It was rather a long drive to the trail head. I was thankful that I did not have to drive that morning. The trail head was located on the east side of Mt. Hood right next to Cooper Spur Sno-Park. Marty had a flat tire on his way up so we waited a little while until he and his occupants rolled into the parking lot. Today, I decided to join the "endurance" group to mingle with them as I had been hiking in the intermediate group on most of our hikes.
Tilly Jane Trail would take us way into Mt. Hood's alpine backcountry via a 3.5 miles trail that ascended 2,000' until we eventually arrived at Cloud Cap Inn. This Inn was originally built in 1889 as a resort for tourists with lots of money. Today, it serves as a headquarter for Crag Rats Alpine Club that offers itself as a mountain rescue group when needed.
This hike was originally meant to be a snowshoeing trip. And, as far as we could see, it looked like the trail was going to be kind of icy so we strapped on our snowshoes from the outset. However the snow/ice on the trail vanished only after few hundred feet or so and we were forced to take off the snowshoe to lash them back on our backpacks. Because the temperature was in the mid 40s already, the run off from the snow was making the trail quite muddy and slippery in some parts. We meandered through the woods typical of the northwest dominated by the evergreens for the first half of the hike. I felt unexpectedly well once we were on our way up the trail despite how tired I was feeling at the meetup point earlier. 
As we ascended through the woody area, we found ourselves walking through a section that was charred by a fire few years ago. Some of the burnt trees looked quite interesting - only the burnt outer parts of the trunks remained standing while their cores had relented to decay.
As we ascended through the woody area, we found ourselves walking through a section that was charred by a fire few years ago. Some of the burnt trees looked quite interesting - only the burnt outer parts of the trunks remained standing while their cores had relented to decay.We were starting to see some snow again on the trail as we gained elevation. The snow base thickened exponentially once we crossed the freezing level and the training we had last week at the Climbers Clinic came in pretty handy particularly in sections that required us to traverse. Matt who was leading our group reminded us how to edge our boots in order to make more secure steps. But some parts were just too icy to get any boot penetration - I wished I had my crampons with me, which I left in the back of my car! Though we had snowshoes, Matt elected not to have us put them on as they in fact would have made it even more precarious in such conditions. In some other parts, I kept sinking into the snow up to my knees every other step as I put full weight on the foot, making it rather laborious to keep marching.
We enjoyed chewing our lunches in an A-frame shelter at the Tilly Jane campground. It was a quintessential alpine log cabin on one of Mt. Hood's ridges that housed a wood burning stove, tables and benches inside among other odds and ends. From there, our final destination, Cloud Cap Inn, was only a half an hour away. By the time our group arrived there, the fast group was already getting ready to start their final push. 
Their leader, Marty, organized his climbers into two groups, a group of people who wished to continue up to the Inn and another of those who opted to call it a day and to head down. 
Because we carpooled from the meetup point to the trail head, there was some logistical issues that needed to be taken into consideration as well.
Their leader, Marty, organized his climbers into two groups, a group of people who wished to continue up to the Inn and another of those who opted to call it a day and to head down. 
Because we carpooled from the meetup point to the trail head, there was some logistical issues that needed to be taken into consideration as well.All members of the "endurance" group were all for going up to Cloud Cap Inn. I was actually feeling very good at this point. It had crossed my mind that maybe I was being mildly hypoxic even though we were only around 5,500' in elevation - euphoria was one of the first sign of hypoxia in general. And the more I thought about it, the more sense it made, taking into account my lack of sleep, high level of physical activity, etc., etc.
As soon as we departed the shelter, we went down a steep ravine to cross a snow bridge across a creek (Tilly Jane Creek?) one by one. By this point, the base of the snow was about a dozen feet and we certainly didn't need to risk collapsing the bridge. 
There was no visible trail in particular so Matt plowed ahead stomping new steps along the way. Indeed after about a half an hour or so, we popped up on another ridge where Cloud Cap Inn stood.
There was no visible trail in particular so Matt plowed ahead stomping new steps along the way. Indeed after about a half an hour or so, we popped up on another ridge where Cloud Cap Inn stood.
And what a gorgeous view it had! we were awarded with the panoramic view of Mt. Hood's eastern foothill. Even better than that, the rocky top half of Mt. Hood showed itself as a veil of clouds flirted with its undeniable existence.
In less than a couple of months, many of us will be setting foot on the summit of this very mountain. That was pretty awesome even just to think about. As we milled around taking pictures, etc., a flurry of snow started to whirl around us. In order to avoid getting caught in an unexpected weather, we started descending by reversing our path. In some ways, descending was not much easier than climbing up as we still needed to keep ourselves focused traversing the sections we struggled on earlier and to pay close attention on our footings despite the fatigue that was starting to set in all of us.Sadly, I am not going to be able to join the Salmon Butte hike next weekend. I hope everyone will have a great one. Take lots of pictures!
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Nice one indeed!!!
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