On 8/2/06, David Honigstock, David August, Peter Bedrick, and Dave Liberts hiked a trail at Mt. Hood called Cairn Basin. The basin is a upper valley in the Mt. Hood area in which some people had built a Cairn (a building made by stacking lage rocks together to serve as a shelter against the elements). The hike in took about 2.5 hours and the return took about 2 hours. The first part is pretty much a verical climb until you reach the upper valley area and then you follow a ridge until dropping down into the basin. The views of Mt. Hood were spectacular and the wildflowers were resplendant.

Don't forget, if you want an expanded view, just click on any photo.

Here are some shots at the onset of the hike. This is Peter, Dave and David H.



David H., David A and Peter.



Here's David A. starting up the trail.



Our first view of the mountain.



It was a spectacular day!



Looking down at Ladd Creek.



A branch of the Ladd crossing the trail.



Wildflowers along the trail.



A tree crosses the path.



An old (we hoped) rockslide



Closeup of a wildflower with insect.



More beautiful flowers.



A dried-up pond with Mt. Hood in background.



Farther along, a real pond.



Taking a short break.



Lunch at the Ladd Creek.



Back on the trail.



Mt Adams in the distance.



Turn left at the 7-11 store. What?



We crossed 5 small creeks. Here's a larger one.



Here we are crossing the water.



David H. hiking above the creek.



View of Cairn Basin as we descend.



And then, back to the trail head and home.



It was a long day but we had perfect weather, beautiful scenery, and good company.