Hood; Labor Day 2010

Who You...

A walk in the woods on Labor Day. Just never know what you might see.

Now what is it these guys say:
Hoo
Hoot
Hoo, Hoo

Nick Eaton Ridge, Columbia River Gorge, OR; Aug 2010

The weather forecast was crummy for Aug 29, 2010. Government Camp on Mt Hood was forecast for mostly cloudy, high of 50 deg F, and wind gusts up to 29 mph. We needed a good conditioner for Labor Day weekend, so, opted for shorter drive time and traveled to one of our 'go to' hikes -- Nick Eaton Ridge in the Columbia River Gorge. View are not like up in the alpine, but, would not see anything today. Took the Ridge Cutoff trail to Gorton Creek trail and back to the car; 2800' elevation and 5.5 hrs hike time -- with heavy packs. Hope is to get out for 4, 5 days with the MthDogs over Labor Day.

First Break, Junction of Herman Creek and Nick Eaton

Roddy needs a break, too.

No Worries Here.

eWilson testing out Bono's next possible specs. haha

Nothing like to good days hike to mellow out the MtnDogs.

Mazama Trail, Mt Hood, OR -- Aug 15, 2010

Sunday we hiked the Mazama Trail on the north side of Mt. Hood. Could have hiked further to Cairn Basin or McNeil Shelter, but, this was good enough for today. Mazama Trail is 3.7 miles one way from the trailhead to the junction with the Timberline trail. Elevation gain is 2120'. The Timberline Trail is a circumnavigation of Mt. Hood that stays at or near timberline for most of the route, about 37 miles.

Shot from the parking lot at the trailhead. NW side of Mt Hood.


MtnDogs are ready to go...

Finally, heading up the trail.

Shot from the first meadow.


Not a bad view, good spot to stop for a bit.

Lunchtime!

Training for 2011 Tour de France

Well, since one can not use performance enhancing drugs at the Tour de France any more; ala, Floyd Landis, etc, etc; I've decided to take a new tack in my training plans -- Beagle power!!! Just need to decide one Beagle power or two. Here is the inaugural ride of our brand new 'Bike Tow Leash' -- as recommended by TeamBeagle over at teambeagle.blogspot.com. You might notice some enthusiasm on the part of Echo to get on and start training -- rather persistent barking.

Big Saturday Night

A Big Saturday Night
31-July-2010

The MtnDogs headed into the city on Saturday night. Partied at Normaldale dog park and then got to wait in the car while the humans ate dinner at a fancy restaurant. But, we did get to visit with grandma after dinner, so that was cool.

and, here is our awesome video