Journalist By Nature: Mirror Lake Reflects Mt. Hood's Majesty

Pensive hiker at the destination

Outdoor enthusiasts swarm the flanks of Mt. Hood in all seasons, but especially during the snowless months when rocky promontories and icy lakes are accessible. The particular volcanic-formed topography of the area with its layered lava flows and successive erosions has produced protected bowl-shaped places for glacier, snow and rain waters to collect and form jewell-like lakes amid towering evergreens and colorful deciduous understories. Mirror Lake is one such body of water.

Located a relatively short hike right off Oregon Highway 26 near Government Camp on the south side of the mountain, Mirror Lake is an extremely popular destination for stop-and-see tourists as well as dedicated hikers intent on summiting Tom, Dick and Harry plateau. The loud and pounding construction work that is widening this part of the highway and the flying debris caught in the downdraft of the mountain hurry visitors across the wooden bridge at the trailhead parking strip. The little bubbling creek underneath the bridge can explode with spring's runoff to provide a clamorous whitewater roar of melted snow anxious to meet the ocean over one hundred miles to the west.

The steady upward angle of the trail moves hikers away from the unnatural noises of mechanical activity and into the quiet of the forest where birds provide music harmonizing with the winds whispering through the stands of evergreens. This time the trail was damp and not dusty, rocks peeking out from the forest floor tamped down by millions of human footsteps. Rhododendrons, long past their bloom, were showing a few yellowed leaves that will drop with this year's freeze. Morning sunlight slanted through the vertical trunks of Douglas fir and Hemlock, casting hazy shadows on the landscape. With an elevation gain of only 700 feet, the trek to the lake is family friendly, many of who are accompanied by man's best friend.

Breaking out of the woods to the lakeside, the mirroring effect is not immediately seen. A level walk around the lake's perimeter soon reveals the source of its name. There in splendid technicolor lies an upside down Mt. Hood, floating in the glimmering surface of the lake, a perfect reflection of the original. The occasional breeze rippling the waters causes the image to shimmer and blur. This basin of captured liquid is rimmed in the fall with flaming red vine maples and golden yellow alder. An occasional blue penstemon and purple Michaelmas daisy provide the only other color spots. Before the spring melt and if the trail is more or less visible, the lake is a frozen disc of grey-white softness.

High in a conifer, top-heavy with newly formed but unopened cones, sits a lone falcon, eyes sharp and searching for a lunch tidbit. As we point our cameras toward it, wings stretch outward and it is gone into the blue. Memories of a cougar paw print from last winter's hike remain fresh in our collective memory and we keep our ears tuned to sounds from the underbrush. The familiar splash of a swimmer passes into our hearing but without the high-pitched scream that comes when the water is colder.

Part of our crew decides to head for the Tom, Dick and Harry summit while others, more protective of aging knees, prefer to lounge by the lake in the finals hours of the late summer sunshine. Other hikers pass through, some searching for trails, others wandering around the lake, but all taking in the reflection of the snow-mantled peak in the blue water. Returning several hours later, our tougher companions verified the steepness and rockiness of the climb to the top. The view from there is truly magnificent, looking directly down on the now tiny lake, a mere dot in an ocean of green, and across the green mat to Government Camp and finally face-to-face with the huge grey shoulders and snowy head of Mt. Hood. It is a view worthy of the trek to the top.

Lunch by the shore, a snooze on a silvered log half submerged in the lake and a photo op stroll complete the day before we return to the noisy bustle of mountain traffic and construction. There are a number of such locations in the Mt. Hood National Forest waiting patiently for your arrival. There's still time to hit the trails before the weather closes in and the holidays overtake us. Here's a place to start your search. Yes, you have over one thousand miles of trails to choose from. Get trekking!