Journalist By Nature: Lost Lake Found

Seeking Lost Lake was the goal of this hike. Situated on the northwestern flank of Mt. Hood, this little lake lies in a bowl of mountainous folds of forest land, one of many small lakes dotting the topography. Finding it is a long drive either through Hood River or by way of Rhododendron/ZigZag. We chose the latter and began to make our way on dusty Forest Service roads known only by their numbers, if indeed they are even posted. This is where definitive driving instructions play a key role. Without them you run the risk of driving around in the vast forest and becoming a lost person. In fact, this lake derives its name from a group of explorers who themselves became lost looking for the lake and to save face when they found it, named it Lost Lake rather than take the embarrassment upon themselves! Or so the tale goes.

The drive along Lolo Pass Road and the connecting Forest Service roads presents an outstanding view of Mt. Hood, merely snow-dusted at this time of year with plenty of grey rock structure showing. A sunny and bright blue sky capped our travels and fresh air flowed freely through the car windows as we negotiated the curvy road. Abruptly the paving ceased and pressed gravel took its place so that the tires kicked up a hefty load of dust on the cars following us. Windows quickly rolled up as we drove on in a brown fog. Checking the mileage against our directions and hoping the lead car didn't miss a forking road we traveled on for two hours, chatting amicably as friends will do.

About the time we yearned to be out of our vehicles we encountered the paved road from the other direction which lead right to the campground around the lake. Thinking our Forest Passes would suffice, we were informed that Lost Lake Campground, while being in the National Forest, is operated by a private company and an entry fee would be charged. Forking over the $8 per car, we made for the parking lot and disembarked.

When sixteen women arrive at a destination there is going to be some discussion about the details of the planned activity. There were two choices at the lake: walk the 3.4 flat miles around the lake and enjoy the view of Mt. Hood looming over it at the south end or climb the butte above the lake, a 3.8 mile round trip on a rough trail rising 1300 feet in 1.4 miles and enjoy a more sweeping view of several mountains and their surrounding landscape. We made an 11:5 split in the group and each went their desired way.

Taking the butte trail, we were greeted by more of those lovely mop heads, beargrass in full bloom. Tree roots and stones cluttered the narrow trail, making footing unsure. The slope of the trail was rated at the high end of the "challenging" category, one point below "difficult" and so it was! It was like hiking in a dry stream bed. Although the path widened it never changed its upward inclination. Once again warming hikers began to shed layers of clothing and pause from time to time to sip liquids. This gave moments to look around and appreciate the pale purple rhododendron blooms, long ago finished at lower elevations, and the few scattered clumps of beargrass. Dry from a lack of rain, this trail was close to being dusty. Water had flowed down it earlier as evidenced by the gutter-like formation of sections of the trail.

Picking our way along, we began to string out along the trail with the heartier hikers making faster headway while others took a slower pace. The understory here was quite clear and thin, populated mainly by bushy rhodies and young fir seedlings. The straight up trail began to switchback near the top, eight long turns by one count. Even this routing didn't diminish the angle of the trail. Nearing the top, the trees receded from the summit not unlike a balding, bumpy head with a fringe of hair about the ears. Huge boulders lying in a jumble provided a sun-drenched resting place with a spectacular view of Mt. Hood and its northern neighboring peak Mt. Adams. It was a perfect place for lunch and continued conversation. The panoramic view is impossible to capture in a photograph although many of us tried. These hilly summits are what spur us on to more hiking adventures!

Mt. Adams

The descending journey took about half the time and we rejoined our lake-circling friends to trade descriptions of our different trips. As if drawn by a magnet we drifted to the lake edge and found places on rocks and logs to soak hot, tired feet in the cooling water. Declaring that we could remain here for the rest of the day we dawdled longer, watching rented boats and kayaks being paddled about the lake and fishermen pulling wriggling trout at the end of their lines. Lost Lake is a wonderful recreational area with a variety of activities to engage your whole group. If you can find it, plan to stay awhile and pretend it's your private backyard, because it practically is!