Backpacking for the Beginner
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On with the hike and photos...
So me and Sable set off on our little adventure. The pack she wore was an Outdoor Products Dog Pack. The general rule is that you don't want to load your dog's pack up more than 10% of his/her own body weight. Sable is a mix between a Siberian Husky and a German Shepherd; she LOVES going on hikes and gets all excited when I get her dog pack out.
The beginning of the Burnt Lake trail looked quite promising; a gradual ascent and a well groomed path:
I, however, was already exhausted by the time I reached the 2/3rd's mark where you cross over the creek and begin the "real" ascent. This is where I ran into the two teenagers I spoke of on page 1. Through the pain and sweat, I was able to blurt out a question to them before they bounced on by, “How much further?”
“To the lake?” they replied.
“Yes.”
“You’re about two-thirds of the way there,” they said.
I felt a little better since I had figured my fat butt was probably only half way at this point. And just when there was a sparkle of hope, they nonchalantly continued with, “But the last third is ten times worse than the first two-thirds because it’s quite a bit steeper for the rest of the way.”
At that moment, I almost collapsed; but decided I should at least wave them on before doing so to save myself from anymore embarrassment. So they bounced on by without a care in the world.
I figured this would be a good time to let Sable stop for a drink and rest. Okay, it was me who needed the rest! Sable could have scaled Mt. Hood if she’d had a capable owner with her. I actually contemplated calling it quits and heading back. But I knew I wouldn’t be able to live with myself. And, besides, my cell phone wouldn’t have worked any way so that I could call my friend to come back and pick me up.
I took both mine and Sable's packs off and rested for about ten minutes; Sable enjoyed the creek:
This was the log I rested on; you could tell it was the resting point for many other hikers. Even Sable climbed up on the log for a quick rest:
And then, with many moans and groans, I put our packs back on and started the final ascent. Those two bouncy teenagers weren’t exaggerating; this was going to be tough!
After what seemed like an eternity, I was starting to reach some great elevations that provided awesome views:
It took a lot of time and a lot of patience from Sable, but I finally made it past the worst of it. And as I turned around, I was presented with my first reward—the peak of Mt. Hood staring back at me. It seemed so close that I could reach out and touch it!
A few more hundred feet (with Sable basically dragging me) and I was face to face with the lake:
It was definitely worth it! I got this great shot at about 6am. My grandparents have it hanging on their wall at 20" x 30" and it looks gorgeous.
I found a very cool little campsite (#2 for those who make it to Burnt Lake). We walked around the lake, took some photos, and then fell fast asleep. Sable woke me up a few times during the night; apparently she kept hearing things and would start growling... I was too tired to care what was out there.
The next morning we woke up around 6am and walked around on some of the other trails. If I would have stayed longer, I would have ventured up to Zig Zag Mountain; I'll have to do that next time. The only wildlife we saw were birds and this fella below. I should have taken a photo with Sable in the frame to show the size of him. For a Garter Snake he was actually quite large (bigger than he looks in this picture). I'd estimate around five feet long or so.
We spent the rest of the day relaxing on the lake and playing fetch; it was a MUCH needed breather from my every-day life. The only mishap was getting stung in the ankle by a bee. Luckily, I'm not allergic and barely react to bee stings at all. Later that afternoon, we packed it up and said goodbye to the amazing view:
I'm definitely going to do this trip again someday and I'm going to make a whole weekend of it so that I can get to some of the other trails. The weather was a PERFECT 81-84F the whole time I was there.
Get this; the trip back down the mountain took me 1.5 hours... exactly HALF the time it took me to get up the mountain! Obviously, the biggest factor was that I was going down hill. However, I could cetainly tell that my legs and lungs had been conditioned to at least some level because of the previous days climb. The only spot I stopped at on the way down was the crossing at the creek, and it was only for a little bit.
If you're like me and you work too much, are too busy, and too out of shape to attempt something like this; do what I did and DO IT ANYWAY! You absolutely will NOT regret it. That's my personal guarantee.
Feel free to contact me with any questions/comments.
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