Day 16: Summit Lake

I’m sitting here at our little oasis, a Forest Service campground in the middle of nowhere, that had no signs pointing to it, so if you didn’t know it was here, you’d never find it. We arrived here around 4 pm, and logging operations nearby were quite noisy, but just before 5 pm, they knocked off for the day and now we are quite alone. But let me back up.

This morning was cooler than we expected, a touch above 40F, which always makes us a little slow getting going. But we managed to eat breakfast and pack up before any of the other campers in the campground even began stirring around. We continued our constant climb up to Bennett Pass (ele. 4674 ft.). It was about 10 miles to the top from our campsite, and we stayed bundled up until our bodies warmed up enough from exertion to finally strip our layers off. We were too close to Mt. Hood for most of the morning, barely catching a glimpse of the very top through the trees. But, once we made the pass and started coming down the other side, we sure did have a great view of the South side of the mountain. Of course, we needed to pull over a dozen times or so and attempt to capture a picture. It’s a really neat looking mountain, that’s for sure. As we were going downhill, we passed another pass, our second of the day, Barlow. It was barely noticeable to us as we were traveling down at the time.

We ran into a little bit of road construction, which we don’t mind too much, the construction workers are usually really friendly and happy to see a couple of crazies on their bicycles. After a swift downhill, and a pit stop at the last service for a long time (a Chevron gas station) it was back to grinding up to our third pass of the day, which was unmarked on our maps, and I can’t remember the name of. Our maps exaggerated the climbing profile today, and as we were steadily climbing we kept anticipating some rollers or sharp uphills that never came. We stopped for lunch at that third pass, and after a short break continued on.

Not far after pass #3, we made it to pass #4, Blue Box Pass, ele. 4,024 ft. We got some encouraging waves from car drivers as we were cresting that pass, which is always appreciated. The PCT also crosses the road at this pass, and I’ve lost track of the number of times we have crossed the trail now. In fact, we crossed it several times just today.

We had been following State Highway 35, and then US Highway 26. Finally, it was time to climb off the highways and enjoy some Forest Service roads. With the exception of a few logging trucks and the occasional car, we had the roads to ourselves once again. The road climbs and descends through the forest, sometimes steep, but mostly just a pleasant ride. As we ground up the final hill before a descent, we had a decision to make. We had come not quite 40 miles, but the next campsite was in 30 miles. We could dispersed camp along the river 20 miles further, or we could go .8 miles off route and camp at an established campground with the promising name “Summit Lake Campground.” So, we did the shocking thing once again, and went off route to the campground.

We had to push our bikes up a steep incline, and then along the ridge, with the sound of a logging operation getting louder, and then a steep downhill to the campground. There was a vehicle there ahead of us, but they were just letting their dog get some exercise, and they soon left. Which left us here, the only campers in the campground. It’s pretty primitive, with a single pit toilet, and no water except what’s in the shallow lake, but considering we were thinking about camping along a trail without even the luxury of a picnic bench or a toilet, this is pretty much exactly what we need. Matt has been busy since we got here filtering enough water for us to cook dinner and breakfast and fill our water bottles for tomorrow. It’s so quiet now that the loggers have all gone home. We ate an early dinner, and should be able to get plenty of rest for whatever climbing we have tomorrow. We might even make it back to civilization tomorrow, I think we travel through Detroit and Idanha. This has most certainly been an adventure!

One note: Pam speaking. Today I had a rough day riding. I think my legs were still tired from all the steep inclines yesterday, so they were very sluggish in the morning, which seemed like the climb that never ended. Around lunchtime, it drew to a head, and my temper was very short. After talking it out and having a nice, relaxing lunch, my outlook was much better, and I enjoyed the rest of the ride, just taking it as it came. Sometimes I focus too much on the hills we have yet to climb instead of just focusing on what’s in front of me. See, it’s not all sunshine and roses, even though it really has been a great trip for most of the time. I’m really enjoying myself, the views have been fantastic, I’ve seen 4 major volcanoes so far, and more to come! A huge shout out to my husband who puts up with me and helps me through these moods.

Time: 4:35:22

Distance: 38.75

Average: 8.3

Climb: 3753

Max: 31.5 

The river we slept next to

We rode our way up into the clouds

Mt. Hood rising out of the trees

Pam riding along

Close up of the south side of Mt. Hood

I picked up a hitchhiker

The bottom trees make it look like the pine trees are on fire 

Was to warm for our chocolate bar... we still ate it

Watching the dragonflies race around summit lake, this one landed on the branch and put its tail in the water

Summit Lake (about shallow enough to be Summit Pond)

Pam and sunset

Selfie at the lake :)

Stars reflecting in the lake

A major constellation is visible in this picture