Mt. Hood - South Side

I'll be working from my employer's Oregon office next week, which affords me the privilege of visiting Mary Beth, Ben and Ali at their place. We took a day hike to Mt. Hood National Forest and visited a couple of favorite places, one of which was Mirror Lake. The lake is small but has a great view of Mt. Hood.

Along the short 1.5 mile hike up to the lake, we nibbled on huckleberries, blackberries, thimble berries and a random wild raspberry. The vine maples lining the forest edge of a rock slide were turning red. And the trail through the firs was dark and cool.

We then took a short drive down to Little Crater Lake. The artesian spring that feeds this small, deep pond keeps the water temperature in the mid-30 degrees F. The water is crystal clear and blue and green in color.