Hiking Eagle Creek

We were back at Eagle Creek in May, our last trip out there for a while.  It was a lovely sunny day and for a change, warm!  That turned out to be a blessing and a curse but it was a great hike.

Metlako was beautiful, the foliage starting to block views of the trail by this point so there was a lot of cursing at the trees for messing up my shot.  I've since read that the Trailkeepers of Oregon were out on the trail trimming back the foliage and whatever else needed tending on the trail so this one is on the list of trails to go back. Once I'm in better shape I think it would be great to volunteer to help maintain the trails, right now I just need to focus on one foot in front of the other but back to the hike.

We went down the trail to punchbowl falls and I was pleased to see the large dry section of the creek bed, the river was at the lowest point we had seen it, the possibilities of seeing punchbowl falls from the creek had me practically running to pull off my shoes and socks to wade out for a look.

My feet still hurt looking at this picture, a lot.  Water is always cold in the spring, I had no doubt of this.  Mountain snow melt is not your average spring water, it was so painful even the few dogs that were out hiking on the trail that day were not going out in the water despite being coaxed by their owners.  I didn't blame them, if it wasn't for my overwhelming desire to see the waterfall from a proper angle instead of looking down from the left side on the trail I would not have been out there either.

We've moved to hiking up on Mt Hood as the temperatures have warmed up, while we're usually on the trail by 8am to beat the crowds the overall temperatures are warmer for summer so by hiking at 5000 ft it gives us a bit of a break on the heat.  Sadly it also makes the hike more difficult because I seem to have issues with the elevation, hoping with a bit of time that will ease but only time will tell on that one.