Hike story time! I had every intention of going to Timothy Lake, which is about 2 hours away from Portland. However, most of the mountain roads aren’t maintained until about May, so this changed everything. I traveled to the road that should have taken me to my destination, but eventually stopped due to excess snow. I tried to turn around, but ended up getting my car stuck. Having lived in Texas for the past 5 years, I lost about 99% of my snow-driving ability. So I decided to call it quits and began to hike. My map showed a lake nearby, so I found a trailed and hoped for the best.

Lucky for me, after about a mile, I hit Clear Lake (at 3,600 feet), which was an absolutely gorgeous alternative. I was close enough to a highway that I could still hear a bit of traffic, but I was completely okay with this, as it was my first PNW camping experience. Clear Lake seemed to be a pretty popular place when the weather is nicer. There were a ton of fire pits and evidence that people had previously been there. However, on this Tuesday night in April, it was completely dead. Yay for solitude!

I made a fire. All by myself. This was the first time ever and I was seriously impressed with myself. It may have taken a few hours, but I got it done and that’s all that matters. Unfortunately, it took so long and I burned up a majority of my wood supply just trying to get the damn thing going. I built a strategy though while working: start small, then slowly build. Don’t stress the fire out. Yes, that’s my strategy and it seemed to work after a while.

During the night, Willow was freezing. I forgot to account the mountain air being colder than it would be in Portland. So most my time for sleep was spent making sure she was warm. I got maybe an hour of actual rest. However, when 9am rolled around, I went out to the lake and napped in the sunshine. When I woke up, I got to watch an otter swim around and eat his lunch. Totally worth it. Then I was able to get the fire started again (using my amazing fire strategy) and made some oatmeal with freeze-dried blueberries. Am I a wilderness woman or what?

After I left, and found a stranger to help me get my SUV out of the snow, I drove up to Timberline Lodge (at 5,960 feet). It’s a ski lodge on top of Mount Hood and was the inspiration for The Shining. Even if you’re not skiing or staying there, it’s definitely worth a trip. The view was gorgeous and I was able to see Mount Jefferson, just south of Mount Hood. Going on a clear day makes a huge difference.

I came home and nursed a cut on my finger. I took my first shower in 5 days (water heater had been out). Then I slept for 15 hours.