We spent the entirety of Friday afternoon lazing around our campground, talking, eating, dipping our toes in the creek, napping. A single cow, free range grazing, wandered through the campground in the early evening, which was a first for all of us.
And then we went to bed early, and woke up once again very early to hit the trail. Our hike this time was up to Iron Peak, a 7.8 mile round trip straight up (with switchbacks). The trail description on Washington Trails was decidedly discouraging -- it talked about dryness, and steepness, and exposure, with no mention of any reason why anyone should attempt the hike. As it turned out, it was gorgeous -- we were in the forest for much of the way, there were abundant wildflowers, and when we reached the saddle at the top, we were rewarded with 360 degree views.
The photo above is the view right when you emerge from the trees onto the saddle -- trails heading off in various directions from here. We headed to the right, to the peak of Iron Mountain, along the ridge as seen in the photo below.
And then we hiked all the way down, got back in the car, and drove home to Portland. Such a great two days of hiking and hanging out.
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